The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْمَا مِائَةً إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا مَنْ أَحْصَاهَا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
"Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever أحصاها will go to Paradise." [Bukhari]
الإحصاء means to know the Names, their meaning, worship Allah by them (by acting upon them and invoking Allah by them), and memorize them.
Condition #1 - توقيفية
The sources of the Names of Allah are the Quran and Sunnah.
There are Names such as الواجد، الماجد، الصبور، المعز، المذل which are neither found in the Qur'an nor in the Authentic Sunnah. They are mentioned in a weak Hadith by At-Tirmithi, where the subnarrater enumerated these names after narrating the the aforementioned Hadith. People think that these are Names of Allah, not knowing that this is the Ijtihad of the subnarrator, not the statement of the Prophet ﷺ.
Allah's Names should have to be mentioned clearly in the Qur'an, we should not derive them.
Condition #2 - علمية الإسم
E.g. In Surah Al-Furqan [25:58]:
"And put your trust (O Muhammad) in the Ever Living One Who dies not, and glorify His Praises, and Sufficient is He as the All-Knower of the sins of His slaves;"
E.g. "الأعلى"
E.g. "يا حي يا قيوم"
E.g. "سلام قول من ربٍ رحيم"
* Make sure the name refers to Allah. In Surah At-Tawbah [9:128]:
"Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful."
" روؤف رحيم"
These Names refer to Prophet ﷺ.
Condition #3 - الاطلاق
E.g. "الله المستعان على ما تصفون"
المستعان is restricted to "على ما تصفون"
There is a Hadith by Othman in رضي الله عنه in which he mentioned this Name unrestrictedly. Therefore, it is considered one of the 99 Names of Allah.
The restricted Names are not considered one of the 99 Names of Allah, because when it is restricted to certain matters you are putting bounds to its beauty, and Allah's Names are الحسنى (They have reached the peak of beauty and perfection).
In Surah At-Tawbah [9:2]:
"So travel freely for four months (as you will) throughout the land, but know that you cannot escape (from the Punishment of) Allah, and Allah will disgrace the disbelievers."
"الله"
This is an unrestricted Name.
"والله مخزى الكافرين"
مخزي is a Name of Allah, but it is limited to the disbelievers. Allah only مخزي الكافرين (disgraces the disbelievers).
In Surah Al-An'am [6:95]:
"Verily! It is Allah Who causes the seed-grain and the fruit-stone (like date-stone, etc.) to split and sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead, and it is He Who brings forth the dead from the living. Such is Allah, then how are you deluded away from the truth?"
"إن الله فالق الحب و النوى"
This is a restricted Name. We cannot say that one of the Names of Allah is الفالق, He is فالق الحب و النوى
E.g. "والله متم نوره"
We cannot say that the Name of Allah is المتم. Allah is the Completer of His light.
People who have a list of the Names of Allah, take verbs such as "يعز" and said معز is a Name of Allah, or "يذل' and say Allah is "مذل". We do not make up Names for Allah, it should be mentioned clearly in the Qur'an.
E.g. They take the text "يبدئ و يعيد" and say that Allah is مبدئ and معيد.
Condition #4 - It should imply an Attribute
E.g. الرحمن الرحيم has the attribute of رحمة (Mercy)
العليم has the attribute of العلم (Knowledge)
Condition #5- The Attribute should have reached the peak of perfection and beauty
There should be no deficiency in it at all.
E.g. We cannot call Allah المتكلم.
كلام could be good or bad, thus it cannot be a Name of Allah, because it had a deficient attribute.
الرحمة is always good.
E.g. Allah says, "والله خيرا الماكرين" (And Allah is the best of Plotters)
Can I call Allah الماكر?
مكر can be bad; when you plot against people, and can be good - when Allah plots back at the plots of the hypocrites and disbelievers.
E.g. مستهزى
Allah يستهزء with the hypocrites. Mocking with regards to humans is not good. Since this word can take both good and bad, we cannot call Allah by it.
How do I know if an Attribute is an Attribute of Allah?
We have to look at to إضافة إلى الله (adding something to Allah). There are two kinds:
1) إضافة مخلوق إلى خالقه (Adding the creation to its Creator)
E.g. بيت الله, عبد الله، ناقة الله, روح الله
2) إضافة صفة إلى الخالق (Adding an Attribute to the Creator)
E.g. سمع الله، كلام الله، يد الله، وجه الله
There were two sects that deviated regarding the attributes of Allah:
1) A sect who said that all the additions in the Qur'an are a صفة to the خالق, like the Sufis. This is how they believe in incarnation; that Allah enters the human, or the house, etc.
2) The Mu'tazilah said that every addition is a إضافة إلى مخلوق. The Speech of Allah, the Hand of Allah, are all created. This was the Fitnah that occurred with Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal.
How do I know if an action is an Action of Allah?
Actions of Allah come:
-> In the form of a verb.
-> In the context of Allah
-> The verb could be:
- فعل مثبت لله (Affirmed Verb)
- فعل منفي لله (Negated Verb)
Examples of Negated Verbs
-> In Surah Al-Ikhlas [112:3]:
"He begets not, nor was He begotten"
-> In Surah Yunus [10:44]:
"Truly! Allah wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong themselves."
"لا يظلم"
Allah negated الظلم from Himself; He is السلام - He never oppresses or wrongs His creation.
-> In Verse 61:
"Whatever you (O Muhammad) may be doing, and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Quran, - and whatever deed you (mankind) may be doing (good or evil), We are Witness thereof, when you are doing it. And nothing is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom (or small ant) on the earth or in the heaven. Not what is less than that or what is greater than that but is (written) in a Clear Record."
When you praise Allah you have to negate the deficient attribute and affirm what is perfect to Him.
E.g. Allah is Perfect in His Knowledge; nothing escapes His Knowledge
E.g. Allah is Just; He does not oppress any of His Creation
One of Allah's Names is السلام; He is free of all deficiencies. We have to look through the Qur'an for deficiencies and negate them from Allah. Every attribute of Allah is Perfect.
The Shaytan may whisper and say you are always going through calamities, and others are not. Remember that Allah does not wrong or oppress mankind in the least. If this Aqeedah is strong in your heart you will be able to repel the whispers of the Shaytan.
Allah negated oppression, forgetfulness, that He does not need a son, etc from Hinself. We need to affirm these Aqeedahs to ourselves, from what we read in the Qur'an.
Examples of Affirmed Verbs
-> In Surah Ad-Duha [93:5-8]:
"And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased."
"يؤطيك" - Allah Gives
The pronoun ك refers to the Prophet ﷺ.
"Did He not find you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) an orphan and gave you a refuge?"
"يجدك"
In reference to Allah, it means that Allah knows. Allah knew that the Prophet ﷺ was an orphan.
"فآوى"
Giving shelter is an action of Allah.
"And He found you unaware (of the Quran, its legal laws, and Prophethood, etc.) and guided you?"
"ووجدك" - Allah knows about your state. He found you unaware; without knowledge
"فهدى" - Allah guided you.
"And He found you poor, and made you rich (selfsufficient with selfcontentment, etc.)?"
"ووجدك"
"فأغنى" - Allah enriched you
Fruits of Knowing the Actions of Allah
a) Believing that these actions are actions of Allah.
b) When you talk about Allah, you will say, "Allah gave us (الله يعطينا), Allah guided us (الله يهدينا)"
You will use these words when you praise and talk about Allah. Make sure you use the same verbs and actions which Allah affirmed to Himself in the Quran.
c) When you make Dua, you will ask Allah with His actions. Make sure not to ask Allah with actions He did not affirm to Himself.
"يا الله أعطني"
"يا الله أغنني"
E.g. In the Hadith Qudsi:
When you need clothes, know that Allah is the One who clothes you. It is not your money or your going to buy from the shop. Allah is the One guiding you, feeding you, clothing you, so ask Allah. We have to learn manners with Allah.
E.g. You want to go to the shop to buy clothes for your children. How many people raise their hands and ask Allah to clothe them and their children before going?
The First 6 Verses of Surah Al-Hadid (Chapter 57)
"Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the All-Mighty, All-Wise."
Names of Allah: لله، العزيز، الحكيم
These are from the 99 Names of Allah.
"His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, It is He Who gives life and causes death; and He is Able to do all things."
Actions of Allah: يحي، يميت
Names of Allah: قدير
"على كل شيء قدير" or "بكل شيء عليم" are the strongest expressions which indicate the generality of the Attribute or Name of Allah; so it is not restricted.
"He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing."
Names of Allah: الأول، و الأخر، و الظاهر، و الباطن، عليم
"He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and then Istawa (rose over) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). He knows what goes into the earth and what comes forth from it, what descends from the heaven and what ascends thereto. And He is with you (by His Knowledge) wheresoever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer of what you do."
Names of Allah: "والله بما تعملون بصير"
The Name البصير is restricted to "بما تعملون". But because بصير has been mentioned in unrestricted form in other verses, it is one of the 99 Names of Allah.
Actions of Allah: خلق، استوى، يعلم
Attributes of Allah: "و هو معكم"
This is صفة معية; Allah is with you.
"His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And to Allah return all the matters (for decision)"
"He merges night into day (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the night is added into the hours of the day), and merges day into night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the day is added into the hours of the night), and He has full knowledge of whatsoever is in the breasts."
Actions of Allah: "يولج"
Name of Allah: "عليم" which is restricted to "بذات الصدور"
Comments
Post a Comment