Thus, when “remembrance of Allah” is used in the second sense, it means the words by which He is remembered, such as a servant’s saying: “Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Allah is the Greatest.” When used in the first sense, it means what He Himself mentions—that is, His speech. This is what is meant in His words:

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance”

For He says before this:

“Then if guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer.”

His guidance is the remembrance He has revealed. After this, He says:

“He will say, ‘My Lord, why have You raised me blind when I used to see?’”

“He will say, ‘Thus did Our signs come to you, but you forgot them.’”

The point is to determine whether “remembrance” means His revealed speech or the servant’s remembrance of Him. Whether “My remembrance” is explained as “My Book,” “My speech,” “My guidance,” or something similar, the referent is the same.

If, however, the questioner wishes to know the particular attribute conveyed by a name, something more is needed than merely identifying its referent. Someone might, for example, ask about al-Quddūs, al-Salām, and al-Mu’min while already knowing that these names refer to Allah. What he wishes to understand, however, is what it means for Him to be Quddūs, Salām, Mu’min, and so forth.

Once this is understood, the early generations often referred to the same entity using an expression that identifies it, even though that expression conveys an attribute not conveyed by another name. This is like someone saying that Ahmad is al-Hāshir, al-Māhī, and al-‘Āqib, and that al-Quddūs is the All-Forgiving