for putting into practice the words of Allah: “To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them.” 1 Calling upon Allah by His names, as commanded in this verse, can only be properly realized when the supplicant knows the meanings of the names by which he calls upon Allah. If he does not know their meanings, he will invoke a name in an inappropriate context, such as concluding a plea for mercy with a name denoting punishment, or vice versa. The result will be discordant and incoherent speech. Anyone who reflects upon the supplications found in the Quran or in the Sunnah of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—will find that whenever one of them concludes with one of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names, that Name is invariably connected and suited to what is being sought. Examples include His words: “Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” 2 And His words: “Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of those who show mercy.” 3 And His words: “Our Lord, judge between us and our people in truth, for You are the best of judges.” 4 The same applies to other such verses.

Calling upon Allah by His names encompasses supplication by request, supplication by praise, and supplication through worship. Explaining this, Ibn al-Qayyim—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “He—Glorified is He—calls His servants to know Him by His names and attributes, to praise Him by them, and to take their due share of the worship that they entail. He—Glorified is He—loves what His names and attributes entail. He is All-Knowing and loves every knowledgeable person; Generous and loves every generous person; One and loves what is odd; Beautiful and loves beauty; Pardoning and loves pardon and those who pardon; Modest and loves modesty and those who possess it; the Bestower of Good and loves