The Obligation to Revere the Divine Names

Allah the Exalted says, “To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them and leave those who distort His Names; they shall be repaid for what they used to do.” 2 He also says, “Allah—there is no deity except Him. His are the Most Beautiful Names.” 3

Here, Allah informs us that His Names are the most excellent—perfect in beauty and unsurpassed—for they point to attributes of absolute perfection and majestic glory. They are therefore the finest and most complete of names. Moreover, the Divine Names are tawqīfī—they may only be used as He has named Himself or as His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has named Him; inventing new names for God is impermissible.

His words, “so call upon Him by them,” mean: ask Him and seek nearness to Him through them, as when one says, “O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me; You are indeed the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.”

His Names, Glorified be He, are many—beyond counting or limiting to any fixed number. Among them are names He has kept exclusively in His own knowledge, unknown to any brought-near angel or commissioned prophet, as is affirmed in the authentic hadith: “I ask You by every Name that is Yours: by which You have named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept exclusively in the knowledge of the unseen with You.”

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Thus he divided the Divine Names into three categories: a category He named …”