My dear brothers and sisters! The topic of today’s khutbah is: “Al-Asma ul-Husna” or “The Most Beautiful Names” referring to the most beautiful names of Allah (SWT). Allah has described Himself in the Qur’an through His names and attributes. As Muslims, we believe that studying these names and attributes is one of the most effective ways of strengthening one’s relationship with Allah. Each name and attribute nourishes a kind of consciousness and humility in man and their study leads one to constantly better one’s actions. We have in Surat Ta Ha:
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ
“Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. He has the most beautiful names.” (Ta Ha, 20:8). And we have in Surat al-A’raf:
وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا
“The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them…” (al-A’raf, 7:180). And we have in Surat al-Hashr:
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ
“He is Allah – the Creator, the Originator, the Giver of Form. His are the most beautiful names” (al-Hashr, 59:24). And we have in Surat al-Isra’:
قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَنَ أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى
“Say: Call upon Allah or call upon The Most Compassionate. By whichever name you call upon [Him], the most beautiful names are His!” (al-Isra’, 17:110).
For example, if a person is seeking forgiveness from Allah for a sin he has committed, he would call upon Him by His name “Al-Ghaffar,” meaning “The Ever Forgiving.” If he is asking for peace and tranquility in his life while experiencing a period of tension, he would call on Allah by His name “As-Salaam,” meaning “The Ultimate Source of Peace.” Thus it is prescribed to recite these names while understanding them, acting upon them and calling upon Allah by them.
While the Qur’an talks about the most beautiful names of Allah, a well known hadith further specifies that there are ninety-nine such names and attributes of Allah.
لِلَّهِ تِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ اسْمًا، مِائَةٌ إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا، لاَ يَحْفَظُهَا أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever memorizes them will enter Paradise.” To memorize may include the following: (1) memorizing the names, (2) understanding their meanings, (3) acting upon what they imply, and (4) calling upon Allah by these names. So if a person knows that Allah is One, he will not associate anything else with Allah. If he knows that Allah is the Provider, he will not seek provision from anyone else. If he knows that Allah is the Most Merciful, he will do acts of obedience that are a means of attaining Allah’s mercy.
What is the importance of learning the Asma ul-Husna? First and foremost, for those who believe and want to worship Allah, the need to describe Him with certain names is essential. It is not possible to worship that which is unknown. The knowledge of the Asma ul-Husna is important as it allows people to become acquainted with Allah and it sheds light on the realm of the relationship between Allah and the world.
The correct knowledge of Allah will release a person from all worries and superstitions, as well as from groundless assumptions. People who base their knowledge of Allah on information that emanates directly from the Creator Himself instead of their own assumptions will be able to attain mental and spiritual clarity. They will feel the need to make a connection and establish a relationship with Him in their heart.
We also learn through a Prophetic supplication that there are other names belonging to Allah which are not known to us. The supplication is:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاءُكَ أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، وَجَلاءَ حُزْنِي ، وذَهَابَ هَمِّي
“O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant, my forelock is in Your hand (i.e. You have total mastery over me), Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’an the life of my heart and the light of my bosom, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety.”
The phrase “You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You” indicates that there are other beautiful names of Allah that He has kept with Him in the knowledge of the unseen, and which none of His creation has come to know. This indicates that there are more than ninety-nine Names.
According to the views of most scholars, the greatest name of Allah’s names is “Allah.” The various reasons assigned for holding this view are: (1) The name “Allah” is indicative of all the beautiful divine names and sublime attributes. (2) “Allah” is a name that refers to His essence and is unique to Him, so it encompasses all of His beautiful names. (3) The name “Allah” is connected to all praiseworthy attributes. (4) One of the things which support the idea that “Allah” is the greatest name is the fact that it is repeated in the Holy Qur’an 2697 times – according to the list in al-Mu‘jam al-Mufahras (a famous concordance or index of the Qur’an). According to Shaykh ‘Umar al-Ashqar (Rahimahullah), the name “Allah” is the only name which appears in all the earlier scriptures concerning which the Prophet (SAW) stated that the greatest name of Allah is mentioned in them. There are other scholarly views as well, and Allah knows best.
Some of the most beautiful names and attributes of Allah are mentioned in verses 22 to 24 of Surat al-Hashr. This surah has the highest concentration of Allah’s names in the entire Qur’an.
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ () هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ () هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ()
“He is Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him: Knower of the seen and unseen. He is the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. He is Allah, besides whom there is no God; the Sovereign, the Most Pure, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah, who is far above what they associate with Him. He is Allah – the Creator, the Originator, the Giver of Form. His are the most beautiful names. Everything in the heavens and earth declares His glory. He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (al-Hashr, 59:22-24).
The Asma ul Husna, when used in remembering Allah and in making du’a lead to the acceptance of prayers and result in the accumulation of good deeds. They fill the heart with peace of mind as well as an awareness of Allah’s mercy and bounty. The human soul seeks perfection. When it learns of the perfection of something, it is drawn there and experiences joy parallel to the level of perfection found. Just as knowing Allah is possible through learning His name and attributes, loving Him is only possible through knowing that all perfection lies with Him.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! We are advised in verse 17 of Surat al-Hashr not to be forgetful of Allah.
وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. These are the defiantly disobedient.” (al-Hashr, 59:17)
That is, forgetfulness of Allah leads to forgetfulness of one’s own self. When man forgets that he is slave to the Almighty, he will inevitably form a wrong view of his position in the world, and his whole life will go wrong because of this basic error. What does this mean? Let us take the example of those Muslims who are not praying, or not fulfilling the basic tenets of the deen—the six articles of faith; and the five pillars of Islam; what is their excuse?” The number one excuse is dunya. They are too busy with their jobs or businesses. They are busy amassing wealth. They have no time for religion. They might not say it so bluntly but, in the end, that is what it is. The deen has no priority in their lives.
Man’s real position in the world is that of a slave; he is not free and self-sufficient; and he is slave of only One God, and is no one else’s slave beside Him. Man’s remaining firm and steadfast on the right path entirely depends on his remembering Allah at all times, remembering Him with His beautiful names and attributes, being conscious of Him at all times; because as soon as he becomes heedless of Allah, he becomes heedless of himself and this very heedlessness turns him to wrong doing.
May Allah make us of those who learn His beautiful names and attributes, who memorize them, who understand them, who act upon what they imply, and who call upon Allah with them.
