Part 17

The difference between a Name and an Attribute is that a Name is something by which Allah has named Himself, and an Attribute is something by which Allah has described Himself and there is a clear difference between them.

A Name is considered to be an appellation by which Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful is known, and which implies an Attribute; and confirming a Name entails confirming the Attribute, for example:

fh ib HD “Verily, Allah is Ghafoor (the Most Forgiving), Raheem (the Most Merciful).””

necessitates confirming the Attribute of Forgiveness, while the Name:

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“Raheem.” necessitates confirming the Attribute of Mercy. But confirming an Attribute does not necessitate confirming a Name, for example, the Attribute of Al-Kalam (speech) does not necessitate that we confirm for Allah the name: Al-Mutakallim (the Speaker); and based upon this, the Attributes are greater

in number, because every Name necessitates an Attribute, but not every Attribute necessitates a Name.

Q. 31. Are the Names of Allah, the Most High limited?

A. The Names of Allah are not limited to a certain number, and the evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet # in the authentic Hadith:

“Oh, Allah! I am Your slave and the son of Your male and female slaves.’” up to his words:

“I ask You by every Name which is Yours, by which You have called Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or which You have taught to one of Your created beings, or which You have concealed in the Knowledge of the unseen which is with You." And that which Allah has concealed in the Knowledge of the unseen cannot be known, and what is not known is not limited.

As for the words of the Prophet 2%:

"1 Reported by Ahmad (1:391)

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(ZN Jos Blas fs Cal Gates es a Oy ‘Allah has ninety-nine Names; whoever enumerated (and believed in) them will enter Paradise."

The meaning of this is not that He has no Names except these Names; but its meaning is that whoever enumerated these ninety-nine Names from among His Names will enter Paradise. As for:

“whoever enumerated (and believed in) them,”

it is a completion of the first sentence, and not the start of a separate sentence. Similar to this is the saying of the Arabs: I have a hundred horses; I have prepared them for Jihad in Allah’s Cause. The meaning is not that he has no horses other than these hundred; rather these hundred have been prepared for this thing.

Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, has reported that there is agreement among the scholars of Hadith that the Prophet # enumerating and mentioning them has not been authentically reported.

He has spoken the truth, may Allah have mercy on him, and the evidence for that is the immense differing which exists over these Names. Those who have tried to authenticate the Hadith have said that this is a momentous matter, because they (i.e. these Names) lead to Paradise and so the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, would not have failed to ask him 3% to identify them, which proves that they were identified by

") Reported by Al-Bukhari in the Book of Conditions, in the Chapter: What Conditions are Permissible (2736) and by Muslim in the Book of Remembrance and Supplication, in the Chapter Regarding the Names of Allah, the Most High and the Virtue of One Who Enumerates Them

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him. But the answer to this is that it is not necessarily so, and if it were so, these ninety-nine Names would have been more well known than the sun and they would have been transmitted in the Two Sahihs and in other collections of Hadith, because there is a need for it and its preservation is necessary. So, how has it not been transmitted except through a weak chain of narrators and in differing forms?!'! (The answer is that) the Prophet 2 did not identify them for a very profound reason, which is that the people search for them and examine them in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger #8 so that those who earnestly endeavor be clearly distinguished from those who do not.

The meaning of enumerating them is not that they should be written on a piece of paper until they are memorized; rather the meaning of that is:

1. To be accustomed to pronouncing them. 2. To understand their meanings.

3. To worship Allah by what they necessitate; and there are two aspects to this:

a) To supplicate Allah by them, according to the Words of Allah, the Most High:

“so call on Him by them.’"?!

making them the means to your request, so you should choose a suitable Name for your request: (For example, ) when you ask for forgiveness, say: Ya Ghafoor (Oh, Most Forgiving)! Forgive

"1 Meaning, the list of ninety-nine Names referred to in some of the narrations of the above-mentioned Hadith. The point here is that all of the versions of the Hadith that list the Names are not authentic, although the part mentioned here is.

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me. And it is not fitting that you should say: Ya Shadeed Al-‘Tqab (Oh, Severe in Punishment)! Forgive me. In fact, this resembles making jest. Rather you should say: Grant me protection from Your Punishment.

b) To implement what is necessitated by these Names in your worship: So, what is necessitated by the Name Ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful) is mercy, therefore, you should perform the righteous deed through which the Mercy of Allah will be attained. This is the meaning of enumerating them, and the matter being so, it is worthy of being the price for entering Paradise.

Q. 32. What is the belief of the Salaf regarding Allah, the Most High’s ‘Uluww (Exaltedness)? What is the ruling on those who say that He is not within the six directions (i.e. up, down, left, right, back and front) and that He is in the heart of the believer?

A. The belief of the Salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, is that Allah, the Most High is above the His creatures in His Self, and Allah, the Most ‘gh has said:

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4iE jas bash, % ae rol “(And) ifyou differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger (#8), if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination."

and He, the Most High says: <5 4 SSS re on ad pvt \ GS

‘And in whatsoever you differ, the decision thereof is with Allah.”"?!

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and He, the Most High says:

“The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allah (His Words, the Qur‘an) and His Messenger (3), to judge between them, is that they say: ‘We hear and we obey.’ And such are the successful (who will live forever in Paradise). And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (:88), fears Allah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the successful.”""!

and He, the Most High says:

HA AKA ts BALES we “It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger (#8) have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger (2%), he has indeed strayed into a plain error.""*!

and He, the Most High says:

“But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad #%) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission”!

When it is clear that the believers’ way, when disagreement

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occurs, is to refer to the Book of Allah, the Most High and the Sunnah of His Messenger 8%, and to hear and obey, and not to choose a judgement from some other source, and that faith is not achieved except in this way, without causing difficulty and with complete submission; for departure from this way will result in what Allah describes thus:

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‘And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad #3) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell — what an evil destination!’"") Based upon this then, when one investigates the matter of Allah, the Most High’s ‘Uluww by His Self over His creation after referring it to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger 2% it becomes clear that the Book (of Allah) and the Sunnah prove clearly in all senses, the meaning that Allah is Above the creation with His Self, using many different expressions, including: 1. The clear declaration that Allah is above the heavens, above His creation, as in the Words of Allah, the Most Meh

“Or * you fl secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not send against you a violent whirlwind? Then you shall know how (terrible) has been My Warning.’!!

When saying Ruqyah for the sick, the Prophet #% said:

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“Our Lord, Allah, Who is above the heavens.” up to the end of the Hadith.)

He # also said:

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“And He is the Irresistible (Supreme), above His slaves. And the Words of Him, the the Most High:

CBs & 65 BEY “They fear their Lord above them.”'*) And the words of the Prophet #:

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'"l The details of its reference have already been mentioned under question 25.

'2] Reported by Al-Bukhari in the Book of the Beginning of Creation, in the Chapter: If Any of You Says Ameen and the Angels in the Heavens Say Ameen (3237) and by Muslim in the Book of Marriage, in the Chapter on the Prohibition of Her Refusing to go to Her Husband’s Bed (1436) and the wording is that of the latter.