الله
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Allah
The Proper Name of God
Allah is the single, proper name for God in Islam. Al-Sa'di explains it as the One who is worshipped and alone deserves worship, and the four phrases dearest to Him are all built on it, as the Prophet ﷺ said (Sahih Muslim 2137).
Key verse
﴿إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ﴾‘It is truly I. I am Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Me. So worship Me ˹alone˺, and establish prayer for My remembrance.
The scholar's text
Allah: The single, proper name for God in Islam
Names of Allah in the Hadith
As it is written in the Quran (17:110): "Call Upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: By whatever name you call upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names."
The following list consists of the most common and agreed-upon names of Allah, which were explicitly stated in the Quran or hadith:
It is used 2724 times in the Quran
الله: الاسم العلم الواحد لله في الإسلام.
أسماء الله في الحديث
قال تعالى: ﴿قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ﴾ (الإسراء 17: 110)
وفيما يلي أشهر أسماء الله المتفق عليها، الواردة صراحة في القرآن أو الحديث:
ورد في القرآن الكريم 2724 مرة.
The list: all the Names of Allah on IslamFAQ, in the well-known order
The Name of God Himself
Al-Baghawi records two views. Al-Khalil and a group of scholars held that Allah is a proper name belonging to Him alone, with no root, the way a person's own name is not derived from anything. Others said it is derived, from aliha, to worship, meaning He alone deserves worship; al-Mubarrad took it from the Arabs' saying alihtu ila, I found rest in, as if creation finds rest in Him and grows calm at His remembrance. Al-Sa'di joins the meaning to the worship: Allah is the One who is worshipped and deserves to be worshipped alone, because of the attributes of divinity, which are the attributes of perfection.
Arabic: الاسم العلم
قال البغوي: «قال الخليل وجماعة هو اسم علم خاص لله عز وجل لا اشتقاق له كأسماء الأعلام للعباد مثل زيد وعمرو». «وقال جماعة هو مشتق ثم اختلفوا في اشتقاقه فقيل من أله إلاهة أي عبد عبادة»، «معناه أنه مستحق للعبادة دون غيره»، وقال المبرد: «هو من قول العرب ألهت إلى فلان أي سكنت إليه»، «فكأن الخلق يسكنون إليه ويطمئنون بذكره». وقال السعدي: «هو المألوه المعبود, المستحق لإفراده بالعبادة, لما اتصف به من صفات الألوهية وهي صفات الكمال».
I Am Allah, So Worship Me
The verse in the card was said to Musa: the Name, then the shahada, then worship and prayer. Al-Sa'di explains that He alone deserves divinity because He is perfect in His Names and attributes and alone in His acts, with no partner, no likeness and no equal. Prayer is singled out for His remembrance, and al-Sa'di warns that a heart left idle of Allah's remembrance is idle of every good, ruined through and through.
Arabic: إنني أنا الله
قيل لموسى عليه السلام: ﴿إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ﴾ (طه 20: 14)، قال السعدي: «أي: الله المستحق الألوهية المتصف بها، لأنه الكامل في أسمائه وصفاته، المنفرد بأفعاله، الذي لا شريك له ولا مثيل ولا كفو ولا سمي»، «ثم خص الصلاة بالذكر وإن كانت داخلة في العبادة، لفضلها وشرفها، وتضمنها عبودية القلب واللسان والجوارح»، وقال: «فالقلب المعطل عن ذكر الله، معطل عن كل خير، وقد خرب كل الخراب».
Say: He Is Allah, One
Surah Al-Ikhlas opens with the Name and then describes it: “He is Allah: One ˹and Indivisible˺” (112:1), “Allah: the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺” (112:2). Al-Sa'di says Al-Ahad is the One alone in perfection, who has the Most Beautiful Names, with no equal and no likeness, and As-Samad is the One sought in every need. The Prophet ﷺ heard a man call on Allah with these words and said: “You have supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers” (Sunan Abi Dawud 1493, graded sahih by al-Albani). The man's words are the du'a below.
Arabic: قل هو الله أحد
قال السعدي: «فهو الأحد المنفرد بالكمال، الذي له الأسماء الحسنى، والصفات الكاملة العليا، والأفعال المقدسة، الذي لا نظير له ولا مثيل»، وفي ﴿ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ﴾: «أي: المقصود في جميع الحوائج. فأهل العالم العلوي والسفلي مفتقرون إليه غاية الافتقار». وسمع النبي ﷺ رجلا يدعو بهذه الكلمات فقال: «لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَ اللَّهَ بِالاِسْمِ الَّذِي إِذَا سُئِلَ بِهِ أَعْطَى وَإِذَا دُعِيَ بِهِ أَجَابَ» (سنن أبي داود 1493، صححه الألباني)، ودعاؤه هو الدعاء المذكور أدناه.
Near to the One Who Calls
﴿وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ﴾When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond ˹with obedience˺ to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided ˹to the Right Way˺.
Al-Sa'di says 2:186 answered a question some Companions put to the Prophet ﷺ: is our Lord near, so that we whisper to Him, or far, so that we call out to Him? The answer was: I am truly near. There are two nearnesses in al-Sa'di's reading. By His knowledge He is near every creature; to the one who worships Him and asks, He is near in another way, answering, helping and setting him right.
Arabic: فإني قريب
قال السعدي في قوله تعالى: ﴿فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ﴾: «هذا جواب سؤال، سأل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعض أصحابه فقالوا: يا رسول الله, أقريب ربنا فنناجيه, أم بعيد فنناديه؟»، «والقرب نوعان: قرب بعلمه من كل خلقه, وقرب من عابديه وداعيه بالإجابة والمعونة والتوفيق».
The Words Dearest to Allah
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The dearest phrases to Allah are four: Subhan Allah (Hallowed be Allah), Al-Hamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), La ilaha illa-Allah (There is no deity but Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)” (Sahih Muslim 2137). Every one of the four carries the Name. In the same hadith he said the order does not matter: start with whichever you like.
Arabic: أحب الكلام إلى الله
قال النبي ﷺ: «أَحَبُّ الْكَلاَمِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَرْبَعٌ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ»، «لاَ يَضُرُّكَ بَأَيِّهِنَّ بَدَأْتَ» (صحيح مسلم 2137).
From the Sunnah
The dearest phrases to Allah are four: Subhan Allah (Hallowed be Allah), Al-Hamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), La ilaha illa-Allah (There is no deity but Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater). There is no harm for you in which of them begin with (while remembering Allah)
أَحَبُّ الْكَلاَمِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَرْبَعٌ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ . لاَ يَضُرُّكَ بَأَيِّهِنَّ بَدَأْتَ.
Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise
إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْمَا مِائَةً إِلاَّ وَاحِدًا مَنْ أَحْصَاهَا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ أَنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ الأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
O Allah, I ask Thee, I bear witness that there is no god but Thou, the One, He to Whom men repair, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal
Sunan Abi Dawud 1493, graded sahih by al-Albani: the Prophet ﷺ said the man had called on Allah by His Greatest Name
Related Names
Questions about Allah
What does the Name Allah mean?
Allah is God's one proper name in Islam. Al-Sa'di's word for it is al-ma'luh, the One worshipped: worship is His right because the attributes of perfection are His.
Is the word Allah derived from ilah?
Scholars differ, al-Baghawi reports. Al-Khalil saw it as a name with no root, like a person's own name; others traced it to aliha, to worship, which makes it the One who alone deserves worship.
How many times is Allah mentioned in the Quran?
Allah is used 2724 times in the Quran. Surah Al-Ikhlas opens with it (112:1).
Does Allah have exactly 99 Names?
Ninety-nine is the number in al-Bukhari's hadith (2736), with Paradise for whoever knows them, but it does not list them. The list most people know is at-Tirmidhi's (3507), which al-Albani judged weak. Our own list of the Names is linked on this page.