The names of Allah, and where to find them

Not another list to scroll past. Each name with the verse it comes from, so you can open the Book and read it in its place.

You have seen the ninety-nine names on a poster, on a fridge magnet, on a wall hanging. You may never have read one of them in the verse it actually comes from.

That is what this page is for. And the instruction to use them at all is itself in the Qur'an.

Where the number ninety-nine comes from

Being accurate about this matters, because almost nobody is.

The number ninety-nine is not from the Qur'an. It comes from a hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim — among the most rigorously authenticated material there is — in which the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah has ninety-nine names, and that whoever enumerates them enters Paradise.

The familiar numbered list is a separate question. The version most posters use comes through a narration in Tirmidhi, and scholars have long discussed whether that enumeration was part of the Prophet's words or was compiled afterwards by a narrator. Different scholars produced different lists, and they do not all agree name for name.

So this page does something narrower and more honest: it gives names that appear in the Qur'an, with a verse for each one. Not a claim to be the definitive ninety-nine. A set you can check yourself, which is worth more.

The verse that gathers many at once

If you read only one passage today, read this one. It contains more of the names in sequence than anywhere else in the Qur'an.

Surah Al-Hashr (59 : 22–24) — Three verses, name after name — the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme — then the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. It closes by saying that everything in the heavens and the earth exalts Him.

Names, and the verse each one is in

Arranged by what you might be carrying when you reach for one.

When you need mercy, or have run out of it for yourself:

Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful) — Al-Fatihah 1 : 1

Ar-Rahim (The Bestower of Mercy) — Al-Fatihah 1 : 3

Al-Ghafur (The Much-Forgiving) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 173

Al-Ghaffar (The Repeatedly Forgiving) — Ta-Ha 20 : 82

At-Tawwab (The Accepter of Repentance) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 37

Al-'Afuww (The Pardoner) — An-Nisa 4 : 99

Al-Halim (The Forbearing) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 225

Ar-Ra'uf (The Most Kind) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 143

Al-Wadud (The Loving) — Hud 11 : 90

When you are afraid, or something is beyond your control:

Al-Hayy (The Ever-Living) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 255

Al-Qayyum (The Sustainer of all existence) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 255

Al-'Aziz (The Almighty) — Al-Hashr 59 : 23

Al-Qawiyy (The All-Strong) — Al-Hajj 22 : 40

Al-Wakil (The Trustee) — Al-Imran 3 : 173

Al-Hafiz (The Preserver) — Hud 11 : 57

Al-Waliyy (The Protecting Ally) — Ash-Shura 42 : 28

As-Salam (The Source of Peace) — Al-Hashr 59 : 23

Al-Muhaymin (The Guardian) — Al-Hashr 59 : 23

When you need something:

Ar-Razzaq (The Provider) — Adh-Dhariyat 51 : 58

Al-Fattah (The Opener) — Saba 34 : 26

Al-Mujib (The Responder to supplication) — Hud 11 : 61

Al-Wasi' (The All-Encompassing) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 115

Al-Wahhab (The Bestower) — Al-Imran 3 : 8

Al-Ghaniyy (The Self-Sufficient) — Fatir 35 : 15

Al-Qarib (The Near) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 186

When you feel unseen:

As-Sami' (The All-Hearing) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 127

Al-Basir (The All-Seeing) — Al-Isra 17 : 1

Al-'Alim (The All-Knowing) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 32

Al-Khabir (The All-Aware) — Al-Mulk 67 : 14

Al-Latif (The Subtle) — Al-Mulk 67 : 14

Ar-Raqib (The Watchful) — An-Nisa 4 : 1

Ash-Shahid (The Witness) — Al-Hajj 22 : 17

Ash-Shakur (The Appreciative) — Fatir 35 : 30

When you are thinking about what He is:

Al-Ahad (The One) — Al-Ikhlas 112 : 1

As-Samad (The Eternal Refuge) — Al-Ikhlas 112 : 2

Al-Malik (The Sovereign) — Al-Hashr 59 : 23

Al-Quddus (The Most Holy) — Al-Hashr 59 : 23

Al-Khaliq (The Creator) — Al-Hashr 59 : 24

Al-Bari' (The Originator) — Al-Hashr 59 : 24

Al-Musawwir (The Fashioner) — Al-Hashr 59 : 24

Al-'Aliyy (The Most High) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 255

Al-'Azim (The Magnificent) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 255

Al-Haqq (The Truth) — Al-Hajj 22 : 6

An-Nur (The Light) — An-Nur 24 : 35

Al-Hakim (The All-Wise) — Al-Baqarah 2 : 32

Al-Hamid (The Praiseworthy) — Ibrahim 14 : 1

Al-Awwal · Al-Akhir (The First and the Last) — Al-Hadid 57 : 3

Az-Zahir · Al-Batin (The Manifest and the Hidden) — Al-Hadid 57 : 3

How to actually use this

Reading a list changes nothing. Two things do.

Take one name a week. Not ninety-nine. One. Open the verse it comes from, read it in place, and use that name in your du'a all week. Asking Ya Razzaq when you need provision, or Ya Mujib when you need an answer, is calling on Him by the name that fits the thing — which is what Al-A'raf 7 : 180 tells you to do.

Notice which one you avoid. Most people find one name harder than the others. It is usually the one they most need.