Al-Asmāʾ wa'ṣ-Ṣifāt — Allah's Names & Attributes

The Ruling and the Methodology (Manhaj)

Belief in Allah's Names and Attributes (Tawhid al-Asmāʾ wa'ṣ-Ṣifāt) is one of the three categories of Tawhid and is obligatory upon every Muslim. The methodology of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamāʿah — the way of the Salaf (the Companions and those who followed them in goodness) — is to affirm for Allah every name and attribute that He affirmed for Himself, and that His Messenger ﷺ affirmed for Him, exactly as they came in the texts, and to negate whatever Allah and His Messenger negated.

This affirmation rests on four principles, all derived from the two verses below. We affirm the Names and Attributes without tahrif (distorting their wording or meaning), without taʿtil (denying or emptying them of meaning), without takyif (asking or imagining how they are), and without tamthil (likening them to the attributes of creation). The balanced formula of the Salaf is: affirmation without resemblance (ithbāt bilā tashbīh), and transcendence without denial (tanzīh bilā taʿtīl).

Nothing Is Like Him — Transcendence Without Denial

The foundation verse combines both sides of the creed in a single āyah: the negation of any likeness to Allah, and the affirmation of two of His attributes (Hearing and Seeing). This refutes both those who liken Allah to creation and those who deny His attributes.

Scholars of the Salaf noted that the first half of this verse ("There is nothing like unto Him") is a refutation of the people of tamthil (those who liken Allah to His creation), while the second half ("He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing") is a refutation of the people of taʿtil (those who deny His attributes). Allah hears and sees in a manner befitting His majesty — not resembling the hearing and seeing of creation. Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ carries the same finality:

The Most Beautiful Names

Allah commands us to call upon Him by His most beautiful names. Every one of Allah's names is beautiful (ḥusnā) — perfect in its meaning, containing no deficiency from any angle.

The Prophet ﷺ informed us of a specific reward tied to Allah's names. This hadith is agreed upon (muttafaq ʿalayh), narrated by Abū Hurayrah in both authentic collections:

Affirming the Attributes Without Asking "How"

Ahl as-Sunnah affirm the attributes mentioned in the texts — including the "attributes of report" (aṣ-ṣifāt al-khabariyyah) such as Allah's rising over the Throne (istiwāʾ) and His descent (nuzūl) — upon their apparent, real meaning, while entrusting the modality to Allah. When Imam Mālik was asked how the istiwāʾ is, he famously replied that the istiwāʾ is known, its "how" is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation.

Likewise the descent of the Lord in the last third of the night is affirmed as it came, in a manner befitting His majesty, without likening it to the descent of created things:

Honest Scholarly Differences (Ikhtilāf)

Within the framework of the texts, there are genuine differences that should be represented honestly and with respect:

1. The specific list of the ninety-nine names. A well-known enumerated list is reported in Sunan at-Tirmidhī. However, ḥadīth masters — including Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī and others — held that the listing itself is an insertion (mudraj) by a narrator and is not part of the marfūʿ (Prophetic) text; the authentic wording in al-Bukhārī and Muslim does not enumerate the names. Consequently the names are gathered by the scholars from across the Quran and Sunnah, and their exact enumeration differs somewhat between scholars.

2. The meaning of "enumerates them" (aḥṣāhā). Scholars offered several complementary meanings: memorising the names, comprehending their meanings, and acting upon their implications (e.g., knowing He is ar-Razzāq, so one relies on Him for provision). Many scholars, such as al-Bukhārī and Ibn Ḥajar in Fatḥ al-Bārī, note these are not mutually exclusive — the fuller "enumeration" combines all three.

3. The attributes of report and later theological schools. While Ahl as-Sunnah affirm the apparent meanings and consign the modality to Allah (tafwīḍ al-kayfiyyah), some later theologians — such as the Ashʿarīs and Māturīdīs — interpreted certain of these attributes figuratively (taʾwīl), for instance understanding istiwāʾ as "istīlāʾ" (conquering/dominion), out of a concern to negate any resemblance to creation. The Salafī position considers this taʾwīl to be unwarranted, since affirming the meaning while denying the modality already removes any tashbīh. This is a real and long-standing difference; it should be discussed with knowledge and adab, not caricature.

Living by the Names

Knowledge of Allah's Names and Attributes is not merely a topic of theology — it is the greatest branch of knowledge, and it is meant to bear fruit in worship. The command in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf ("call upon Him by them") teaches us to match our supplication to the relevant name: to seek forgiveness by al-Ghafūr, provision by ar-Razzāq, mercy by ar-Raḥīm, and guidance by al-Hādī.

The fruit of this knowledge is love, hope, fear, reliance, and reverence of Allah. The one who truly knows that Allah is as-Samīʿ al-Baṣīr — the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing — watches his tongue and guards his limbs, knowing that nothing is hidden from his Lord. This is the intended "enumeration" that leads to Paradise.

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