Knowledge of the Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes of Allah is the most honourable of all knowledge. Each of Allah&"s Names has a special Attribute, for His Names are descriptions of praise and perfection. There have to be actions for each Attribute that enable this attribute to be apparent, and every action has to be carried out upon somebody and there has to be a connection between the two (the action and the one it is carried out upon). And it is impossible to separate His Essence from His Names, and it is impossible to separate His Names from the Attributes and their meanings they imply. It is also impossible to separate the Attributes from the actions that make the Attribute apparent, or to separate the action from the one it is carried out upon. All of this is part of the effects of Allah&"s Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes.
Allah&"s deeds are all carried out with wisdom. He does what is good for the people, and His names are all Beautiful. And it is impossible to separate these Names from the actions that naturally result from them, (results which are good for His creation). It is for this reason that Allah rejects those who describe Him with something that does not befit Him, claiming that He didn’t help His slaves by laying down commands and prohibitions, and rewards and punishments. It is a mistake to think this of Allah, and it is an act of disrespect towards Him. Allah says what is written below in relation to those who deny that He sent messengers and revealed scriptures: &"They did not appraise Allah with true appraisal when they said: &"Allah did not reveal to a human being anything&" &" (Al-An&"âm: 91).
Allah also says the following in relation to those who deny that there will be a Resurrection and that there are rewards and punishment: &"They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be (within) His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand&" (Az-Zumar: 67).
About those who described Him as treating those who are different, such as the righteous and the transgressors and the Mu&"meneen and the Kufaar, as equals, He says: &"Or do those who commit evils think We shall make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds – (make them) equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge&" (Al-Jâthiya: 21).
He says that this is a bad judgement and that it does not befit Him, and that His Names and Attributes illustrate that this could not be the case. He the Exalted says: 115- Subsequently, did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned? 116- So exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne (Al-Mu&"minûn: 115 - 116).
Exalted is Allah over such assumptions and thoughts which His Most Beautiful Names and Attributes illustrate to be wrong.
Ayat of the Qur&"an in which Allah denies assumptions that contradict His Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes are many, since these wrong thoughts mean changing His Names from their perfect meanings and denying their resulting actions.
His Names &"Al-Hameed (the Praiseworthy One, the One Worthy of All Praise), Al-Majeed (the Most Glorious, Dignified, Majestic, Bountiful and Exceedingly Generous Being)&" prevents the human being from living in vain; without being either commanded, prohibited, rewarded or punished. Similarly, His Names &"Al-Hakeem&" (the Perfectly Wise) and &"Al-Malik&" (The King, the Ruler) also indicate the same. Moreover, His name &"Al-Hay&" (the Ever-Living) prevents Him from not acting, for the reality of life means one lives by acting, since each living being acts, and Allah, being the Sustainer of All and the Ever-Living, is required to undertake the actions which are a result of this Name and so be active. His Names &"As-Samee&"” (the All-Hearing), “Al-Baseer&" (the All-Seeing) and &"Al-Khaaleq&" (the Creator) means that there are creatures who have been created. &"Ar-Razzaaq&" (the Sustainer, the Provider) and &"Al-Malik&" (the King, the Ruler) are also names that result in the management of a kingdom, as well as control, giving blessings when needed, mercy, justice, punishment and reward. His Names &"Al-Barr (the Gracious Benefactor), Al-Mohsin (the One Who Acts in a Good and Fine Manner), Al-Ma&"tee (the Supreme Giver) and Al-Manaan (the Beneficient Bestower of Bounties)&" and the like also all have certain consequences and effects.
His Names &"Al-Ghaffaar (the All-Forgiving, the One Who Sets Aright Our faults)&", &"At-Tawwab (the Accepter of Repentance, the Oft-Forgiving)&", &"Al-Afuww (the Pardoner, the Most Forgiving One)&" means that particular actions have to be carried out. There must be a sin to be forgiven, repentance to be accepted, and crimes to be pardoned. His name &"Al-Hakeem&" (the Perfectly Wise) also means that particular actions have to be carried out in order to make Allah&"s Wisdom manifest. All of these Names, which are all the Most Beautiful Names, such as Al-Khaaleq (the Creator), Ar-Razzaak (the Sustainer, the Provider), Al-Ma&"tee (the Supreme Giver), Al-Mani&" (the Preventer), all of these have effects on those that are created and sustained, granted and not granted.
Allah the Exalted loves His Essence and His Names and Attributes, for He is the Pardoner and loves pardoning and forgiveness and repentance. He is extremely happy when His slave repents, forgiving him and pardoning him.
He the Exalted is &"Al-Hameed (the Praiseworthy One, the One Worthy of All Praise), Al-Majeed (the Most Glorious, Dignified, Majestic, Bountiful and Exceedingly Generous Being)&". Praising Him and glorifying Him necessitates particular consequences, such as forgiving mistakes and removing faults, pardoning sins and crimes although Allah has the total ability to punish, and also necessitates Allah having knowledge of the sin and the amount of punishment it should involve. His patience is shown after His Knowledge (of the sin), and His Forgiveness is shown although He has the total ability (to punish). His Forgiveness is a product of His Perfect Sublimity and Wisdom, as Allah says in the Qur&"an in the words of Al-Maseeh (Christ) (peace be upon him): &"If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You Who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise&" (Al-Mâ&"idah: 118).
This means: Allah&"s Forgiveness is a result of His Perfect Ability and Wisdom. He does not forgive because He is unable to punish or because He has no knowledge of the truth. Rather, He forgives because He has the perfect knowledge of all rights and has the ability to take these rights according to perfect wisdom.
He who contemplates over the effects of Allah&"s Names and Attributes in the world and in His legislation will see that the sins that are committed by the slaves are in reality an aspect of the perfection of Allah&"s Names, Attributes and Actions, as these sins manifest His praiseworthiness and glory, just as they manifest His Lordship and Divinity.
To Him belongs all wisdom in all that He decrees and ordains, which result in astonishing miracles, and it also acquaints His slaves with His Names and Attributes, and urges them to love Him, appeal to Him, praise Him and worship Him with these Beautiful Names. Each Name has a direct form of worship connected to it, and the most perfect of slaves are those who perform worship using all of Allah&"s Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes at the same time, without avoiding any of them. Some people worship Allah with His Name &"Al-Qadeer&" (the All-Powerful, the Omnipotent) while ignoring His Name &"Al-Haleem&" (the Most Forbearing) or &"Ar-Raheem&" (the Most Merciful). Some worship Him with His Name &"Al-Ma&"tee&" (the Supreme Giver) while forgetting His Name &"Al-Mani&"&" (the Preventer) or he worships Him with His Name &"Ar-Raheem&" (the Most Merciful), &"Al-Afuww&" (the Pardoner, the Most Forgiver One), &"Al-Ghafoor&" (the One Who Forgives Extensively) while forgetting &"Al-Montaqem&"[1] (the Avenger), and so on.
There is nothing and no one like Him in His creation, and to only Him belongs the Perfect Names and Attributes.Almighty Allah says: &"To Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them&" (Al-A&"râf: 180).
Supplicating Allah with these names and attributes can be carried out in several ways. There is the supplication to ask Allah for any need, and there is another type in which the slave supplicates only in order to praise or to worship Him. Allah invites His slaves to be acquainted with Him, with His Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes, to praise Him using them, and use them when worshipping Him.
Allah the Exalted loves the actions that make His Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes become manifest. He is Al-&"Aleem (the All-Knowing, the Knowledgeable), and He loves knowledge and all who are knowledgeable. He is Aj-Jawad (the Magnanimous, the One Who Gives Generously) and loves generosity and those who are generous. He is Al-Witr (the One, He Who has No Partner) and loves all actions or manners that illustrate that Name and Quality. He is Aj-Jameel (the Most Beautiful) who loves Beauty. He is Al-Afuww (the Pardoner, the Most Forgiving One) who loves pardoning and those who have mercy and forgive. He is Al-Hayey (the One Characterised by Modesty), and He loves modesty and those who are modest. He is Ash-Shakoor (One Most Ready to Appreciate and Reward Abundantly) and loves those who thank Him and thank others; He is patient with His slaves and loves all those who show patience. He is Al-Haleem (the Most Forbearing) Who loves those who are tolerant. Allah loves repentance, forgiveness and pardoning His slaves to such an extent that He created His slaves in order to forgive and pardon them and accept their repentance.
[1] Al-Montaqem; Scholars differ about whether this is a Name of Allah or not.
