Appendix C
Origin of this list of Beautiful Names
The list of 99 Beautiful Names as described on this page is one of the most
commonly available lists of 99 Beautiful Names which have been given to us by
Islamic tradition. Many of the most widely circulated lists of the Beautiful
Names are nearly identical, often differing by only one or two Names.
The Qur'ān does not specify any particular list of Beautiful Names or any
particular number of Beautiful Names... the various lists of Beautiful Names
have been given to us as tools to help us keep the glory of Allah in constant
remembrance through the use of these convenient and well-known lists of
Beautiful Names.
The Qur'ān planted the seeds for awareness of the Beautiful Names by
mentioning the concept of the Beautiful Names in the following verses:
Call upon Allāh or call upon Rahmān:
by whatever name ye call upon Him (it is well):
for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.
Qur'ān 17:110, tr Yusuf Ali
The Most Beautiful names belong to Allah:
so call on Him by them
Qur'ān 7:180, tr Yusuf Ali
Allah! there is no god but He!
To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.
Qur'ān 20:8, tr Yusuf Ali
He is Allah the Creator the Evolver
the Bestower of Forms (or colors).
To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names:
Whatever is in the heavens and on earth doth
declare His Praises and Glory:
Qur'ān 59:24 tr Yusuf Ali
The various lists of 99 Beautiful Names are largely based on Divine Names and
Attributes which are specifically mentioned in the Qur'ān. However, there
are Names mentioned in the Qur'ān which are missing from the traditional lists
(such as al-Mawla (master), an-Nasir (protector), al-Ghalib (victor), al-Qarib
(close), ar-Rabb (lord) and al-Fatir (creator)), while there are Names in the
traditional lists that are not used in the Qur'ān as Names of Allāh (such as
ar-Rashid, al-Baqi, ad-Darr, al-Mudhill, and an-Nafi).
The lists of 99 Beautiful Names are known as mudraj, meaning
inserted, interpolated or included in, which is to say that the list of
Names is not specified in the Qur'ān, or in any reliable hadith, but rather they
have been included in Islamic thought as an aid to our spiritual understanding and
divine remembrance.
Although there are several different versions of the Abu Hurayrah narration
given in the hadith, each with a slightly different list of Names, the following
version transmitted by Tirmidhi is the source of the list of Beautiful
Names used on this web site:
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah Most High has
ninety-nine names. He who retains them in his memory will enter Paradise. He
is Allah, other than whom there is no god, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
the King, the Holy, the Source of Peace, the Preserver of Security, the
Protector, the Mighty, the Overpowering, the Great in Majesty, the Creator,
the Maker, the Fashioner, the Forgiver, the Dominant, the Bestower, the
Provider, the Decider, the Knower, the Withholder, the Plentiful Giver, the
Abaser, the Exalter, the Honorer, the Humiliator, the Hearer, the Seer, the
Judge, the Just, the Gracious, the Informed, the Clement, the Incomparably
Great, the Forgiving, the Rewarder, the Most High, the Most Great, the
Preserver, the Sustainer, the Reckoner, the Majestic, the Generous, the
Watcher, the Answerer, the Liberal, the Wise, the Loving, the Glorious, the
Raiser, the Witness, the Real, the Trustee, the Strong, the Firm, the
Patron, the Praiseworthy, the All-Knowing, the Originator, the Restorer to
Life, the Giver of Life, the Giver of Death, the Living, the Eternal, the
Self-sufficient, the Grand, the One, the Single, He to Whom men repair, the
Powerful, the Prevailing, the Advancer, the Delayer, the First, the Last,
the Outward, the Inward, the Governor, the Sublime, the Amply Beneficent,
the Accepter of Repentance, the Avenger, the Pardoner, the Kindly, the Ruler
of the Kingdom, the Lord of Majesty and Splendor, the Equitable, the
Gatherer, the Independent, the Enricher, the Depriver, the Harmer, the
Benefactor, the Light, the Guide, the First Cause, the Enduring, the
Inheritor, the Director, the Patient."
Here is an excerpt from An Introduction to the Science of Hadeeth by
Dr Suhaib Hasan that explains some of the history of this tradition in more
detail:
The following is the sahih [authentic, reliable] hadith of al- Bukhari,
Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ibn 'Asakir:
"Verily, Allah has Ninety-Nine Names which if a person safeguards them,
he will enter the Garden."
In some narrations of this hadith found in al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim
and others, the names are listed at the end; however, at least three
different listings are given, e.g. one list being, "He is Allah, besides
whom there is no other deity, the Merciful, the Compassionate, ..., the
Forbearing" while another is "Allah, the Unique, the Absolute, ..., the One
who has nothing like unto Him."
It is agreed that these latter narrations are da'if [weak, unreliable], and
this is why al-Bukhari and Muslim did not include them in their Sahihs.
Al-Tirmidhi says in his Sunan,
"This (version of the) hadith is gharib [unusual, scarce]; it has been
narrated from various routes on the authority of Abu Hurairah, but we do not
know of the mention of the Names in the numerous narrations, except this
one."
Ibn Taimiyyah says,
"Al-Walid (one of the narrators of the hadith) related the Names from
(the saying of) one of his Syrian teachers ... specific mention of the Names
is not from the words of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace), by the agreement of those familiar with Hadith."
Ibn Kathir says in his Tafsir, under verse 180 of Surah al- A'raf, that
these narrations are mudraj [interpolated]. Ibn Hajar takes a similar view
in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari.
Various scholars, including Ja'far al- Sadiq, Sufyan b. 'Uyainah, Ibn
Hazm, al-Qurtubi, Ibn Hajar and Salih b. 'Uthaimin, have given different lists of 99 Names
based on their own study of
the Qur'an and Sunnah.
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