The 99 Names of Allah (Asma ul Husna): Meanings and Where They Appear in the Quran

Asma ul Husna, more precisely al-asma al-husna, means 'the most beautiful names', which is how the Quran itself describes the names of Allah. Quran 7:180 says that the fairest names belong to Allah and tells believers to 'invoke Him by them', and Quran 17:110, 20:8 and 59:24 each repeat that His are the most beautiful names.

Asma is the plural of ism, a name, and husna describes what is best and most beautiful; an IslamQA answer explains that each name carries a quality of perfection. Quran 59:22-24 shows this in practice, giving more than a dozen of His names in quick succession.

Scholars also stress that the names come from revelation. A separate IslamQA answer explains that Allah is called only by names found in the Quran and authentic Sunnah, which is one reason scholars discuss which entries in a list are names.

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The Prophet said that Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one, and that whoever enumerates or preserves them will enter Paradise. Abu Hurairah's report is in Sahih al-Bukhari 2736 and 7392 and in Sahih Muslim 2677a and 2677b, and some narrations add that Allah is single and loves what is odd in number.

The key word is ahsaha, usually translated as enumerates or counts. At the end of 7392 al-Bukhari explains the related word ahsaynahu as hafiznahu, 'we preserved it', and other narrations use the verb for preserving directly: Sahih Muslim 2677a reads hafizaha, and Sahih al-Bukhari 6410 reads la yahfazuha ahadun, 'no one preserves them' except that he enters Paradise. The English on Sunnah.com renders 6410 interpretively as believing in their meanings and acting accordingly.

Scholars explain this preserving as more than reciting a list. An IslamQA answer describes it as memorising the names, understanding them, acting on what they imply and calling on Allah by them: knowing that He is Ar-Razzaq, the Provider, means not seeking provision from anyone else.

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The commonly memorised list comes from Jami at-Tirmidhi 3507, where the names follow the same hadith of Abu Hurairah; Sunnah.com displays its grade as Da'if (Darussalam). At-Tirmidhi called it gharib, known only through Safwan ibn Salih, and said he knew of no other sound chain of this hadith that mentions the names.

Many scholars treat the enumeration as a narrator's work rather than the Prophet's words. An IslamQA answer quotes Ibn Hajar, citing Ibn al-Arabi, that the list is more likely a composition of some narrators, and al-San'ani's statement that scholars agree it was drawn up by some reporters. Sunan Ibn Majah 3861, also Da'if (Darussalam), gives a different list that includes Ar-Rabb, Al-Qarib and Al-Ahad.

This does not make the names doubtful: most are found in the Quran, as the table shows, and the hadith of the ninety-nine names in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is authentic. Scholars do differ over a few entries; IslamQA notes that some counted Al-Adl, the Just, as a name while others, including Ibn Uthaymin, did not, as no authentic text names Him by it.

Nor is the list complete. An Askimam answer approved by Mufti Ebrahim Desai notes further names found in the Quran and hadith, such as Al-Mawla, Al-Muhit and Al-Mannan. In the Tirmidhi wording, Allah opens the list and ninety-eight names follow, which is how the table reaches ninety-nine.

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The table gives all ninety-nine names in the order of Jami at-Tirmidhi 3507, each with a short English meaning and one example of where it appears in the Quran. The list opens with the name Allah, and its next thirteen names, from Ar-Rahman to Al-Musawwir, follow the same order as Quran 59:22-24.

Many names appear in the Quran without 'al-', as in 'Allah is Forgiving, Merciful', and the table counts these as the name itself. 'As a verb' means the Quran describes Allah doing the action, such as raising or giving life, without the noun; 'related word' means a closely connected word from the same root; and 'plural of majesty' means Allah speaks of Himself as 'We'.

All 95 Quran references were checked against the Arabic of the verified Tanzil text this site uses: 73 show the name, 15 a verb and 7 a related word, and four names are not in the Quran as names. Meanings were compared with Sunnah.com's English, al-Sa'di's commentary and Pickthall's translation; Al-Majid and Al-Maajid, and Al-Wali and Al-Waali, are spelt differently to keep them apart.

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You call on Allah by His names by addressing Him with a name that suits what you are asking for, as Quran 7:180 instructs: 'invoke Him by them'. An IslamQA answer quoting Ibn Uthaymin gives the example of saying 'Ya Ghafur, forgive me' when asking for forgiveness, rather than calling on Him by a name connected with punishment.

The Prophet's own supplications follow the same pattern. Each wording below follows the Arabic on its linked Sunnah.com page, where you can check it before learning it.

• Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kathiran, wa la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa ant, faghfir li maghfiratan min 'indik, warhamni, innaka antal-Ghafurur-Rahim. O Allah, I have greatly wronged myself and none forgives sins but You, so grant me forgiveness from You and have mercy on me; You are the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful (taught to Abu Bakr for his prayer, Sahih al-Bukhari 834).
• Allahumma innaka 'Afuwwun Karimun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu 'anni. O Allah, You are Pardoning and Generous and You love to pardon, so pardon me (taught to Aishah for Laylat al-Qadr, Jami at-Tirmidhi 3513; Sahih, Darussalam).
• Allahumma antal-Awwalu falaysa qablaka shay', wa antal-Akhiru falaysa ba'daka shay', wa antaz-Zahiru falaysa fawqaka shay', wa antal-Batinu falaysa dunaka shay'. O Allah, You are the First and there is nothing before You, the Last and there is nothing after You, the Manifest and there is nothing above You, and the Hidden and there is nothing beyond You (from a bedtime supplication, Sahih Muslim 2713a).
• Antal-Muqaddimu wa antal-Mu'akhkhiru, wa anta 'ala kulli shay'in qadir. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays, and You have power over all things (the close of a supplication for forgiveness, Sahih al-Bukhari 6398).
• As'aluka bi-kulli ismin huwa lak, sammayta bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fi kitabik, aw 'allamtahu ahadan min khalqik, awista'tharta bihi fi 'ilmil-ghaybi 'indak. I ask You by every name that is Yours, by which You have named Yourself, or sent down in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You (from the supplication for anxiety and grief, Hisn al-Muslim 120, which cites Musnad Ahmad and al-Albani's grading of it as authentic).

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Many Quranic verses close with two names side by side. Quran 39:53 ends with 'He is the Forgiving, the Merciful', Quran 59:24 with 'the Mighty, the Wise', Quran 42:11 with 'the Hearer, the Seer' and Quran 6:103 with 'the Subtle, the Aware'. Forgiveness is joined to mercy, and might to wisdom.

The Tirmidhi list also sets contrasting names side by side, such as Al-Qabid and Al-Basit, Al-Mu'izz and Al-Mudhill, Al-Muhyi and Al-Mumit, and Ad-Darr and An-Nafi. In the commentary translated by IslamQA, al-Sa'di explains withholding and expanding as acts of Allah's wisdom and mercy: no one can withhold what He gives or give what He withholds.

Sources: [11] [4] [18]

The name Allah belongs to Him alone, and guidance on naming from IslamQA and Darul Uloom Deoband treats Ar-Rahman the same way. Quran 17:110 places the two together, 'Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent', and an IslamQA answer on the greatest name describes Allah as a name never given to anyone else.

Other names describe qualities that people can have in a limited, created way. Quran 9:128 describes the Prophet as full of pity and merciful towards the believers, using the words behind Ar-Ra'uf and Ar-Rahim, and Quran 12:50 calls the ruler of Egypt the king, al-malik. Quran 42:11 still says that nothing is like Allah.

Some titles are therefore avoided for people. In Sahih al-Bukhari 6205 the Prophet said the most awful name in Allah's sight is that of a man calling himself Malik al-Amlak, king of kings, and an IslamQA answer on naming children lists al-Khaliq and al-Rahman among names befitting Allah alone.

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Many Muslim names join Abd, meaning 'servant of', to a name of Allah, and Sahih Muslim 2132 reports the Prophet saying that the names dearest to Allah are Abdullah and Abd al-Rahman. Names such as Abd al-Rahim, Abd al-Karim and Abd al-Malik follow the same pattern and express servanthood to Allah.

A Darul Uloom Deoband answer advises that names exclusive to Allah, such as Rahman, be given in this form, as Abdur Rahman rather than Rahman alone, and the IslamQA answer on naming children places Abdullah and Abd al-Rahman first among good names. For a particular name you are unsure about, ask a qualified scholar.

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Learn the names a few at a time, together with their meanings, and use them in your own supplications. Scholars describe preserving the names as understanding and living by them rather than only memorising a list, so a slower pace that leaves room for reflection serves that aim well.

Start with names you already meet in daily worship: Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim in every Bismillah and in Al-Fatihah, the names in Ayat al-Kursi, and the run of names in Quran 59:22-24. Our guide to tawhid explains how the names fit into belief in Allah's oneness, and a SeekersGuidance answer notes that reciting His beautiful names is praiseworthy in general.

• Take three to five names a week and say each one aloud with its meaning.
• Open the Quran reference in the table and read the verse in its context.
• Choose one name to reflect on each day, such as Ar-Razzaq when you are worried about provision.
• Call on Allah by a fitting name in your own dua, as Quran 7:180 teaches.
• Review earlier names before adding new ones; a notebook or a simple counter can help you keep track.

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