Allah (3/4)

Attributes and Names of God

The Qur’an uses various names related to God. All chapters of the Qur’an with one exception start with one of the most known phrases in the Islamic tradition: ‘In the name of God the Most Compassionate (al-Rahman), the Most Merciful (al-Rahim)’. The term used in the Qur’an for name is (i-s-m (pl. ‘asma’) and the Qur’an employs both singular and plural forms of the word in various verses. For God’s attributes, Muslim theologians use the term sifa (pl. sifat). This term is not used in the Holy Book, yet as a topic it comprises a great component of the Qur’an.

Before examining the Names of God, it is significant to give some examples of his attributes, which are divided into two groups. The first groups are those related to God’s essence:

1. Wujud (Existence). This attribute designates that God is necessarily existent in himself (Wajib al-Wujud). In other words, God’s existence is not preceded by nonexistence. All other creatures are hadith or created in time. To come into the realm of existence, they need someone whose existence is necessary in himself.

2. Qidam (Divine Eternity). God is eternal, and has no beginning and no end.

3. Baqa (Divine Permanence). Everything in the universe eventually will vanish except God.

4. Mukhalafa lil-hawadith (Divine Dissimilarity to Created Things). Nothing is like God. He is different to everything that one can imagine.

5. Qiyam bi nafsih (Divine Self Subsistence). In order to continue his existence, God does not need support from anyone or anywhere.

The second groups of attributes are those related to God’s actions:

1. Qudra (Divine Power). God has power over everything; nothing can be out of his control or his power.

2. Irada (Divine Will). Nothing can happen without God’s will. His divine will encompasses everything in the universe. He has given human beings a limited will so they become responsible for their actions.

3. ‘Ilm (Divine Knowledge). God is omniscient. He has infinite knowledge of all things both actual and possible. A leaf cannot fall down without his knowledge.

4. Hayat (Divine Life). God has an infinitely perfect life which is the source of all lives in the universe. Every living creature takes its life from the divine life.

5. Kalam (Divine Speech). Allah speaks to his messengers from behind a veil. The divine scriptures such as the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels and the Qur’an are his speeches at the level of humans. If they were at his level no one would be able to hear it. Muslim theologians refer to the story of Moses. On the Mount of Sinai he endured to hear only a few words of God’s speech and then fainted. When Moses asked God if this was the way of his speech, God said, ‘Moses, I have the power of all languages.’ All speeches on the face of the earth are reflections of this divine speech.

6. Sam (Divine Hearing). God hears everything from the lowest to the highest sounds. Theologians state that he hears the sound of the feet of an ant moving around in the darkness of the night. He hears the cry of all his servants, the supplications of all his righteous people, the prayer of all his creatures. ‘Call on Me; I shall answer you’ (Surah Surat Ghafir, 40:60).

7. basar (Divine Sight). Nothing can be hidden from God’s sight. He sees everything in the universe every moment. All eyes of creatures are the reflections of this divine attribute. Only the one who sees everything perfectly can give sight to God’s creatures. The Qur’an refers to all these attributes virtually in every page. It would not be an exaggeration to state that one quarter of the Qur’an is about God.