Tuesday, Ramadan 11, 1446 AH (11/03/2025)
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May Allah extol the Messenger in the highest company of Angels and grant him peace; and likewise, his family, his Companions and all those who truly and sincerely follow him until the Day of Resurrection.
Dear brothers and sisters! Know that a number of Prophetic Hadiths were narrated concerning the “Greatest name of Allah (Ismullahil A’azam),” the most famous of which are the following:
1. It was narrated from Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“The greatest name of Allah is in three Surahs of the Qur’an: Al-Baqarah, Ali-Imran and Ta-Ha.” [Narrated by Ibn Majah; classed as sound by Al-Albani in Sahih Ibn Majah]
2. It was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), and a man was praying then he said in supplication: O Allah, I ask You by virtue of the fact that all praise is due to You; there is none worthy of worship but You alone, and You have no partner or associate, the Bestower, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Possessor of majesty and honour, O Ever-Living, O Sustainer. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“He has asked Allah by His greatest name which, if He is called upon thereby He answers and if He is asked thereby He gives.” [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah. Classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih Abu Dawud]
3. It was narrated from Buraidah Ibn Al-Husaib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) heard a man saying: O Allah, I ask You by virtue of the fact that I bear witness that You are Allah, there is none worthy of worship but You, the One, the Eternal Refuge, Who neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“He has indeed asked Allah by His greatest name, which if He is asked thereby, He gives and if He is called upon thereby, He answers.” [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah; classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih Abu Dawud]
Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“This is the soundest of all reports concerning this matter in terms of its Isnad (chain of narration).”
4. It was narrated from Asma’u Bint Yazid (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“The greatest name of Allah is in these two verses: ‘And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful’ [Qur’an, 2:163] and at the beginning of Surah Ali-Imran: ‘Alif, Lam, Mim. Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence’ [Qur’an, 3:1-2].” [Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah]
This last Hadith is inauthentic. Its Isnad includes Ubaidullah Ibn Abu Ziyad and Shahr Ibn Hawshab, both of whom are weak narrators.
Respected brothers and sisters! The Islamic scholars differed concerning the “Ismullahil A’azam (the Greatest name of Allah)” and whether there is such name. There are several views as follows:
1. The first view is that there is no such name! Because they believe that none of the names of Allah, may He be Exalted, can be regarded as superior to another. These scholars interpreted the Hadiths quoted above in various ways: Some said that what is meant by the word Al-A’azam (The Greatest) is Al-Azim (The Great), and that there can be no differentiation between the names of Allah, may He be Exalted.
Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Some scholars – such as Abu Ja’afar At-Tabari, Abu Al-Hasan Al-Ash’ari and a number of others after them, such as Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban and Al-Qadi Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, rejected that and said that it is not permissible to regard some of the divine names as being superior to others. Some of them attributed that view to Malik, because he regarded it as disliked to habitually recite or repeat one Surah rather than others, lest it be thought that some parts of the Qur’an are better than others, and that lead to believing that the less favoured parts are inferior to those that are more favoured. They interpreted the reports concerning that as indicating that what is meant by “The Greatest” is “Great”, and that all the names of Allah are Great. When Abu Ja’afar At-Tabari said: The reports differ as to which is the greatest name, and in my view all opinions are sound, because none of these reports state that it is the greatest name, and nothing is greater than Him, it was as if he was saying: each of the names of Allah, may He be Exalted, may be described as the greatest, in the sense that they are all great, as noted above.”
That what is intended in the Hadiths quoted above is to highlight the extra reward for the one who calls upon Allah by that name.
Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Ibn Hibban said: What is meant by the greatness mentioned in the reports is the extra reward granted to the one who calls upon Allah by that name, just as there are Hadiths which speak of great reward for the one who recites the Qur’an; what is meant thereby is the extra reward of the reciter.”
That what is meant by the greatest name is the frame of mind and focus of the one who is calling upon Allah by that name, which includes everyone who calls upon Allah, may He be Exalted, by any of His names, if he has the right frame of mind.
Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“It was said that what is meant by the greatest name is any of the names of Allah, may He be Exalted, by which a person calls upon Him with complete submission and focus of mind, in the sense that at that moment he has nothing in his mind except Allah, may He be Exalted. Whoever is like that will receive a response. Something similar to this was narrated from Ja’afar As-Sadiq, from Al-Junaid, and from others.”
2. The second view is the view of those who say that Allah, may He be Exalted, has kept to Himself knowledge of His greatest name, and that He has not granted knowledge thereof to any of His creation.
Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Others said: Allah, may He be Exalted, has kept to Himself knowledge of His greatest name, and that He has not granted knowledge thereof to any of His creation.” [See Fath Al-Bari, by Imam Ibn Hajar, volume 11, page 224]
3. The third view is the view of those who affirmed that the greatest name of Allah exists and that it is a specific name, but they differed as to which is the greatest name, and there are fourteen views! Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has listed them in his book, Fath Al-Bari, volume 11, page 224-225]. And they are as follows:
1. Huwa! (He!)
2. Allah
3. Allah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim (Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)
4. Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim Al-Hayyu Al-Qayyum (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer)
5. Al-Hayyu Al-Qayyum (the Ever-Living, the Sustainer)
6. Al-Hannan, Al-Mannan, Badi’as-Samawati wal-Ard, Zul-Jalali wal-Ikram, Al-Hayyu Al-Qayyum (the Compassionate, the Bestower, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Possessor of majesty and honour, Ever-Living, Sustainer)
7. Badi’as-Samawati wal-Ard Zul-Jalali wal-Ikram (the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the Possessor of majesty and honour)
8. Zul-Jalali wal-Ikram (the Possessor of majesty and honour)
9. Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa Al-Ahad As-Samad allazi lam yalid wa lam yulad wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad (Allah there is none worthy of worship but He, the One, the Eternal Refuge, who neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent)
10. Rabb Rabb (Lord, Lord)
11. The prayer of Zun-Nun in the belly of the fish: la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin (There is none worthy of worship except You; Exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers) [Qur’an, 21:87]
12. Huwallah Allah Allah allazi la ilaha illa Huwa Rabb Al-arsh Al-zim (He is Allah, Allah, Allah, besides Whom there is no other god, Lord of the mighty Throne)
13. It is concealed within the divine names.
14. The word of Tawhid: La ilaha illallah (there is none worthy of worship but Allah).
Altogether the Islamic scholars said the Ismullahil A’azam (The Greatest Name of Allah) are in the following names of Allah:
Allah, Al-Wahid, Al-Ahad, As-Samad, Al-Hayyu, Al-Qayyum, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim, Al-Mannan, Badius-Samawati Wal-ardi, Zul-jalali, Wal ikram.
Shaikh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“It should be understood that the scholars differed as to which is the greatest name of Allah, and there are fourteen views, which were listed by Ibn Hajar in Al-Fath, followed by the evidence for each view. Most of the evidence is from the Hadiths, but in some cases it is simply the view of an individual and no attention need to be paid to it, such as the twelfth view, the evidence for which is that so and so asked Allah to teach him the greatest name, then he saw in a dream that it was “Allah Allah Allah allazi la ilaha illa Huwa Rabb Al-arsh Al-azim (He is Allah, Allah, Allah, besides Whom there is no other god, Lord of the Mighty Throne)”! Some of these Hadiths are authentic, but are ambiguous in meaning, and others are Mawquf [a statement of a Companion], like this one. Some of them are clear in meaning; they fall into two categories: The first category is that which is sound and clear in meaning, namely the Hadith of Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him): “Allah, there is none worthy of worship but He, the One, the Eternal Refuge, Who neither begets nor is born…” Imam Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “This is more sound in terms of its isnad than everything else that has been narrated concerning that. And it is as he said (may Allah have mercy on him). Ash-Shawkani confirmed that in his book, Tuhfat Az-Zakirin, page 52. It is listed in Sahih Abu Dawud. The second category is those which are clear in meaning but are not sound, some of which Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) clearly stated were inauthentic, such as the Hadith which is quoted to support the third view, which was narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Ibn Majah, no. 3859. It also appears in Da’if Ibn Majah, no. 841. Concerning some other reports he did not say anything, such as the Hadith which is quoted to support the eighth view, namely the Hadith of Mu’az Ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) in At-Tirmidhi, which is listed in Ad-Da’ifah, no. 4520. There are other Hadiths that are clear in meaning, but Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him did not quote them; however, they are Wahin (flimsy); they are also listed in the same book, nos. 2772, 2773 and 2775).” [Silsilat Al-AHadith Ad-Da’ifah wal-Mawdu’ah, volume 13, page 279]
Dear brothers and sisters! Perhaps the view that is most likely of all of them to be correct is the view that the greatest name is “Allah,” because this is the one name which encompasses all the other names and attributes of Allah, may He be Exalted, and it is a name that was never given to anyone other than Allah, may He be Exalted. This is the view of most scholars.
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The name “Allah” is indicative of all the beautiful divine names and sublime attributes…” [See Madarij As-Salikin, volume 1, page 32]
Ibn Amir Haj Al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“It was narrated that Muhammad Ibn Al-Hasan said: I heard Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) say: The greatest name of Allah is “Allah.” This is also the view of Imam At-Tahawi and many of the Islamic scholars, and most of the devoted worshippers.” [See At-Taqrir wat-Tahbir, volume 1, page 5]
Imam Abul-Baqa Al-Fatuhi Al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“We learn two things: The first is that the name “Allah” is a name that refers to His essence and is unique to Him, so it encompasses all of His beautiful names. The second is that it is the greatest name of Allah according to most of the scholars, and is the name that is connected to all praiseworthy attributes.” [See Sharh Al-Kawkab Al-Munir, page 4]
Imam Ash-Shirbini Ash-Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“According to some scholars, it is the greatest name of Allah. It is mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an in two thousand three hundred and sixty (2,360) places.” [See Mughni Al-Muhtaj ila Ma’rifat Alfaz Al-Minhaj, volume 1, page 88-89]
Shaikh Umar Al-Ashqar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“What appears to be the case from comparing the texts in which the greatest name of Allah is mentioned is that this name is “Allah.” This name is the only name which appears in all the texts concerning which the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) stated that the greatest name of Allah is mentioned in them. One of the things which support the opinion that “Allah” is the greatest name is the fact that it is repeated in the Noble Qur’an 2,697 times – according to the list in Al-Mu’jam Al-Mufahras [a famous concordance or index of the Qur’an] – and it is mentioned in the form “Allahummah” [a vocative form] five times, whereas another divine name which is applicable only to Allah, may He be Exalted – namely Ar-Rahman [the Most Gracious] – is mentioned only fifty-seven times. This idea is also supported by the fact that this name “Allah” encompasses many great and significant meanings.” [See Al-Aqidah fi Allah (Belief in Allah), page 213]
The second of these views in terms of strength is the view that the greatest name of Allah is Al-Hayyu Al-Qayyum (the Ever-Living, the Sustainer). This is the view of a number of scholars, including Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), and it was regarded as more likely to be correct by Shaikh Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him), ameen.
Ya Allah, on this day make us among those who rely on you, from those who you consider successful, and place us among those who are near you, by your favour, O goal of the seekers.
All perfect praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
*Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected]; or +2348038289761.
