الْقُدُّوسُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Quddus
The Most Holy
Al-Quddus is the One who is pure and far removed from any imperfection: He has no shortcomings, and evil is not attributed to Him. It is mentioned twice in the Quran, and in its verse, 59:23, it comes right after al-Malik, the King.
Key verse
﴿هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ﴾He is Allah: there is no god except Him: the King, the Most Holy, the All-Perfect, the Source of Serenity, the Watcher ˹of all˺, the Almighty, the Supreme in Might, the Majestic. Glorified is Allah far above what they associate with Him ˹in worship˺!
The scholar's text
The one who is pure, so far removed of any imperfection. He has no shortcomings, evil is not attributed to Him.
(هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ) الحشر 59: 23
(He is Allah than Whom there is La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He) the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him.) Al-Hashr 59: 23
It is mentioned 2 times in the Holy Quran
الطاهر البعيد عن كل نقص، لا عيب فيه، ولا ينسب إليه الشر.
(هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ) الحشر 59: 23
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرتين.
Free of Every Flaw, and Magnified
Two sides, al-Sa'di says on 59:23. One: far above every deficiency. Two: Allah magnified in His attributes and His majesty. Put next to as-Salam, the Name after it, that gives One free of every defect, blemish and lack, and glorified. Al-Baghawi stays with the first side: pure of every defect, above whatever does not befit Him. The early glosses Ibn Kathir collects are short. The Pure, for Wahb ibn Munabbih; the Blessed, for Mujahid and Qatada; and for Ibn Jurayj, the One the noble angels declare holy.
Arabic: المنزه عن كل نقص
قال السعدي: «المقدس السالم من كل عيب وآفة ونقص، المعظم الممجد، لأن القدوس يدل على التنزيه عن كل نقص، والتعظيم لله في أوصافه وجلاله». وقال البغوي: «الطاهر من كل عيب المنزه عما لا يليق به». ونقل ابن كثير: «قال وهب بن منبه: أي الطاهر. وقال مجاهد، وقتادة: أي المبارك: وقال ابن جريج: تقدسه الملائكة الكرام».
The King, the Most Holy
﴿يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْمَلِكِ ٱلْقُدُّوسِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ﴾Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Allah: the King, the Most Holy, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
62:1 opens with everything in the heavens and the earth glorifying Allah, then names Him the King, the Most Holy. More than words, al-Sa'di says: everything submits to His command, takes Him as its God and worships Him. Al-Quddus there is the Magnified, free of every defect and flaw. Attributes this great, he adds, call people to worship Allah alone, with no partner. After the witr prayer the Prophet ﷺ said the pair himself: “Subhanal-Malikil-Quddus (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy) three times, elongating the words the last time” (Sunan an-Nasa'i 1699, graded sahih by al-Albani).
Arabic: الملك القدوس
قال السعدي في آية الجمعة: «يسبح لله، وينقاد لأمره، ويتألهه، ويعبده، جميع ما في السماوات والأرض»، وفي ﴿ٱلْقُدُّوسِ﴾: «المعظم، المنزه عن كل آفة ونقص»، ثم قال: «فهذه الأوصاف العظيمة مما تدعو إلى عبادة الله وحده لا شريك له». وكان النبي ﷺ يقول بعد الوتر: «سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ، ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ يُطِيلُ فِي آخِرِهِنَّ» (سنن النسائي 1699، صححه الألباني).
What the Angels Say
﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a successive ˹human˺ authority on earth.” They asked ˹Allah˺, “Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” Allah responded, “I know what you do not know.”
When Allah told the angels He would place a successor on earth, they said of their own worship that they proclaim His holiness (2:30). Al-Sa'di gives two readings of their words. It can mean we declare You holy, or we purify ourselves for You with good character. The Prophet ﷺ used the Name in his own bowing and prostration, as Aisha reports: “All Glorious, All Holy, Lord of the Angels and the Spirit” (Sahih Muslim 487). In Arabic it is subbuhun quddus, and al-Qurtubi quotes the grammarian Tha'lab on the pair: every noun of this pattern begins with an a, except subbuh and quddus, which are more often said with a u.
Arabic: ونقدس لك
لما أخبر الله الملائكة أنه ﴿إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً﴾ وصفوا عبادتهم فقالوا: ﴿وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ﴾ (البقرة 2: 30)، قال السعدي: «يحتمل أن معناها: ونقدسك، فتكون اللام مفيدة للتخصيص والإخلاص، ويحتمل أن يكون: ونقدس لك أنفسنا، أي: نطهرها بالأخلاق الجميلة». وكان النبي ﷺ يقول في ركوعه وسجوده: «سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبُّ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ» (صحيح مسلم 487). وقال القرطبي: «قال ثعلب: كل اسم على فعول فهو مفتوح الأول؛ مثل سفود وكلوب وتنور وسمور وشبوط، إلا السبوح والقدوس فإن الضم فيهما أكثر؛ وقد يفتحان».
The Holy Spirit and the Holy Valley
﴿قُلْ نَزَّلَهُۥ رُوحُ ٱلْقُدُسِ مِن رَّبِّكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ لِيُثَبِّتَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ﴾Say, “The holy spirit has brought it down from your Lord with the truth to reassure the believers, and as a guide and good news for those who submit ˹to Allah˺.”
Holiness is spoken of in the Quran beyond this Name, as in the holy spirit (2:87, 2:253, 5:110, 16:102). Al-Sa'di says most commentators take it to be Jibril, and records another view, that it is the faith by which Allah supports His servants. On 16:102 he describes Jibril as the holy messenger, free of every defect, betrayal and flaw. Places are called holy too: the Holy Land (5:21) and the sacred valley of Tuwa (20:12). Of the valley al-Sa'di says that if its holiness were only that Allah chose it to speak to Musa, that would be enough.
Arabic: روح القدس والوادي المقدس
قال السعدي في ﴿وَأَيَّدْنَـٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ﴾: «قال أكثر المفسرين: إنه جبريل عليه السلام، وقيل: إنه الإيمان الذي يؤيد الله به عباده». وقال في آية النحل: «وهو جبريل الرسول المقدس المنزه عن كل عيب وخيانة وآفة». وروح القدس غير اسم القدوس. ويوصف بالقدس المكان أيضا: ﴿ٱلْأَرْضَ ٱلْمُقَدَّسَةَ﴾ (المائدة 5: 21)، وقال في ﴿إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى﴾: «لأنه بالوادي المقدس المطهر المعظم، ولو لم يكن من تقديسه، إلا أن الله اختاره لمناجاته كليمه موسى لكفى».
Evil Is Not Attributed to Him
The last clause of the definition comes from the Sunnah. When the Prophet ﷺ stood for the night prayer, Ali ibn Abi Talib reports, he opened it with a long supplication that includes the words “Here I am at Thy service, and Grace is to Thee and the whole of good is in Thine hand”, and then, in Arabic, wa-sh-sharru laysa ilayk: evil is not to You (Sahih Muslim 771). Al-Quddus is the One far above every flaw, and nothing evil is attributed to Him. The Quran answers false claims about Him the same way, as in 37:180: “Glorified is your Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power, above what they claim!”
Arabic: والشر ليس إليك
عن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه في دعاء النبي ﷺ في صلاة الليل: «لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي يَدَيْكَ وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ» (صحيح مسلم 771). وقال تعالى: ﴿سُبْحَـٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ ٱلْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ﴾ (الصافات 37: 180).
From the Sunnah
used to pronounce while bowing and prostrating himself:All Glorious, All Holy, Lord of the Angels and the Spirit
كَانَ يَقُولُ فِي رُكُوعِهِ وَسُجُودِهِ سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبُّ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray witr with three rak'ahs. In the first he would recite: "Glorify the Name of Your Lord, the Most High" in the second: "Say: O you disbelievers!", and in the third: "Say: He is Allah, (the) One". And he would say the Qunut before bowing, and when he finished he would say: Subhanal-Malikil-Quddus (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy) three times, elongating the words the last time
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يُوتِرُ بِثَلاَثِ رَكَعَاتٍ كَانَ يَقْرَأُ فِي الأُولَى بِـ { سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الأَعْلَى } وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ بِـ { قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ } وَفِي الثَّالِثَةِ بِـ { قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ } وَيَقْنُتُ قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ فَإِذَا فَرَغَ قَالَ عِنْدَ فَرَاغِهِ سُبْحَانَ الْمَلِكِ الْقُدُّوسِ . ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ يُطِيلُ فِي آخِرِهِنَّ
A du'a with this Name
سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبُّ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ
All Glorious, All Holy, Lord of the Angels and the Spirit
Sahih Muslim 487: the Prophet ﷺ said it in his bowing and prostration
Related Names
Questions about Al-Quddus
What does Al-Quddus mean?
Al-Quddus is pure and far from every imperfection. Al-Sa'di adds the second side of holiness: Allah magnified in His attributes and His majesty.
How many times is Al-Quddus in the Quran?
Al-Quddus is mentioned twice in the Quran. Its verse is 59:23, where the Name comes right after al-Malik.
Is Ruh al-Qudus, the holy spirit, one of the Names of Allah?
No. It is not this Name, and al-Sa'di says most commentators take the holy spirit to be Jibril, the angel who brought down the revelation (16:102).
What did the Prophet ﷺ say after the witr prayer?
Subhanal-Malikil-Quddus, Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy, three times, drawing out the words the last time, Ubayy ibn Ka'b reports (an-Nasa'i 1699, sahih according to al-Albani).