any distinguishing characteristic. Likewise, His names the Most High, the Magnificent, and the Great indicate that He is above the world and that He is magnificent and great. This necessarily entails that He is separate from the world, spatially distinct from it, with His own boundary and reality. But a designation such as “spatially distinct,” taken on its own, indicates only the shared meaning; it does not indicate that for which the Lord is praised and by which He is distinguished from others.

Some scholars have said that, with such paired names as the Abaser and the Exalter, the Bestower of Honour and the Humiliator, the Giver and the Withholder, and the Harmer and the Benefactor, neither name should be mentioned or invoked alone—such as the Harmer, the Benefactor, or the Abaser. When both names are mentioned together, they indicate the all-encompassing nature of His power and governance, and that there is no Lord besides Him. The universality of His creation and command constitutes praise of Him and draws attention to the fact that any particular harm or withholding He brings about involves wisdom and mercy overall. When only one of the two names is mentioned, this praise is absent.

To Allah belong the most beautiful names; no evil description ever applies to Him. Likewise, designations whose general, unrestricted meanings encompass both what is praiseworthy and what is blameworthy are not found among Allah’s most beautiful names