for He is the One who brought them into existence, sustains them, and equips them with everything needed for their survival, well-being, and continued existence. He has no need of them in any respect, while they need Him in every respect. The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting Sustainer, possesses every attribute of perfection. He does1 whatever He wills; whenever He wills something, He says to it, “Be,” and it is. All attributes of action, as well as glory, greatness, and majesty, fall under His name, the Self-Subsisting Sustainer. All attributes of perfection ultimately fall under these two noble names. Thus, the hadith2 states that Allah’s greatest name—by which, when He is invoked, He answers, and when He is asked, He gives—is:
“Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting Sustainer.” 3
This is because these two names encompass every perfection. The attributes of His essence fall under the Ever-Living, while the meanings of His actions fall under the Self-Subsisting Sustainer.”4
27 - The Modest: (The Modest, the Concealer5, the Oft-Concealing6)
He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—said: “This is taken from the words of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): ‘Allah is modest and feels shy before
(1) Al-Haqq al-Wādih al-Mubīn, pp. 87–88.
(2) Reported by Abū Dāwūd (2:168), Book of Prayer, chapter on supplication; and al-Tirmidhī (5:517), Book of Supplications, who stated: “A hasan sahīh (good and authentic) hadith.” Also reported by Ibn Mājah (2:1267), Book of Supplication, chapter on Allah’s greatest name, from Asmā’ bint Yazīd. Al-Albānī graded it hasan (good). See Sahīh Abī Dāwūd (1:280), Book of Prayer, chapter on supplication. Its chain of transmission includes Shahr ibn Hawshab, whom several hadith critics have criticized.
(3) Āl ‘Imrān 3:21.
(4) Tawdīh al-Kāfiya al-Shāfiya, p. 29.
(5) The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is forbearing, modest, and concealing. He loves modesty and concealment, so when any of you bathes, let him cover himself.”
Reported by Abū Dāwūd (4:302), Book of Bathhouses, chapter on the prohibition of undressing; al-Nasā’ī in his Sunan (1:200), Book of Ritual Bathing and Dry Ablution, chapter on covering oneself when bathing; Ahmad in al-Musnad (4:224); and al-Bayhaqī in his Sunan (1:198), Book of Purification, chapter on covering oneself when bathing in the presence of others, from Ya‘lā ibn Umayya (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Albānī graded it authentic in Irwā’ al-Ghalīl (7:367).
(6) The shaykh—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—listed al-Sattār (the Oft-Concealing) among Allah’s names. However, no evidence establishes it as a name of Allah, contrary to the widespread belief among many people.