الْقَيُّومُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Qayyoom
The All-Sustaining
Self-Subsisting, the One on whom everything else depends: that is Al-Qayyoom, the Sustainer of Himself and of all created. The Name is mentioned 3 times in the Quran. Its verse is the Verse of the Throne, 2:255: Allah, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Al-Sa'di's short version: He stands by Himself, and He keeps the rest standing.
Key verse
﴿ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ﴾Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission? He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge: except what He wills ˹to reveal˺. His Seat encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire Him. For He is the Most High, the Greatest.
The scholar's text
The Self-Subsisting, The Self-Existing One upon Whom all others depend
Al-Qayyûm, meaning Allah is the Sustainer of Himself and of all created
(ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ) البقرة 2: 255
(Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission? He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge: except what He wills ˹to reveal˺. His Seat encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire Him. For He is the Most High, the Greatest.) Al-Baqara 2:255
It is mentioned 3 times in the Holy Quran
القائم بنفسه، الموجود بذاته الذي يعتمد عليه كل ما سواه.
القيوم، أي أن الله هو القائم بنفسه والقائم على كل مخلوق.
(ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ) البقرة 2: 255
ورد في القرآن الكريم 3 مرات.
He Stands by Himself and Keeps All Else Standing
Two lines of definition above, and al-Sa'di says the same thing his own way. Al-Qayyoom stands by Himself and keeps others standing. That covers everything the Lord of the worlds does: He creates, provides, gives death and life, and manages every affair. Ibn Kathir turns it around. Everything that exists needs Him; He needs nothing. Without His command, nothing would hold together.
Arabic: الحي القيوم
قول التعريف أعلاه: القائم بنفسه والذي يعتمد عليه كل شيء، هو تعريف السعدي بلفظ آخر: «والقيوم: هو الذي قام بنفسه وقام بغيره، وذلك مستلزم لجميع الأفعال التي اتصف بها رب العالمين من فعله ما يشاء من الاستواء والنزول والكلام والقول والخلق والرزق والإماتة والإحياء، وسائر أنواع التدبير، كل ذلك داخل في قيومية الباري». وقال ابن كثير: «فجميع الموجودات مفتقرة إليه وهو غني عنها، ولا قوام لها بدون أمره».
Neither Drowsiness Nor Sleep
Right after the Name, 2:255 says: neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. For Ibn Kathir this belongs to the Name itself. Sustaining that is complete never dozes. No lack, no heedlessness, no distraction from what He made; He stands over every soul and what it has earned. The Prophet ﷺ put it in a sentence: “Verily the Exalted and Mighty God does not sleep, and it does not befit Him to sleep” (Sahih Muslim 179, narrated by Abu Musa).
Arabic: لا تأخذه سنة ولا نوم
وتمضي الآية: ﴿لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ﴾، قال ابن كثير: «ومن تمام القيومية أنه لا يعتريه سنة ولا نوم»، و«أي: لا يعتريه نقص ولا غفلة ولا ذهول عن خلقه بل هو قائم على كل نفس بما كسبت شهيد على كل شيء». وقال النبي ﷺ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لاَ يَنَامُ وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَنَامَ» (صحيح مسلم 179، عن أبي موسى).
The Heaven and the Earth Stand by His Command
﴿وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَن تَقُومَ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۚ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ﴾And one of His signs is that the heavens and the earth persist by His command. Then when He calls you out of the earth just once, you will instantly come forth.
To explain the Name, Ibn Kathir reaches for 30:25: among His signs, the heaven and the earth stand by His command. They stood, al-Sa'di says, and settled and held firm, without shaking, and the sky did not fall on the earth. The power that holds them, he adds, is the power that will bring people out of the earth with a single call. 30:26 goes on: to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth, all obedient to Him; all of them His creation and His property, in al-Sa'di's words, humbled before His majesty.
Arabic: أن تقوم السماء والأرض بأمره
وفسر ابن كثير القيوم عند آية الكرسي بآية الروم: ﴿وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَن تَقُومَ ٱلسَّمَآءُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۚ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: ومن آياته العظيمة أن قامت السماوات والأرض واستقرتا وثبتتا بأمره فلم تتزلزلا ولم تسقط السماء على الأرض»، «فقدرته العظيمة التي بها أمسك السماوات والأرض أن تزولا، يقدر بها أنه إذا دعا الخلق دعوة من الأرض إذا هم يخرجون». ثم: ﴿وَلَهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ كُلٌّ لَّهُۥ قَـٰنِتُونَ﴾، قال: «الكل خلقه ومماليكه المتصرف فيهم من غير منازع ولا معاون ولا معارض وكلهم قانتون لجلاله خاضعون لكماله».
Keeper of the Heavens and the Earth
When the Prophet ﷺ stood for the night prayer, he began with the praise of the One who keeps the heavens and the earth: “O Allah, our Lord! All the praises are for You; You are the Keeper (Establisher or the One Who looks after) of the Heavens and the Earth” (Sahih al-Bukhari 7442, narrated by Ibn Abbas). Al-Bukhari adds, after the report, the words of Mujahid: al-Qayyum is the One who maintains everything. The opening of the du'a is in the box below.
Arabic: أنت قيم السماوات والأرض
كان النبي ﷺ إذا تهجد من الليل قال: «اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ، أَنْتَ قَيِّمُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ» (صحيح البخاري 7442، عن ابن عباس). وقال البخاري بعده: «وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ الْقَيُّومُ الْقَائِمُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ». وأول الدعاء في الصندوق الآتي.
From the Sunnah
Verily the Exalted and Mighty God does not sleep, and it does not befit Him to sleep
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لاَ يَنَامُ وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَنَامَ
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ، أَنْتَ قَيِّمُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ
O Allah, our Lord! All the praises are for You; You are the Keeper (Establisher or the One Who looks after) of the Heavens and the Earth
Sahih al-Bukhari 7442: what the Prophet ﷺ said when he stood for the night prayer, as Ibn Abbas reported
Related Names
Questions about Al-Qayyoom
What does Al-Qayyoom mean?
Al-Qayyoom exists by Himself and holds up everything else: He sustains Himself and all that is created.
How many times is Al-Qayyoom in the Quran?
Al-Qayyoom is mentioned 3 times in the Quran; in the Verse of the Throne, 2:255, it comes right after the Ever-Living.
Why does the Verse of the Throne say that Allah does not sleep?
No lapse touches Allah: Ibn Kathir on 2:255 says drowsiness and sleep never overtake Him, and He is never heedless of His creation.
What keeps the heavens and the earth in place?
Allah's command: by it the heaven and the earth stand (30:25), and al-Sa'di says the sky does not fall on the earth by the same power.