Know that Allah has bestowed a mark of honour on many of the Prophets by investing them with some of His names - for instance, as when He calls Ishaq and Isma'il 'knowing' ('alim) and 'forbearing' (halim), Ibrahim 'forbearing', Nuh 'thankful' (shakur), 'Isa and Yahya 'devoted' (barr), Musa 'noble' (karim) and 'strong' (qawwi), Yusuf a 'knowing guardian' (hafidh, 'alim), Ayyub 'patient' (sabur) and Isma'il 'truthful to the promise' (sadiq al-wa'd). The Mighty Book has referred to them as such in various places where they are mentioned.

 

Yet He has preferred our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, since He has adorned him with a wealth of His names in His Mighty Book (Al-Qur’an) and on the tongues of His Prophets. We have gathered them together after reflecting on the subject and putting our memory to work.  There are about thirty of them.

 

One of His names is the Praiseworthy (al-Hamid). This means the One who is praised because He praises Himself and His slaves praise Him. It also means the One who praises Himself and praises acts of obedience. The Prophet is called Muhammad and Ahmad. Muhammad means praised, and that is how his name occurs in the Zabur (Psalms) of Da'ud.

Ahmad means the greatest of those who give praise and the most sublime of those who are praised. Hassan ibn Thabit indicated this (in his poem) when he said:

 

“It is taken for him from His own name in order to exalt him.  The One with the Throne is praised (Mahmud) and he is Muhammad.”

 

Two of Allah's names are the Compassionate, the Merciful (ar-Ra'uf, arRahim). They are similar in meaning. He calls him by them in His Book when He says,

 

"Compassionate, merciful to the believers." (9:128)

 

Among His names is the Clear Truth (al-Haqq al-Mubin). The Truth (al-Haqq) means that which exists and is indisputably real. Similarly the Clear (al-Mubin) is the One whose divinity is clear.  Bana and Abana mean the same - to make clear to His slaves the matter of their deen and their return to Him.

 

 

 

 

He calls the Prophet by this name in His Book when He says,

"Until the Truth comes to you and a clear Messenger." (43:29)

 

He says,

"Say: I am the Clear Warner." (15:89) He says, "The Truth has come to you from your Lord." (4:170)

 

He says,

"They rejected the truth that came to them." (6:5)

 

It is said that this means Muhammad. It is said that it means the Qur'an. The meaning here is that it is the opposite of the false. His truthfulness and everything about him is indisputably real. "The clear" is the one whose business and message is clear or the one who clarifies from Allah what he was sent with, as Allah says,

"To make clear to people what was sent down to them." (16:44)

 

Another of Allah's names is the Light (an-Nur). It means Possessor of Light, i.e. its Creator or the illuminator of the heavens and the earth with lights, and the One who illuminates the hearts of the believers with guidance. Allah calls the Prophet "light" when He says,

"A light and a clear book has come to you from Allah." (5:15)

 

It is said that this refers to Muhammad. It is also said that it refers to the Qur'an. Allah also calls him "a luminous lamp." (33:46) He called him that to make his position clear, to clarify his prophethood and to illumine the hearts of the believers and the agnostics by what he had brought.

 

Another of His names is the Witness (ash-Shahid). It’s meaning is the One who knows. It is said that He is the Witness of His slaves on the Day of Rising. He calls the Prophet a witness when He says,

"We sent you as a witness,"(33:46) and "The Messenger is a witness over you." (2:143)

 

One of His names is the Generous/Noble (al-Karim). It means the One with Much Good. It is said that it means the Overflower. It is said that it means the Forgiving. It is said it means the High. In the hadith related about his names we find, "He is the most generous."

 

Allah calls the Prophet "noble" when He says,

"It is the word of a noble messenger." (81:19)

 

 

 

 

It is said that this refers to Muhammad and it is also said that it refers to Jibril. The Prophet said, "I am the noblest of the children of Adam." All the meanings of the name can be validly applied to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

 

Among His names is the Mighty (al-'Adhim). It means the One whose nature is majestic. Everything is under Him. He says about the Prophet,

"You are on a mighty form." (68:4)

 

In the beginning of one of the books of the Torah it quotes Isma'il, as saying, "A mighty one will be born for a mighty community and he is mighty with a mighty character."

 

One of His names is the Compeller (al-Jabbar). It means the One who puts things right. It is said that it means the Conqueror. It is said that it means the One with the Mighty Affair. It is said that it means the Proud. The Prophet was called Jabbar in the Book of Da'ud. He says, "O Jabbar, gird on your sword! Your law and your shari'a are accompanied by the awe of your right hand." It means that the Prophet is either putting his community to rights through guidance and instruction or through his power against his enemies or through the height of his station over mankind and his inestimable importance.

 

Allah denied that he had the compelling force (jabriyya) of pride, which would be inappropriate for him. He says, "You are not a tyrant over them." (50:45)

 

Another of Allah's names is the Aware (al-Khabir). It means the One who is acquainted with the essence of a thing and knows what its reality is. It is said that it means the One who informs. Allah says,

"The Merciful, ask one aware about Him." (25:59)

 

 Qadi Bakr ibn al-'Ala' said, in this instance, that the one who is commanded to ask is not the Prophet and the one who is to be asked is the one who is aware, namely the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The Prophet is "aware" in both the above-mentioned ways. It is said that he is called this because what he knows is at the limits of the knowledge of what Allah has taught him about His hidden knowledge and immense gnosis. Allah is informing his community about the permission given to him to teach.

 

One of His names is the Opener (al-Fattah). It means the One who judges between His slaves, or the Opener of the doors of provision, mercy and of those aspects of their affairs which are shut off from them, or the Opener of their hearts and eyes by gnosis of the Truth.

 

It can also mean the Helper as in His words,

"If you are seeking victory, victory has come to you," (8:19).

 

It is said that it means the one who initiates opening and victory. Allah called the Prophet Muhammad "the Opener" in the long hadith of the Night Journey. It says, "I have made you an opener and a seal." In it are the words of the Prophet in praise of His Lord and the enumeration of his ranks: "He elevated my mention for me and made me an opener and a seal."

 

The Opener here means the judge, or the Opener of the doors of mercy for his community, and the one who opened their inner eyes to the recognition of the Truth and faith in Allah, or the one who helped the truth or began the guidance of the community or the first set forward among the Prophets and their seal as he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I was the first of the Prophets to be created and the last of them to be sent."

 

One of His names is the Thankful (ash-Shakur). It means the One who rewards for little action. It is also said that it means the One who praises those who obey. He describes His Prophet Nuh with it, saying,

"He was a thankful slave." (17:3)

 

The Prophet described himself as such, saying, "Am I not a thankful slave?" (At-Tirmidhi) acknowledging the blessing of his Lord and recognising its worth, praising Him and striving for increase since He says,

"If you are thankful, I will increase you. If you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe." (14:7)

 

One of Allah's names is the Knower (at-'Alim), the Knowing (al-'Allam), the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He described His Prophet as having knowledge and bestowed it on him as a virtue for him from Him. He says,

"He taught you what you did not know, and the bounty of Allah to you was immense." (4:113)

 

He said,

"He will teach you what you do not know." (2:151)

 

Allah's names include the First and the Last. They mean what precedes things before their existence and what remains after they have disappeared. To be exact, He, in Himself, does not have a first or a last. The Prophet said, "I was the first of the Prophets to be created and the last of them to be sent." With that, he explained the words of Allah,

"When We took their contract from the Prophets and from you and from Nuh." (33:7)

 

He put Muhammad first.  The Prophet said, "We are the last who goes ahead." (Muslim) He said, "I am the first for whom the earth will open up, the first to enter the Garden, the first

 

 

intercessor and the first whose intercession will be accepted." He was the Seal of the Prophets and the last of the Messengers, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

 

One of Allah's names is the Strong (al-Qawi), the One with Strength, and the Firm. It means the Powerful. Allah describes him with that, saying,

"Endued with power, with the One with the Throne, secure." (81:20)

 

It is said that this refers to Muhammad and it is also said that it means Jibril.

 

One of His names is the Truthful (as-Sadiq), and there are hadiths, which also report that one of the Prophet’s names, is the Truthful.

 

AIIah's names include the Guardian (al-Wali) and the Master (al-Mawlu). They mean the Helper. Allah says,

"Your Guardian is Allah and His Messenger." (5:55)

 

The Prophet said, "I am the guardian of every believer." (AI-Bukhari)  Allah says,

"The Messenger is more entitled (awla) to the believers." (33:6)

 

The Prophet said, "As for the one whose master I am, he has an exalted master." (At-Tirmidhi)

 

One of His names is the Pardoning ('Afw). It means the One who overlooks. Allah describes the Prophet with this attribute in the Qur'an and the Torah and He commands him to pardon. He says,

 

"Take pardon." (7:199) He also says, "Pardon them and overlook." (5:13)

 

When the Prophet asked about His words, “Take pardon," Jibril said, "You should pardon the one who wrongs you." In the Torah and the Gospel, it says, describing his qualities, "He is neither coarse nor harsh, but pardons and overlooks."

 

One of His names is the Guide (al-Hadi). It means that Allah gives success to whomever He wants among His slaves. It means to indicate the way and to call them to it. Allah says, "Allah calls to the Abode of Peace and guides whomever He wills to a straight path." (10:25)

 

Its root comes from 'inclination'. In the commentary on Taha it is said to mean, "O Pure! O Guide!" referring to the Prophet. Allah says to him,

"You guide on a straight path." (42:52)

 

 

 

And He says of the Prophet,

"Calling to Allah by His permission." (33:46)

 

Allah in particular possesses the first meaning (giving success in guidance). He says,

"You do not guide the one you want, but Allah guides whomever He will." (28:56)

 

The meaning here indicates the way that this attribute can be applied to other than Allah.

 

Allah's names include the Guardian of Faith (al-Mu'min), the Protector (al-Muhaymin). It is said that they have the same meaning. The meaning of Mu'min, in respect of Allah, is the One who confirms His promise to His slaves. He confirms His true word and confirms His believing slaves and His Messengers. It is said that it means the One who affirms His own unity to Himself. It is said that it means the One who protects His slaves in this world from His injustice and the believers in the Next World from His punishment. It is said that Muhaymin means the Trustworthy (Amin). It is said that the word used at the end of supplications, Amin, is one of the names of Allah and that it means Mu'min. It is said that Muhaymin means the Witness and the Protector.

 

The Prophet is called Amin (Trustworthy) by Allah. He says,

"Obeyed, then trusty." (81:21)

 

The Prophet was known as al-Amin, the trustworthy, and was so famous for it before and after his prophethood began. In his poem, al-'Abbas called him "protector" when he said:

Then your protecting house contained loftiness from Khindif under which there are mountains.  It is said that aI-Amin means "protector".

 

Allah says,

"He believes in Allah and believes the believers" (99:61) i.e. confirms.

 

The Prophet said, "I am the trustworthy one of my companions." (Muslim) This means the believer (mu'min).

 

One of Allah's names is the Pure (aI-Quddus). It means the One disconnected from imperfections and pure of traces of impurity. From this root comes the Pure Valley (Wadi Muqaddis) and the Spirit of Purity (Ruh aI-Quddus).

 

It has come down from the books of the Prophets that one of the Prophet's names is Muqaddas (Pure).  Allah says,

"That Allah might forgive you your wrong actions," (48:2) I.e., that he is the one by whom people are purified of wrong actions and that following him frees people of wrong actions as

 

Allah says, "...to purify you." (62:2)

 

Allah also says,

"He will bring you out of the darkness into the light." (5:16) Or it can mean purified of blameworthy qualities and base attributes.

 

One of His names is the Mighty (aI-'Aziz). It means the difficult of access, victor, or the one who has no like or the self-exalted. Allah says,

"Might belongs to Allah and His Messenger" (63:8) i.e. by inapproachability and majestic value.

 

Allah describes Himself as bringing good news and warning. He says,

"Their Lord will give them good news of a mercy from Him and satisfaction." (9:21)

 

He says,

"Allah gives you good news of Yahya," (3:39) and "...a word from Him." (3:45)

 

Allah calls him a bringer of good news, a warner and a herald, i.e. one who gives good news to the people who obey Him and a warner to the people who rebel against Him.

 

According to one of the commentaries already referred to, Allah's names include Taha and Yasin. One of the commentators has also mentioned that they are also among the names of Muhammad.

 

May Allah bless him and grant him peace and bless his family and ennoble them!