الْمُصَوِّرُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Musawwir
The Shaper
Al-Musawwir means the Shaper: “The One who forms His creatures in different pictures”. In its verse, 59:24, it comes right after the Creator and the Inventor: first the plan, then bringing it into being, then the shape. In the womb, too, He shapes each of us as He wills (3:6).
Key verse
﴿هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ﴾He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise.
The scholar's text
The One who forms His creatures in different pictures.
(هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ ) الحشر 59 : 24
(He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.) Al-Hashr 59:24
الذي يصوّر مخلوقاته في صور مختلفة.
(هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ) الحشر 59: 24
The Third of Three Names
Al-Musawwir comes near the close of Surah al-Hashr: “He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper” (59:24). The three Names follow an order. In Ibn Kathir's words, al-Khaliq determines a thing, al-Bari' carries out what He determined and brings it into existence, and al-Musawwir makes it in the form He wills. Al-Qurtubi and al-Baghawi keep the same order and put shaping last. Al-Sa'di adds that all of this belongs to Allah alone, with no one sharing in it.
Arabic: ثالث ثلاثة أسماء
يأتي اسم المصور قرب خاتمة سورة الحشر: ﴿هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ﴾ (الحشر 59: 24). والأسماء الثلاثة على ترتيب، قال ابن كثير: «الخلق: التقدير، والبراء: هو الفري، وهو التنفيذ وإبراز ما قدره وقرره إلى الوجود»، وقال في المصور: «الذي ينفذ ما يريد إيجاده على الصفة التي يريدها». وقال القرطبي: «وإنما التصوير آخرا والتقدير أولا والبراية بينهما»، وقال البغوي: «فأولا يكون خلقا ثم برءا ثم تصويرا». وقال السعدي: «وهذه الأسماء متعلقة بالخلق والتدبير والتقدير، وأن ذلك كله قد انفرد الله به، لم يشاركه فيه مشارك».
Shaped in the Womb
﴿هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ ۚ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ﴾He is the One Who shapes you in the wombs of your mothers as He wills. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him: the Almighty, All-Wise.
“He is the One Who shapes you in the wombs of your mothers as He wills” (3:6). Al-Sa'di reads “as He wills” to cover every difference between one child and another: whole or with something lacking, male or female, and how each one looks. Al-Qurtubi describes the stages in the mother's womb: a clinging clot, then a lump of flesh, then a form, the shape by which a person is known and told apart from everyone else. The Prophet ﷺ gave a time for the shaping: after forty-two nights an angel is sent to give it its form, its hearing, sight, skin, flesh and bones (Sahih Muslim 2645).
Arabic: التصوير في الأرحام
قال تعالى: ﴿هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ﴾ (آل عمران 3: 6)، قال السعدي: «من كامل الخلق وناقصه، وحسن وقبيح، وذكر وأنثى». وقال القرطبي: «وخلق الله الإنسان في أرحام الأمهات ثلاث خلق: جعله علقة، ثم مضغة، ثم جعله صورة وهو التشكيل الذي يكون به صورة وهيئة يعرف بها ويتميز عن غيره بسمتها». وأخبر النبي ﷺ أنه إذا مر بالنطفة اثنتان وأربعون ليلة بعث الله إليها ملكا فصورها وخلق سمعها وبصرها وجلدها ولحمها وعظامها (صحيح مسلم 2645).
Look at Yourself, Limb by Limb
﴿ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ قَرَارًا وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءً وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ﴾It is Allah Who made the earth a place of settlement for you and the sky a canopy. He shaped you ˹in the womb˺, perfecting your form. And He has provided you with what is good and lawful. That is Allah: your Lord. So Blessed is Allah, Lord of all worlds.
The Quran says in 40:64 and 64:3 that He “shaped you ˹in the womb˺, perfecting your form”. Al-Sa'di's advice for seeing it is practical: look at a person one limb at a time and ask whether any of them would suit him, or work, anywhere else. Then look at the affection people's hearts feel for one another, and at the mind, faith, love and knowledge Allah gave them, which he calls the best character for the finest of forms. On 64:3 he turns to the other side of it: to Him is the return, and He will ask whether these blessings were met with thanks.
Arabic: انظر إليه عضوا عضوا
قال تعالى: ﴿وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ﴾ (غافر 40: 64، التغابن 64: 3). قال السعدي: «وإذا أردت أن تعرف حسن الآدمي وكمال حكمة الله تعالى فيه، فانظر إليه، عضوًا عضوًا، هل تجد عضوًا من أعضائه، يليق به، ويصلح أن يكون في غير محله؟ وانظر أيضًا، إلى الميل الذي في القلوب، بعضهم لبعض، هل تجد ذلك في غير الآدمين؟ وانظر إلى ما خصه الله به من العقل والإيمان، والمحبة والمعرفة، التي هي أحسن الأخلاق المناسبة لأجمل الصور». وقال في آية التغابن: «ويسألكم عن النعم والنعيم، الذي أولاكموه هل قمتم بشكره، أم لم تقوموا بشكره؟».
In Whatever Form He Willed
﴿ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّىٰكَ فَعَدَلَكَ﴾Who created you, fashioned you, and perfected your design,
Surah al-Infitar turns the same fact into a question: “O humanity! What has emboldened you against your Lord, the Most Generous” (82:6), the One who created, fashioned and perfected you (82:7) and is “moulding you in whatever form He willed” (82:8). Mujahid, quoted by Ibn Kathir, took “in whatever form” to mean the likeness of a father, a mother, a maternal uncle or a paternal uncle. Ibn Kathir backs that reading with a report found in both Sahihs: a man told the Prophet ﷺ that a black child had been born to him, and the Prophet asked about his camels. They were red, with a grey one among them. If grey can come from red through an earlier line, the Prophet ﷺ said, so can the color of a child (Sahih al-Bukhari 5305).
Arabic: في أي صورة ما شاء ركبك
وفي سورة الانفطار: ﴿يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ ٱلْكَرِيمِ﴾ ﴿ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّىٰكَ فَعَدَلَكَ﴾ ﴿فِىٓ أَىِّ صُورَةٍ مَّا شَآءَ رَكَّبَكَ﴾ (الانفطار 82: 6-8). قال ابن كثير: «قال مجاهد في أي شبه أب أو أم أو خال أو عم»، واستشهد بما في الصحيحين أن رجلا أتى النبي ﷺ فقال: «يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وُلِدَ لِي غُلاَمٌ أَسْوَدُ . فَقَالَ هَلْ لَكَ مِنْ إِبِلٍ . قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ مَا أَلْوَانُهَا . قَالَ حُمْرٌ . قَالَ هَلْ فِيهَا مِنْ أَوْرَقَ . قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ فَأَنَّى ذَلِكَ . قَالَ لَعَلَّهُ نَزَعَهُ عِرْقٌ . قَالَ فَلَعَلَّ ابْنَكَ هَذَا نَزَعَهُ» (صحيح البخاري 5305).
Shaped, Then Honoured
﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ﴾Surely We created you, then shaped you, then said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all did: but not Iblîs, who refused to prostrate with the others.
The story of Adam starts with the shaping: “Surely We created you, then shaped you” (7:11), and only then were the angels told to prostrate before him. Al-Sa'di says the shaping was in the finest form and stature, and that Allah then taught Adam the names of all things, by which his inner form was made complete. The prostration was to honour Adam and show his rank. Iblis refused, out of pride and self-admiration.
Arabic: صوره ثم أكرمه
وفي قصة آدم: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ﴾ (الأعراف 7: 11)، ثم أمر الملائكة بالسجود له. قال السعدي: «في أحسن صورة، وأحسن تقويم، وعلمه الله تعالى ما به تكمل صورته الباطنة، أسماء كل شيء»، وكان السجود «إكراما واحتراما، وإظهارا لفضله،»، وأبى إبليس «تكبرا عليه وإعجابا بنفسه».
He Looks at the Heart
Every face is His work, and still faces are not what He weighs. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Verily Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds” (Sahih Muslim 2564). The form is a blessing to thank Him for, as al-Sa'di says on 64:3; what Allah looks at is the heart and the deeds.
Arabic: ينظر إلى القلوب
كل صورة من صنعه، ولكن الصور ليست ما يزن الله به الناس. قال النبي ﷺ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ» (صحيح مسلم 2564). فالصورة نعمة تُشكر، كما قال السعدي في آية التغابن، والذي ينظر الله إليه هو القلب والعمل.
From the Sunnah
When forty-two nights pass after the semen gets into the womb, Allah sends the angel and gives him shape. Then he creates his sense of hearing, sense of sight, his skin, his flesh, his bones
إِذَا مَرَّ بِالنُّطْفَةِ ثِنْتَانِ وَأَرْبَعُونَ لَيْلَةً بَعَثَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهَا مَلَكًا فَصَوَّرَهَا وَخَلَقَ سَمْعَهَا وَبَصَرَهَا وَجِلْدَهَا وَلَحْمَهَا وَعِظَامَهَا
A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! A black child has been born for me." The Prophet asked him, "Have you got camels?" The man said, "Yes." The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, "What color are they?" The man replied, "Red." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Is there a grey one among them?' The man replied, "Yes." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whence comes that?" He said, "May be it is because of heredity." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "May be your latest son has this color because of heredity
يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وُلِدَ لِي غُلاَمٌ أَسْوَدُ . فَقَالَ هَلْ لَكَ مِنْ إِبِلٍ . قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ مَا أَلْوَانُهَا . قَالَ حُمْرٌ . قَالَ هَلْ فِيهَا مِنْ أَوْرَقَ . قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ فَأَنَّى ذَلِكَ . قَالَ لَعَلَّهُ نَزَعَهُ عِرْقٌ . قَالَ فَلَعَلَّ ابْنَكَ هَذَا نَزَعَهُ
A du'a with this Name
سَجَدَ وَجْهِي لِلَّذِي خَلَقَهُ وَصَوَّرَهُ وَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ
My face is submitted before One Who created it, and shaped it, and opened his faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators
Sahih Muslim 771, narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talib: what the Prophet ﷺ said in prostration in the night prayer
Related Names
Questions about Al-Musawwir
What does Al-Musawwir mean?
Al-Musawwir is the Shaper, the One who gives each creature its form: “The One who forms His creatures in different pictures.” Al-Qurtubi explains the Name as the One who shapes forms and puts them together in different appearances.
What is the difference between Al-Khaliq, Al-Bari' and Al-Musawwir?
Three steps of one act. Determining what a thing will be is creating, the work of al-Khaliq; bringing it from nothing into being is the work of al-Bari'; giving it its features is the work of al-Musawwir. That is the order of 59:24, and al-Qurtubi notes that shaping always comes last.
Which du'a mentions Allah shaping us?
In prostration during the night prayer the Prophet ﷺ would say: “My face is submitted before One Who created it, and shaped it, and opened his faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators” (Sahih Muslim 771).
Is Al-Musawwir one of the 99 Names?
The Quran itself calls Allah al-Musawwir in 59:24, and the same verse says He alone has the Most Beautiful Names. Al-Bukhari (7392) records that Allah has ninety-nine Names. A list naming each of the 99, with al-Musawwir in it, is reported by at-Tirmidhi (3507), and al-Albani graded that list weak.