الْمُجِيبُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Mujeeb
The Responsive
Al-Mujeeb answers the one in need when he asks and rescues the one in distress when he calls. Salih told his people that his Lord is near and responsive (11:61), and al-Sa'di explains why the two Names come together: His nearness to those who call on Him brings His answer.
Key verse
﴿وَلَقَدْ نَادَىٰنَا نُوحٌ فَلَنِعْمَ ٱلْمُجِيبُونَ﴾Indeed, Noah cried out to Us, and how excellent are We in responding!
The scholar's text
The Responsive, The Hearkener, The One who answers the one in need if he asks Him and rescues the yearned if he calls upon Him.
(وَلَقَدْ نَادَانَا نُوحٌ فَلَنِعْمَ الْمُجِيبُونَ ) الصافات 37 : 75
(Indeed, Noah cried out to Us, and how excellent are We in responding!) As-Saffat 37:75
It is mentioned 1 time in the Holy Quran
المجيب، السامع، الذي يجيب المحتاج إذا سأله، ويغيث الملهوف إذا دعاه.
(وَلَقَدْ نَادَىٰنَا نُوحٌ فَلَنِعْمَ ٱلْمُجِيبُونَ) الصافات 37: 75
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرة واحدة.
Near, and Responsive
﴿وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَـٰلِحًا ۚ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱسْتَعْمَرَكُمْ فِيهَا فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ﴾And to the people of Thamûd We sent their brother Ṣâliḥ. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. He ˹is the One Who˺ produced you from the earth and settled you on it. So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Lord is Ever Near, All-Responsive ˹to prayers˺.”
Salih ended his call to Thamud with a reason to come back: seek His forgiveness, turn to Him, for He is near and answers (11:61). Al-Baghawi reads both words toward the believers: near to them, answering their du'a. Al-Sa'di separates two kinds of nearness. One is His knowledge of every creature. The other is kept for those who worship Him, ask Him and love Him, and that nearness brings His kindness, His answer to their prayers and what they hope for. That, he says, is why al-Qarib is paired with al-Mujib. Ibn Kathir sets the verse beside 2:186, where Allah answers the one who calls.
Arabic: إن ربي قريب مجيب
ختم صالح دعوته لثمود بقوله: ﴿فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ﴾ (هود 11: 61). قال البغوي: ﴿إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ﴾ «من المؤمنين»، ﴿مُّجِيبٌ﴾ «لدعائهم». وقال السعدي: «واعلم أن قربه تعالى نوعان: عام، وخاص، فالقرب العام: قربه بعلمه، من جميع الخلق»، ثم ذكر القرب الخاص من عابديه وسائليه ومحبيه وقال: «وهذا النوع، قرب يقتضي إلطافه تعالى، وإجابته لدعواتهم، وتحقيقه لمراداتهم، ولهذا يقرن، باسمه القريب اسمه المجيب». وقرنها ابن كثير بقوله تعالى: ﴿وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ﴾ (البقرة 2: 186).
Noah Called, and Was Answered
Its verse says: how excellent are We in responding (37:75). Al-Sa'di gives the setting. Noah called his people to Allah for that long stretch of years and his call only drove them further away, so he turned to his Lord. Ibn Kathir reads the verse as excellent in answering him, and the next verse says what the answer was: his family was saved from the great distress (37:76). Surah al-Anbiya' tells it the same way: We responded to him (21:76).
Arabic: ولقد نادانا نوح
وفي آيته: ﴿فَلَنِعْمَ ٱلْمُجِيبُونَ﴾. قال السعدي في ﴿وَلَقَدْ نَادَىٰنَا نُوحٌ﴾: «أنه لما دعا قومه إلى اللّه، تلك المدة الطويلة فلم يزدهم دعاؤه، إلا فرارا». وقال ابن كثير: «فلنعم المجيبون له». ثم قال تعالى: ﴿وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ وَأَهْلَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلْكَرْبِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ﴾ (الصافات 37: 76)، وفي سورة الأنبياء: ﴿فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ﴾ (21: 76).
Call on Me, I Will Respond
﴿وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ﴾Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.”
40:60 turns the Name into an invitation. Al-Sa'di says Allah commanded His servants to call on Him in both ways, by worship and by asking, and promised to respond, while the verse warns those too proud to do it. The Prophet ﷺ described Allah calling out to people Himself in the last third of every night: “Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145).
Arabic: ادعوني أستجب لكم
قال السعدي في ﴿ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ﴾: «وأمرهم بدعائه، دعاء العبادة، ودعاء المسألة، ووعدهم أن يستجيب لهم»، وتتوعد الآية المستكبرين: ﴿إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ﴾. وقال النبي ﷺ: «يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرُ يَقُولُ مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ» (صحيح البخاري 1145).
So We Answered Him
﴿فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْغَمِّ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُـۨجِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish. And so do We save the ˹true˺ believers.
Surah al-Anbiya' repeats one phrase as it goes through the prophets in hardship: so We answered his prayer. It is said of Ayyub in his adversity (21:84), of Yunus in the darkness (21:88) and of Zakariyya, who was given Yahya after his wife could not bear children (21:90). After Yunus comes a line for everyone else: and so do We save the believers. Al-Sa'di calls it a promise and good news for every believer who falls into hardship and grief, that Allah will save him from it, lift it or lighten it, because of his faith, as He did for Yunus.
Arabic: فاستجبنا له
تتكرر ﴿فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ﴾ في سورة الأنبياء: مع أيوب في ضره (21: 84)، ويونس في الظلمات (21: 88)، وزكريا الذي وهب له يحيى بعد أن كانت امرأته عاقرا (21: 90). قال السعدي في ﴿وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُـۨجِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾: «وهذا وعد وبشارة، لكل مؤمن وقع في شدة وغم، أن الله تعالى سينجيه منها، ويكشف عنه ويخفف، لإيمانه»، كما فعل بيونس عليه السلام.
What Holds an Answer Back
The answer has conditions, and the Prophet ﷺ named them: “The supplication of the servant is granted in case he does not supplicate for sin or for severing the ties of blood, or he does not become impatient” (Sahih Muslim 2735). Two are about what is asked, a sin or cutting off family. The third is about the one asking. When he was asked what impatience means, he described a person who says I asked and I asked and saw no answer, then grows weary and stops asking. The delay is not the problem; giving up is.
Arabic: ما لم يستعجل
قال النبي ﷺ: «لاَ يَزَالُ يُسْتَجَابُ لِلْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يَدْعُ بِإِثْمٍ أَوْ قَطِيعَةِ رَحِمٍ مَا لَمْ يَسْتَعْجِلْ، قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا الاِسْتِعْجَالُ قَالَ يَقُولُ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ وَقَدْ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَ يَسْتَجِيبُ لِي فَيَسْتَحْسِرُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ وَيَدَعُ الدُّعَاءَ» (صحيح مسلم 2735).
From the Sunnah
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: "Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?
يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرُ يَقُولُ مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ
Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play
ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ
A du'a with this Name
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You, Indeed, I have been of the transgressors
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3505, graded sahih by al-Albani: the du'a of Yunus in the belly of the whale; the Prophet ﷺ said no Muslim calls with it for anything without Allah answering him
Related Names
Questions about Al-Mujeeb
What does Al-Mujeeb mean?
Al-Mujeeb is the Responsive, the Hearkener. Al-Baghawi, on 11:61: He answers the du'a of the believers.
How many times is Al-Mujeeb in the Quran?
Al-Mujeeb is mentioned once in the Quran. Its verse here is 37:75, about Noah: how excellent are We in responding.
Whose du'a is sure to be answered?
Three, the Prophet ﷺ said: “There are three supplications that will undoubtedly be answered: the supplication of one who has been wronged; the supplication of the traveler; and the supplication of a father for his child” (Sunan Ibn Majah 3862, graded hasan by al-Albani).
How should I make du'a?
With certainty, and not only when in trouble. “Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play” (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3479, graded hasan by al-Albani). And: “Whoever wishes that Allah would respond to him during hardship and grief, then let him supplicate plentifully when at ease” (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3382, graded hasan by al-Albani).