الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى وَحَدِيثُ التِّسْعَةِ وَالتِّسْعِينَ

Welcome to this course This adult course is for the person who wants to know Allah better: not only to know that He exists and that He is One, but to know who He is, as He has made Himself known. It goes deeper into what the courses "Discovering Islam: the foundations" (lesson "Believing in Allah") and "The six pillars of faith" (lesson "Belief in Allah: tawḥiid, His names and attributes") presented briefly. It follows three steps: knowing the names and the right way of understanding them, discovering groups of names explained one by one, then living by these names in supplication, gratitude, hope and fear. Where scholars differ, the course presents the positions without deciding: to go deeper into a point, the reference remains the centre's imam.

"The most beautiful names" The expression الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى (al-asmaa' al-ḥusnaa) comes from the Qur'an. The word ḥusnaa is a superlative: these are not merely beautiful names, they are the most beautiful. Each of them points to a perfection, without any flaw or lack. The expression occurs four times in the Qur'an: 7:180, 17:110, 20:8 (text below) and 59:24. • "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them" (meaning of 7:180, lesson 9). • "Allah: there is no god but Him. To Him belong the most beautiful names" (meaning of 20:8).

The hadith of the ninety-nine names Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred minus one; whoever enumerates them (man aḥṣaahaa) will enter Paradise" (Bukhari 2736, Muslim 2677). The hadith is also found elsewhere in Bukhari (6410 and 7392) [À VÉRIFIER : numéros], and one version adds: "He is odd (witr) and He loves what is odd" [À VÉRIFIER : version et numéro].

What does "aḥṣaahaa" mean? The verb aḥṣaa means to count, to enumerate, to encompass completely. Scholars have explained it in several ways, which do not exclude one another: • learning them and memorising them; • understanding their meaning and believing in it; • acting according to them: calling on Allah by them, and letting each name shape the heart and one's conduct. Many scholars combine these three levels [À VÉRIFIER : présentation des avis]. What is certain: it is not only about reciting a list without understanding it.

A name, an attribute, an action • Each name of Allah refers to Allah Himself, and at the same time to an attribute (ṣifa): Ar-Raḥiim, the Most Merciful, indicates mercy (ar-raḥma); Al-'Aliim, the All-Knowing, indicates knowledge (al-'ilm); Al-Qadiir, the All-Powerful, indicates power (al-qudra). • Allah acts: He creates, He provides, He forgives, He guides. But one does not make up a name from every action mentioned in the texts. • For the great majority of scholars, the names of Allah are "tawqiifi": one gives Him only the names He has given Himself in the Qur'an or that the Prophet ﷺ gave Him in the authentic Sunna. One does not invent a name for Him, even one that seems beautiful. Several scholars, however, distinguish between naming Allah (reserved to revelation) and speaking about Him with an accurate word that implies no flaw, which is broader [À VÉRIFIER : présentation des avis].

The name "Allah" "Allah" is the proper name of the Lord, borne by no one else. The other names are attached to it: one says "Ar-Raḥmaan is one of the names of Allah", not the reverse. The end of Surah Al-Ḥashr shows this clearly: "He is Allah…" followed by a series of names (59:22-24, lesson 12). Some scholars consider it the greatest name (al-ism al-a'ẓam); there are other views (lesson 9).

The list of names: where does it come from? The hadith in Bukhari and Muslim gives the number, but not the list. A list of ninety-nine names is reported by At-Tirmidhi (3507), and a somewhat different list by Ibn Maaja (3861). It is At-Tirmidhi's list that is often found on posters and in songs. Scholars hold two main positions about it: • For many hadith specialists, the list is not part of the Prophet's ﷺ words: a narrator is thought to have added it from what scholars had gathered. At-Tirmidhi himself calls the hadith "ghariib" (reported through a single chain), and scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Kathiir and Ibn Ḥajar spoke of an insertion (idraaj) [À VÉRIFIER : attributions]. • Other scholars accepted this list or followed it in their explanations of the names, such as Al-Bayhaqi or Al-Ghazaali in his book on the names [À VÉRIFIER : attributions]. What all agree on: the names in this list that are found in the Qur'an or the authentic Sunna are names of Allah in any case. Scholars have also proposed other lists, drawn only from the Qur'an and the Sunna, which do not all coincide. Learning the usual list as a memory aid is not blamed; the imam will specify the centre's practice.

Are the names limited to ninety-nine? For the great majority of scholars, no: the hadith means that among the names of Allah there are ninety-nine that have this particular merit. The proof often cited is the supplication against sadness taught by the Prophet ﷺ, in which one asks Allah "by every name that is Yours, by which You have named Yourself, which You have revealed in Your Book, which You have taught to one of Your creatures, or which You have kept in the knowledge of the unseen with You" (Aḥmad 3712, from Ibn Mas'uud) [À VÉRIFIER : numéro et degré]. A minority, including Ibn Ḥazm, understood that the names are limited to this number [À VÉRIFIER].

What this course will do It does not explain the ninety-nine names one by one. It explains about forty of them, grouped by meaning (mercy, power, knowledge, provision, justice), with their proofs, and then shows how to live by them.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation One can only truly love, fear or hope in someone one knows. The names of Allah are the door through which He has made Himself known: we do not see Him in this world, but we know Him through what He has said about Himself. The hadith of the ninety-nine names promises Paradise to the one who "enumerates" them. The chosen word is strong: it is not about a quick recitation, but about knowledge that enters the heart and transforms one's life. The "tawqiifi" rule protects belief: what is said about Allah comes from Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, not from our imagination. Finally, the question of At-Tirmidhi's list shows the honesty of the hadith scholars: they distinguish what is certainly a word of the Prophet ﷺ from what may have been added to it, without rejecting the names that are proven elsewhere.

Lessons to draw from it • Learn the names with their meaning, and not only their sound. • Give Allah only the names that come from the Qur'an and the Sunna. • Know that the usual list of ninety-nine names is discussed, without turning it into a subject of dispute. • Choose one name a week, learn its meaning and look for it in the Qur'an. • To go deeper into the positions on the list or the number, ask the imam.

Key points to remember • Al-asmaa' al-ḥusnaa: the most beautiful names (7:180; 17:110; 20:8; 59:24). • "Allah has ninety-nine names… whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise" (Bukhari 2736, Muslim 2677). • Aḥṣaahaa: memorising them, understanding them, acting according to them. • The names are "tawqiifi": they come from revelation. • At-Tirmidhi's list (3507): discussed; the names are not limited to ninety-nine according to the majority.

The main message Allah has made Himself known through His most beautiful names: learning them, understanding them and living by them is a path to Him and to His Paradise.

The text: Surah Ṭaa-Haa (20), verse 8 [TEXTE ARABE À INSÉRER : sourate 20:8]

The text: Surah Al-Israa' (17), verse 110 [TEXTE ARABE À INSÉRER : sourate 17:110]

Meaning: 20:8: "Allah: there is no god but Him. To Him belong the most beautiful names." 17:110: "Say: call on Allah, or call on Ar-Raḥmaan; whichever name you call on Him by, to Him belong the most beautiful names. And do not pray too loudly, nor too quietly, but seek a way between the two." Verse 17:110 shows that the different names refer to one and the same Lord.

Arabic text: deliberately not typed, to avoid any error; it is to be copied from the centre's mushaf (or a verified source) at the place indicated.