The 99 Names of Allah (al-Asma’ al-Husna): List and Meanings

God makes Himself known to His servants through His names. These “most beautiful names” (al-asma’ al-husna) speak of His mercy, knowledge, power, justice and generosity; reflecting on them is one of the best ways to know Allah and to call upon Him. Below you will find the most widely circulated list of the 99 names, in Arabic, in transliteration and with their meanings, preceded by what you need to know about its origin.

The most beautiful names in the Quran

The Quran states several times that God’s names are the most beautiful and invites us to call upon Him by them: “And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names” (Quran 7:180). It also says: “Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call – to Him belong the best names” (Quran 17:110), and again: “Allah – there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names” (Quran 20:8).

The end of Surah al-Hashr brings some fifteen of them together in three verses:

“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Grantor of Security, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Producer, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (Quran 59:22-24)

In this passage, “the Superior” (al-Mutakabbir) refers to the One to whom alone greatness belongs: what is a flaw in a human being – pride – is a perfection in God, who alone is truly great.

The hadith of the 99 names

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one; whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2736 and 7392; Sahih Muslim 2677). In Muslim’s version he adds: “Allah is Witr (One) and He loves what is odd.” This hadith is fully authentic.

“Enumerating” (ahsa) does not simply mean reciting a list. Al-Bukhari glosses the word as “learning by heart”, and scholars explain that it means memorising the names, understanding their meaning, calling upon God by them and living in keeping with what they teach: whoever knows that God is the All-Hearing watches their words, and whoever knows that He is the Provider places their trust in Him.

Where does the list of 99 names come from?

Neither al-Bukhari nor Muslim gives the list itself. The best-known enumeration, reproduced below, is found in the collection of al-Tirmidhi (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3507), through al-Walid ibn Muslim. Al-Tirmidhi himself describes this version as gharib (“isolated”), and many hadith specialists, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Kathir and Ibn Hajar, hold that the enumeration is not the words of the Prophet ﷺ himself but was added by one of the narrators, based on what scholars had gathered from the Quran and the Sunnah. Al-Albani graded it weak. Ibn Majah (Sunan Ibn Majah 3861) reports another, noticeably different list, which is also graded weak.

The list therefore remains a precious traditional reference, known and recited for centuries, but it is not a prophetic text. Some of its names do not appear as such in the Quran or the Sunnah but are derived from divine acts (such as “the Abaser” or “the One who can cause harm”); conversely, some well-attested names are missing from it, such as ar-Rabb (the Lord), al-Qarib (the Near) or al-Akram (the Most Generous). This is why scholars such as Ibn Hazm, Ibn Hajar and, more recently, Ibn ‘Uthaymin proposed other lists drawn solely from the Quran and authentic hadiths. Finally, in some editions of al-Tirmidhi the name al-Ahad (the One) is absent and the count begins with the name “Allah”.

Does God have only 99 names?

No. The hadith means that among God’s names there are ninety-nine whose knowledge leads to Paradise, not that He has no others. The Prophet ﷺ taught this supplication for times of grief: “I ask You by every name that is Yours, with which You have named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the Unseen…” (Musnad Ahmad 3712, graded authentic by several scholars, including Ahmad Shakir and al-Albani). Some names, then, are known to God alone. For the same reason, scholars point out that we do not invent names for God: we name Him only as He named Himself or as His Prophet ﷺ named Him.

The list of the 99 names of Allah and their meanings

The list follows the order of al-Tirmidhi’s version as it is most often circulated. English renderings capture only part of the richness of each Arabic name; they follow the meanings given by the commentators.

How to learn and live by the names of Allah

• Go step by step: a few names a week, with their meanings, rather than the whole list at once. Start with those you meet most often in the Quran and in prayer: ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim, al-Ghafur, as-Sami‘, al-‘Alim, al-Hakim.
• Call upon God by the name that suits your request, as the prophets do in the Quran. The Prophet ﷺ taught Abu Bakr to end his prayer with: “Grant me forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, for You are the Forgiving, the Merciful” (Sahih al-Bukhari 834). One asks ar-Razzaq for provision, al-Ghafur for forgiveness, ar-Rahim for mercy and al-Hadi for guidance.
• Mention complementary names together: scholars advise not to isolate names such as “the Abaser”, “the Withholder” or “the One who can cause harm”, but to pair them with their counterparts (“the Exalter”, “the Extender”, “the Bringer of Benefit”), since it is in this union that divine perfection appears.
• Let the names shape your conduct: God’s mercy invites mercy towards others, His patience invites patience, His forgiveness invites forgiveness.
• Listen to them: many reciters and singers have set the names of God to voice, which helps memorisation; you will find devotional songs on our anasheed page.

Many Muslim first names are formed from these names with the word ‘Abd (“servant of”): ‘Abd ar-Rahman, ‘Abd al-Karim, ‘Abd al-Ghafur… The Prophet ﷺ said: “The dearest of your names to Allah are ‘Abdullah and ‘Abd ar-Rahman” (Sahih Muslim 2132). Such names are a reminder that we bear only a reflection of these qualities, whose perfection belongs to God alone.

To go further, reading and listening to the Quran remains the best school: divine names often close its verses, like a key to their meaning.