The 99 Names of Allah — Al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā
Allah has described Himself by ninety-nine beautiful names, each a window into who He is. To know them is to know your Lord, and to love Him.
Allah has told us who He is.
He did not leave us to guess at the nature of our Creator, to invent a god in our own image, or to imagine Him through philosophy alone. He described Himself, in His own words, through names of perfect beauty. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Whoever embraces them (aḥsāhā) will enter Paradise."
— Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim
These are Al-Asmāʾ al-Ḥusnā, the Most Beautiful Names. Each one is a window into who Allah is. To learn them is not to memorize a list; it is to come to know your Lord, and to know Him is to love Him, to trust Him, and to worship Him as He deserves.
What the names are, and are not
The names of Allah are not labels invented by people. They are how Allah described Himself in the Quran and how the Prophet ﷺ described Him. We affirm them as they came, without distorting their meaning, without denying them, without asking "how," and without comparing Allah to His creation.
"The most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them."
— Quran 7:180
Each name carries a meaning that is perfect and absolute. When we say Allah is Ar-Raḥīm (the Most Merciful), His mercy is not like a human's mercy, limited, inconsistent, mixed with weakness. It is mercy in its complete, unbounded, flawless form. This is true of every name: Allah possesses each quality in a way that belongs to Him alone, without limit and without any deficiency.
What it means to "embrace" them (aḥsāhā)
The Prophet ﷺ said whoever aḥsāhā the names will enter Paradise. Scholars explained that this word carries layers of meaning:
- To learn them — to know the names and their meanings.
- To understand them — to reflect on what each one tells us about Allah.
- To act by them — to let them change how you live. If you truly know Allah is Ar-Razzāq (the Provider), you do not despair over provision. If you know He is Al-Ghafūr (the Forgiving), you never lose hope in His forgiveness. If you know He is Al-Baṣīr (the All-Seeing), you are careful about what you do in private.
- To call upon Him by them — to use the fitting name in your du'a. Ask the Provider for provision, the Guide for guidance, the Healer for healing.
To embrace the names is to let them reshape your heart. That is why the reward is so great.
How to use this page
Do not try to memorize all ninety-nine at once. Take a few at a time. Sit with their meanings. Notice which ones your heart needs most right now, the one who is anxious needs As-Salām (the Source of Peace); the one who has sinned needs At-Tawwāb (the Acceptor of Repentance); the one who feels alone needs Al-Walī (the Protecting Friend). Let the names meet you where you are.
(A note on the list: the names below are the widely known compilation. Scholars have noted that the specific enumeration of exactly which ninety-nine was not given in a single authenticated list by the Prophet ﷺ himself; the names of Allah are affirmed wherever they appear in the Quran and authentic Sunnah. This traditional list has been used and loved by Muslims for centuries as a means of learning and remembrance.)
The Names
1. Ar-Raḥmān — The Most Compassionate. The One whose mercy encompasses all of creation.
2. Ar-Raḥīm — The Most Merciful. The One whose special mercy is for the believers.
3. Al-Malik — The King, the Sovereign. The absolute owner and ruler of all.
4. Al-Quddūs — The Most Holy. Pure and free of every flaw and imperfection.
5. As-Salām — The Source of Peace. The One free of all defect, from whom all peace flows.
6. Al-Muʾmin — The Granter of Security. The One who gives faith and safety.
7. Al-Muhaymin — The Guardian, the Overseer. The One who watches over and protects all.
8. Al-ʿAzīz — The Almighty. The strong and mighty, whom none can overcome.
9. Al-Jabbār — The Compeller. The One who restores and whose will prevails over all.
10. Al-Mutakabbir — The Supreme in Greatness. The One rightfully proud of His majesty.
11. Al-Khāliq — The Creator. The One who brings all things into being from nothing.
12. Al-Bāriʾ — The Originator. The One who fashions creation free of fault.
13. Al-Muṣawwir — The Fashioner of Forms. The One who shapes each thing as He wills.
14. Al-Ghaffār — The Ever-Forgiving. The One who forgives again and again.
15. Al-Qahhār — The Subduer. The One who dominates all things utterly.
16. Al-Wahhāb — The Bestower. The One who gives freely, without expecting return.
17. Ar-Razzāq — The Provider. The One who sustains every living thing.
18. Al-Fattāḥ — The Opener, the Judge. The One who opens what is closed and judges with truth.
19. Al-ʿAlīm — The All-Knowing. The One who knows all things, seen and unseen.
20. Al-Qābiḍ — The Withholder. The One who restrains provision by His wisdom.
21. Al-Bāsiṭ — The Extender. The One who expands provision by His generosity.
22. Al-Khāfiḍ — The Abaser. The One who lowers the arrogant.
23. Ar-Rāfiʿ — The Exalter. The One who raises whom He wills.
24. Al-Muʿizz — The Giver of Honor. The One who grants dignity.
25. Al-Mudhill — The Giver of Dishonor. The One who humbles whom He wills.
26. As-Samīʿ — The All-Hearing. The One who hears every sound and every whisper.
27. Al-Baṣīr — The All-Seeing. The One who sees all, however hidden.
28. Al-Ḥakam — The Judge. The One who settles all matters with justice.
29. Al-ʿAdl — The Utterly Just. The One in whom there is no injustice at all.
30. Al-Laṭīf — The Subtle, the Gentle. The One kind in ways beyond our perception.
31. Al-Khabīr — The All-Aware. The One aware of the innermost reality of things.
32. Al-Ḥalīm — The Forbearing. The One who does not hasten to punish.
33. Al-ʿAẓīm — The Magnificent. The One of immense and boundless greatness.
34. Al-Ghafūr — The Much-Forgiving. The One whose forgiveness is vast.
35. Ash-Shakūr — The Appreciative. The One who rewards even small good abundantly.
36. Al-ʿAlī — The Most High. The One exalted above all creation.
37. Al-Kabīr — The Most Great. The One greater than all in every way.
38. Al-Ḥafīẓ — The Preserver. The One who guards and protects all things.
39. Al-Muqīt — The Sustainer. The One who nourishes and maintains all.
40. Al-Ḥasīb — The Reckoner. The One sufficient, who takes all to account.
41. Al-Jalīl — The Majestic. The One of sublime majesty and honor.
42. Al-Karīm — The Most Generous. The One abundant in giving and noble in nature.
43. Ar-Raqīb — The Watchful. The One ever-observant over His creation.
44. Al-Mujīb — The Responsive. The One who answers the call of those who call.
45. Al-Wāsiʿ — The All-Encompassing. The One vast in mercy, knowledge, and giving.
46. Al-Ḥakīm — The All-Wise. The One perfect in wisdom in all He does.
47. Al-Wadūd — The Most Loving. The One who loves His righteous servants and is worthy of all love.
48. Al-Majīd — The Most Glorious. The One of perfect glory and nobility.
49. Al-Bāʿith — The Resurrector. The One who raises the dead to life.
50. Ash-Shahīd — The Witness. The One present to and witnessing all things.
51. Al-Ḥaqq — The Truth. The One whose being and reality are absolute.
52. Al-Wakīl — The Trustee. The One who may be relied upon for all affairs.
53. Al-Qawiyy — The Most Strong. The One of complete and inexhaustible strength.
54. Al-Matīn — The Firm. The One of unshakeable, enduring power.
55. Al-Walī — The Protecting Friend. The One who supports and befriends the believers.
56. Al-Ḥamīd — The Praiseworthy. The One worthy of all praise.
57. Al-Muḥṣī — The Enumerator. The One who has counted and knows all things by number.
58. Al-Mubdiʾ — The Originator. The One who begins creation.
59. Al-Muʿīd — The Restorer. The One who brings creation back after its end.
60. Al-Muḥyī — The Giver of Life. The One who grants life.
61. Al-Mumīt — The Bringer of Death. The One who causes death at its appointed time.
62. Al-Ḥayy — The Ever-Living. The One who lives eternally, without beginning or end.
63. Al-Qayyūm — The Self-Sustaining. The One who needs nothing, and by whom all things are sustained.
64. Al-Wājid — The Finder, the Perceiver. The One who lacks nothing and finds whatever He wills.
65. Al-Mājid — The Noble. The One abundant in glory and generosity.
66. Al-Wāḥid — The One. The One single in His essence, without partner.
67. Al-Aḥad — The Unique, the Indivisible. The One utterly singular, unlike anything.
68. Aṣ-Ṣamad — The Eternal Refuge. The One upon whom all depend, who depends on none.
69. Al-Qādir — The Capable. The One with full power over all things.
70. Al-Muqtadir — The Powerful. The One whose power is complete and prevailing.
71. Al-Muqaddim — The Expediter. The One who advances whom and what He wills.
72. Al-Muʾakhkhir — The Delayer. The One who postpones by His wisdom.
73. Al-Awwal — The First. The One before whom there was nothing.
74. Al-Ākhir — The Last. The One after whom there will be nothing.
75. Aẓ-Ẓāhir — The Manifest. The One evident above all, by His signs.
76. Al-Bāṭin — The Hidden. The One nearer than all, beyond full perception.
77. Al-Wālī — The Governor. The One who owns and manages all affairs.
78. Al-Mutaʿālī — The Most Exalted. The One high above every limitation.
79. Al-Barr — The Source of Goodness. The One kind and generous to His creation.
80. At-Tawwāb — The Acceptor of Repentance. The One who turns to those who turn to Him.
81. Al-Muntaqim — The Avenger. The One who justly requites the persistent wrongdoer.
82. Al-ʿAfuww — The Pardoner. The One who erases sins completely.
83. Ar-Raʾūf — The Most Kind. The One of deep compassion and gentleness.
84. Mālik al-Mulk — The Owner of All Sovereignty. The One who gives and takes dominion as He wills.
85. Dhū al-Jalāl wa al-Ikrām — The Lord of Majesty and Honor. The One deserving of reverence and generous in bestowing honor.
86. Al-Muqsiṭ — The Equitable. The One who acts with perfect fairness.
87. Al-Jāmiʿ — The Gatherer. The One who will gather all creation on the Day of Judgment.
88. Al-Ghaniyy — The Self-Sufficient. The One rich beyond need of anything.
89. Al-Mughnī — The Enricher. The One who grants sufficiency to whom He wills.
90. Al-Māniʿ — The Withholder. The One who withholds by His wisdom.
91. Aḍ-Ḍārr — The Distresser. The One who allows harm by His decree.
92. An-Nāfiʿ — The Benefiter. The One who brings all benefit.
93. An-Nūr — The Light. The One who is the light of the heavens and the earth, and who guides.
94. Al-Hādī — The Guide. The One who guides His servants to the truth.
95. Al-Badīʿ — The Incomparable Originator. The One who creates without precedent.
96. Al-Bāqī — The Everlasting. The One who remains after all else perishes.
97. Al-Wārith — The Inheritor. The One who remains when all owners have passed.
98. Ar-Rashīd — The Guide to the Right Path. The One who directs all things with wisdom.
99. Aṣ-Ṣabūr — The Most Patient. The One who does not hasten, whose patience is without limit.
Living with the names
Knowing the names is only the beginning. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever embraces them enters Paradise, and embracing them means letting them live in you.
When provision is tight, remember Ar-Razzāq, the Provider. When you have wronged yourself with sin, run to Al-Ghafūr and At-Tawwāb, the Forgiving and the Acceptor of Repentance. When you feel unseen in your struggles, remember Ash-Shahīd and Al-Baṣīr, the Witness and the All-Seeing, who miss nothing. When you are afraid, hold to Al-Ḥafīẓ and Al-Wakīl, the Preserver and the Trustee. When you feel alone, He is Al-Walī, the Protecting Friend, closer to you than your own jugular vein.
Call on Him by these names. This is what the Quran commands: "call on Him by them." Weave them into your du'a. Ask the Guide to guide you, the Healer to heal you, the Opener to open your affairs. This is worship, and it is intimacy with your Lord.
To know these names is to know that whatever you face, there is a name of Allah that meets it. He is enough. And the more you know Him, the more your heart will rest in Him.
"And to Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them."
— Quran 7:180
Further study: There is no substitute for returning directly to the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. The names of Allah appear throughout the Quran, and reflecting on them in their Quranic context is the richest way to learn them. Among the classical scholars, Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Kathir wrote extensively on the meanings of Allah's names and attributes, affirming them as they came in the Quran and Sunnah without distortion or denial. We will be publishing dedicated reflections on individual names, in shā' Allāh.