Beautiful Names Of Allah
﴿ وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَآءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُواْ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ
سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴾
And for Allah f are the most beautiful Names, so invoke Him by them.
And leave those who deviate concerning His Names; they will
be recompensed for what they used to do. [7:180]
Allah f is the embodiment of all the praiseworthy traits and attributes. In a Ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah g, the Prophet g stated,
« إِنَّ لِلهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْمًا مِائَةً إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا، مَنْ أَحْصَاهَا دَخَلَ الجَنَّةَ »
Allah f has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one; and
he who memorised them all by heart will enter Paradise. [1]
Invoke Allah f with these names, as mentioned in the verse. If we memorise His beautiful names and use them when supplicating to Him, He is certain to listen to us.
Allah Himself states that by invoking Him for His assistance, His support will be present for the person afflicted.
A sad and yet common fact is that when Allah f helps us and fulfils our demands and needs, we forget Him. This is mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān. Our behaviour reflects that we are unappreciative of Allah f.
If a person is truly grateful for a favour done to him, morally, he should be eternally grateful and continue showing his gratitude through his actions. It shouldn’t be the case that we remember Allah f until He assists us, and once we are given what we need, we forget Him and continue our disobedient life.
This is not only selfish but also a sign of our ingratitude and inconsideration.
Moreover, we only supplicate at the time of need – this shouldn’t be the case. We may well be under the impression that we possess everything, but Allah f knows best in accordance with an individual’s needs and necessities. Therefore, we should always supplicate to Allah f with His beautiful and glorious names.
We find in the teachings of the Prophet g that if we turn to Allah f when things are easy, then in hard times Allah f will turn towards us and help us.
The Prophet g states:
« تعَرَّفْ إلَى اللهِ فِي الرَّخَاءِ يَعْرِفُك فِي الشِّدَّة »
Recognise and acknowledge Allah f in times of ease and prosperity,
and He will remember you in times of adversity. [2]
Furthermore:
عن ابن عمر ، قال: كنا نعدّ لرسول الله ﷺ في المجلس الواحد مِائة مرة :
« رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ، وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ »
Ibn ‘Umar h said: We counted Allah’s Messenger g
saying a hundred times during one single sitting:
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ، وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
(My Lord Forgive me and pardon me. Indeed, You are the
Oft-Returning with compassion and Ever Merciful. [3]
The Prophet g was free from sins but he would still supplicate; this narration should be viewed as an inspirational incentive, one which we should pursue.
May Allah f give us the ability to invoke Him continuously with His most beautiful names and attributes. Āmīn.
[1] Bukhārī, 2736.
[2] Al-Nawawī, Al-Arba‘īn Al-Nawawiyyah, p. 72.
[3] Abū Dāwūd, 1518.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
