The Greatest Name

[ditta]

Assalaamu'Alaykum,

I thought i would post this because we are very close to Ramadhan.

The Messenger has told us in more than one hadith that Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala), has one greatest Name which is distinguished from His other Names. Among these ahaadeeth are the following:

a) It is narrated from Buraydah al-Aslami that the Messenger of Allah heard a man saying:

"O' Allah, I ask of You by the fact that You are Allah, there is no god except You, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, who begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."

He (the Prophet) said:

"He has called upon Allah by His Greatest Name, which if He is asked by it, He gives, and if He is called upon by it, He responds."

[Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood - Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 1/703, hadith no. 2289; the editor of Al-Mishkaat judged its isnad to be saheeh (sound).]

b) It is narrated that Anas (radhiyallaahu anh) said:

I was sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, and a man was praying. He said,

"O' Allah, I ask You by the fact that all praise is due to You, there is no god except you. Al-Hannaan (the Compassionate) Al-Mannaan (the Gracious), the Originator of the heavens and the earth, O' Owner of Majesty and Honour, O' Ever-Living, Self-Sustaining One, I ask of You."

The Prophet said:

"He has called upon Allah by His greatest Name, which is He is called upon by it, He responds, and if He is asked by it, He gives."

[Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and Daarimi - Ibid, 1/704, no. 2290; the editor of Al-Mishkaat judged its isnad to be saheeh.]

c) Ibn Maajah narrated from Abu Umaamah that the Messenger of Allah said:

"The greatest Name of Allah is in three soorahs of the Qur'an, in Al-Baqarah, Aal 'Imraan and Ta-Ha."

[Ibn Maajah, At-Tahaawi in Mushkil al-Aathaar, and Ibn Mu'een in At-Taareekh wa'l-'Ilal, and others. See its isnad in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah by Shaykh Naasiruddeen al-Albaani, 2/382, hadith no. 746]

d) The aayaat in Al-Baqarah (The Cow) and Aal 'Imraan in which the greatest Name of Allah has been mentioned have been described in a report. Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and Daarimi narrated from Asmaa' bint Yazeed (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet said: The greatest Name of Allah is in these two aayaat:

"And your Ilaah [God] is One Ilaah [God - Allah], Laa ilaaha illa Huwa [there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He], the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." [Qur'aan 2: 163]

And in the beginning of Aal 'Imraan:

"Alif-Laam-Meem. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'aan, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings.] Allah! Laa ilaaha illa Huwa [none has the right to be worshipped but He], Al-Hayyul-Qayyoom [the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists]. [Qur'aan 3: 1-2]

[Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 1/704, hadith no. 2291]

By comparing these texts in which the greatest Name of Allah is mentioned, it becomes clear that this name is "Allah" because this is the only name which is found in all of these texts in which the Messenger said the greatest Name is mentioned.

What makes it most likely that "Allah" is the greatest Name is the fact that it is reported in the Qur'aan 2697 times, (two thousand six hundred and ninety seven times, according to the counting in Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras) and the word Allahumma is repeated five times, at the time when another name which belongs exclusively to Allah, namely Ar-Rahmaan, is repeated only 57 times. This idea (that "Allah" is the greatest Name) is also supported by the fact that is includes so many great meanings.

Reference: Belief in Allah by Umar Sulaymaan Abdullah al-Ashqar, The Greatest Name, Pg. 313 - 315]

Walaykum Salaam.

 

[salahdin]

JAZAKALLAH KHAIRAN

 

[bdot]

JazakAllahu khayr.

I think the greatest name of Allah (subhanuhu wa ta'ala) is not "Allah", rather it is Al Hayyul Qayyum (the Self-subsisting, The Eternal). The evidence for this is the fact that this name is mentioned in all three surahs that were referred to by the Prophet Muhammad : Taha (verse 111), Ali Imran (verse 2), Al Baqarah (ayat ul kursi). This goes with the hadith that you stated in your post and is also what I learned from one of my teachers. It also makes sense since "Allah" is mentioned in every surah of Al Quran, so why would Rusulullah refer to only 3 surahs in particular? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[TheHumbleWun]

Salaam brother Ditta,

Jazakallah khair for sharing.

My question - brother Bluegazer posted a thread about Christian Malaysians trying to use to the word "Allah" instead of God, but was reject by Malaysian authorities. Do you know if it's okay for Muslims to use the word "God"?

God is not one of the 99 names of Allah swt. Do you know if it's permissable (if any), especially when talking to a non-Muslim who does not know what Allah is? Should we just say The Creator?

Different languages use different words for God, for example:

Spanish- Dios
French- Dieu
German-Gott
Italian-Dio

Appreciate the time & effort.

walaakum salaam

 

[ditta]

JazakAllahu khayr.

I think the greatest name of Allah (subhanuhu wa ta'ala) is not "Allah", rather it is Al Hayyul Qayyum (the Self-subsisting, The Eternal). The evidence for this is the fact that this name is mentioned in all three surahs that were referred to by the Prophet Muhammad : Taha (verse 111), Ali Imran (verse 2), Al Baqarah (ayat ul kursi). This goes with the hadith that you stated in your post and is also what I learned from one of my teachers. It also makes sense since "Allah" is mentioned in every surah of Al Quran, so why would Rusulullah refer to only 3 surahs in particular? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Walaykum Salaam,

Well i don't want to start posting with my own opinion in relation to this. I can't really say anything if your teacher has said that Al-Hayyul Qayyum is the greatest name. But think about it, we all say Allah all the time, in our supplications, in prayer etc, so it must amount to some particular greatness? All the Names of Allah are beautiful, indeed.

Salaam brother Ditta,

Jazakallah khair for sharing.

My question - brother Bluegazer posted a thread about Christian Malaysians trying to use to the word "Allah" instead of God, but was reject by Malaysian authorities. Do you know if it's okay for Muslims to use the word "God"?

God is not one of the 99 names of Allah swt. Do you know if it's permissable (if any), especially when talking to a non-Muslim who does not know what Allah is? Should we just say The Creator?

Different languages use different words for God, for example:

Spanish- Dios
French- Dieu
German-Gott
Italian-Dio

Appreciate the time & effort.

walaakum salaam

Walaykum Salaam,

Brother, i am just trying to be careful what i say in relation to this. I haven't read a Fatwa about not using God. I couldn't find anything in Fatawa Islamiyah, i checked IslamQA and i found this:

Who is Allaah?

Allaah is the Arabic word for "one God", the same as Eloh in Aramaic. Allaah is not the God of Muslims only. He is God of all creations, because He is their Creator and Sustainer.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Is it a kind of distortion to translate the names of Allaah into any other language?

Praise be to Allaah.

It is permissible to translate the names of Allaah for those who do not know Arabic, if the translator has a good knowledge of both languages, just as it is permissible to translate for them the meanings of the verses of the Qur’aan and the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so that they may learn about Islam.

And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 3/122

Even in the book "Belief in Allah by al-Ashqar":

List of the Names of Allah

It may be that Ibn Hajar al-'Asqallaani came closest to the truth when he listed ninety-nine Names taken from the Qur'an, thus complying with the number mentioned in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (radhiyallaahu anh). We will quote them as he listed them:

S. No - 1

Name of Allah - Allah

Meaning - God

[Pg. 317]

Insha'Allah i haven't posted something out of my own opinion/desires. Insha'Allah a Moderator or Brother/Sister with more knowledge could post to help us all.

Alhamdu'Lillaah.

 

[Al-Kashmiri]

As-salaamu `alaykum.

If you flick open your Hisn ul-Muslim and jump to the section for the last tashahhud, there is a hadeeth cited which also mentions Allaah's greatest name or something to that effect. I, based upon that hadeeth and some of those above, assumed also that they were either Al-Hayy or Al-Qayyoom (or even dually combined). The du`aa in the hadeeth (but not the hadeeth itself) I'm referring to can be read here; it's second to last.

Anyway, regarding the greatest name, Shaykh `Uthaymeen may have given some beneficial speech on that. Maa shaa Allaah, he, rahimahullaah, authored many works and gave many lessons on the subject of Asmaa was-Sifaat (The Names and Attributes of Allaah), some of which have alhamdulillaah, been translated into English.

As for using God, then jazaak Allaah khayr for the fatwa, and like you I am in know way to state my mere position and pass it as a fatwa, wa`iyaadhu billaah. I try to use Allaah as much as I can, as God is used too loosely and freely. Allaah is derived from Al-Ilah, The (true) God/Diety; whereas the English God doesn't totally imply such a meaning, though the capitilised form comes a bit closer at achieving that. It was from the practice of the people of book who wrote with the latin alphabet to capitilise even pronouns when in reference to God; an ettiquette that I try not to leave off (I don't think its grammatically acceptable; not a problem in `Arabic though lol).

Was-salaam