His words: “Say: Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever name you call upon Him by, to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” 1; His words: “Allah—there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” 2; and His words: “He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” 3.

These, then, are the four passages in the Quran in which Allah’s names are described by this magnificent quality. Linguistically, al-husnā (the most beautiful) is the plural form of ahsan (most beautiful), not hasan (beautiful). They are therefore the most beautiful, perfect, and magnificent of names. Allah says: “To Allah belongs the highest description.” 4 That is, supreme perfection belongs to Him—glory be to Him—in His essence, names, and attributes. Hence, His names are the most beautiful of names.

Allah’s names are the Most Beautiful precisely because they signify magnificent attributes of perfection belonging to Him. Had they signified no attribute and been mere proper names, they would not have been the Most Beautiful. Likewise, had they signified an attribute that was not an attribute of perfection, they would not have been the Most Beautiful. And had they signified an attribute that was not one of perfection, but rather either a deficiency or a quality that could be either praiseworthy or blameworthy, they would not have been the Most Beautiful. All of Allah’s names therefore signify the Lord’s attributes of perfection and qualities of majesty. Each name signifies a meaning among His attributes distinct from that signified by another name.5 Thus, for example, the Most Merciful signifies the attribute of mercy, the Almighty signifies the attribute of might, and the Creator signifies