السَّمِيعُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
As-Sami'
The All-Hearing
No ear, no instrument, no organ: As-Sami' hears everything that can be heard, by a hearing that is eternal. When a woman came to the Prophet ﷺ to complain about her husband, Aisha sat in the same house and could not make out her words. Allah heard them, and 58:1 came down.
Key verse
﴿وَلَهُۥ مَا سَكَنَ فِى ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ﴾To Him belongs whatever exists in the day and night. And He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
The scholar's text
The One who Hears all things that are heard by His Eternal Hearing without an ear, instrument or organ.
(وَلَهُ مَا سَكَنَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ) الأنعام 6: 13
(To Him belongs whatever exists in the day and night. And He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.) Al-An’am 6:13
الذي يسمع جميع المسموعات بسمعه الأزلي، بلا أذن ولا آلة ولا جارحة.
(وَلَهُۥ مَا سَكَنَ فِى ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ) الأنعام 6: 13
Allah Has Heard Her
﴿قَدْ سَمِعَ ٱللَّهُ قَوْلَ ٱلَّتِى تُجَـٰدِلُكَ فِى زَوْجِهَا وَتَشْتَكِىٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ يَسْمَعُ تَحَاوُرَكُمَآ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ﴾Indeed, Allah has heard the argument of the woman who pleaded with you ˹O Prophet˺ concerning her husband, and appealed to Allah. Allah has heard your exchange. Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.
Aisha told the story behind 58:1, and she opened with praise: “Praise is to Allah Whose hearing encompasses all voices”. The woman had come to the Prophet ﷺ to complain about her husband while Aisha sat in a corner of the house, unable to hear her, and Allah revealed the verse (Sunan Ibn Majah 188, graded sahih by al-Albani). Every voice, at every time, whatever the need: that is the Name in this verse for al-Sa'di. He reads a promise in it too. Allah would remove her complaint and lift her trial, and the rulings that follow answer her case.
Arabic: قد سمع الله قول التي تجادلك
روت عائشة سبب نزول آية المجادلة: «الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي وَسِعَ سَمْعُهُ الأَصْوَاتَ، لَقَدْ جَاءَتِ الْمُجَادِلَةُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَأَنَا فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْبَيْتِ تَشْكُو زَوْجَهَا وَمَا أَسْمَعُ مَا تَقُولُ» (سنن ابن ماجه 188، صححه الألباني). قال السعدي في ﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ﴾: «لجميع الأصوات، في جميع الأوقات، على تفنن الحاجات»، وقال: «وفي ضمن ذلك الإشارة بأن الله [تعالى] سيزيل شكواها، ويرفع بلواها»، ولذلك جاءت الأحكام بعدها في شأنها.
Our Lord, Accept It From Us
﴿وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ﴾And ˹remember˺ when Abraham raised the foundation of the House with Ishmael, ˹both praying,˺ “Our Lord! Accept ˹this˺ from us. You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
As they raised the foundations of the House, Ibrahim and Ismail called on the Name: Our Lord, accept this from us; You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing (2:127). Fear and hope together, al-Sa'di says, was their state as they worked. Even in that great work they asked Allah to accept it from them, so that its benefit would reach far and wide.
Arabic: ربنا تقبل منا
رفع إبراهيم وإسماعيل القواعد من البيت ودعوا: ﴿رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ﴾، قال السعدي: «وكيف كانت حالهما من الخوف والرجاء، حتى إنهما مع هذا العمل دعوا الله أن يتقبل منهما عملهما، حتى يحصل فيه النفع العميم».
The Hearer of Prayer
﴿ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى وَهَبَ لِى عَلَى ٱلْكِبَرِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ﴾All praise is for Allah who has blessed me with Ishmael and Isaac in my old age. My Lord is indeed the Hearer of ˹all˺ prayers.
Two prophets called on Allah as the Hearer of prayer. Zakariyya, asking for righteous offspring, said: You are certainly the Hearer of all prayers (3:38). Ibrahim, thanking Allah for Ismail and Ishaq given in his old age, said: my Lord is indeed the Hearer of all prayers (14:39). Al-Sa'di explains the Hearer of prayer there as the One near in answering whoever calls on Him, and puts Ibrahim's thanks into words: I called on Him, and He did not disappoint my hope.
Arabic: إن ربي لسميع الدعاء
دعا نبيان الله باسمه سميع الدعاء: قال زكريا وهو يسأل الذرية الطيبة ﴿إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ﴾ (آل عمران 3: 38)، وقال إبراهيم بعد أن وهب له على الكبر إسماعيل وإسحاق: ﴿ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى وَهَبَ لِى عَلَى ٱلْكِبَرِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: لقريب الإجابة ممن دعاه وقد دعوته فلم يخيب رجائي».
Even What Was Never Said
﴿أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُم ۚ بَلَىٰ وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ﴾Or do they think that We do not hear their ˹evil˺ thoughts and secret talks? Yes ˹We do˺! And Our messenger-angels are in their presence, recording ˹it all˺.
43:80 answers those who think their secrets go unheard: yes, We hear them, and Our angels record it all. Al-Sa'di separates the two things heard. The secret is what they never spoke, kept in their hearts, and the private talk is their hushed speech to one another. Thinking neither was heard, he says, is what emboldened them to sin. The answer is the one word yes: We know both, and the noble angels write down all that they did.
Arabic: أنا لا نسمع سرهم ونجواهم
ترد آية الزخرف على من ظن أن سره لا يسمع: ﴿أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُم ۚ بَلَىٰ﴾. قال السعدي في السر: «الذي لم يتكلموا به، بل هو سر في قلوبهم»، وفي النجوى: «أي: كلامهم الخفي الذي يتناجون به»، ولذلك أقدموا على المعاصي، فرد الله عليهم ببلى: «أي: إنا نعلم سرهم ونجواهم»، والملائكة الكرام يكتبون كل ما عملوه.
Nothing Is Like Him
42:11 sets the Name beside a denial: there is nothing like Him, for He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. Not in His essence, His Names, His attributes or His acts: nothing resembles Him, al-Sa'di says. And He hears every voice, in every language, whatever the need. The definition above, without an ear, instrument or organ, says the same in other words. To Musa and Harun, afraid of Pharaoh, that hearing was a comfort: I am with you, hearing and seeing (20:46).
Arabic: ليس كمثله شيء وهو السميع البصير
تجمع آية الشورى الاسم مع النفي: ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: ليس يشبهه تعالى ولا يماثله شيء من مخلوقاته، لا في ذاته، ولا في أسمائه، ولا في صفاته، ولا في أفعاله»، وفي السميع: «لجميع الأصوات، باختلاف اللغات، على تفنن الحاجات». وعبارة التعريف: بلا أذن ولا آلة ولا جارحة، هي هذا المعنى بكلمات أخرى. وكان هذا السمع طمأنينة لموسى وهارون حين خافا فرعون: ﴿إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: أنتما بحفظي ورعايتي، أسمع أقوالكما، وأرى جميع أحوالكما».
From the Sunnah
Praise is to Allah Whose hearing encompasses all voices. The woman who disputed concerning her husband (Al-Mujadilah) came to the Prophet when I was (sitting) in a corner of the house, and she complained about her husband, but I did not hear what she said. The Allah revealed: 'Indeed Allah has heard the statement of her that disputes with you concerning her husband
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي وَسِعَ سَمْعُهُ الأَصْوَاتَ، لَقَدْ جَاءَتِ الْمُجَادِلَةُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَأَنَا فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْبَيْتِ تَشْكُو زَوْجَهَا وَمَا أَسْمَعُ مَا تَقُولُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ {قَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِي تُجَادِلُكَ فِي زَوْجِهَا}
A du'a with this Name
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لاَ يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
In the Name of Allah, who with His Name, nothing in the earth or the heavens can cause harm, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3388, graded hasan sahih by al-Albani: said three times in the morning and the evening, from Uthman ibn Affan
Related Names
Questions about As-Sami'
What does As-Sami' mean?
As-Sami' hears all that is heard, by His eternal hearing: without an ear, an instrument or an organ.
Which verse is given for As-Sami'?
As-Sami' closes 6:13: He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Does Allah hear a quiet du'a?
Yes. Aisha sat in a corner of the same house and could not hear the woman, and Allah heard her (Ibn Majah 188, sahih in al-Albani's grading). He even hears secrets never spoken (43:80).
Is there a du'a with this Name for protection?
Three times morning and evening: “In the Name of Allah, who with His Name, nothing in the earth or the heavens can cause harm, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing” (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3388, graded hasan sahih by al-Albani).