Calling Allāh With His Greatest Names and Attributes

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Calling Allāh With His Greatest Names (Ism-ul-Aẓīm) and His Ṣifāt (Attributes)

Albāni said: This ḥadith (narrated below) endorses the intercession through the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allāh, which reflects the commands of Allāh in the Qur'ān: 

And to Allāh belongs the best names, so invoke Him by them." (Al-A'rāf 7: 180), 

As for interceding through other things such as the status or right or position of the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Hanifah, May Allāh bestow His mercy upon him, stated that it is disliked, which is the view adopted by his students too, and when they state a matter is disliked in its absolute format, they intend to mean it is forbidden. However, it is unfortunate to see most people today, including many shaykhs, never use this prescribed type of intercession that all scholars agree upon, and rarely find any of them interceding to Allāh through His Names and Attributes, all the while, they ensure to use the innovated type of intercessions, the least of that is what is disputable.

Source; The Description of the Prophet ﷺ Prayer Pg 170 Translated by Dar-as-Sunnah publishers.

1️⃣ Narrated Anas ibn Malik: “I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and a man was offering prayer in which he supplicated:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَحْدَكَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَكَ الْمَنَّانُ بَدِيعُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، يا ذُو الْجَلاَلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ، يَا حَىُّ يَا قَيُّومُ [إِنِّي أَسأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ]

Allāhumma inni as’aluka bi-anna lakal-ḥamd. Lā ilāha illa Anta, waḥdaka lā sharīka laka. Al-Mannanu, Badi’us-samawati wal-arḍ, Ya Dhal-jalāli wal-ikrām, Ya Ḥayyu Ya Qayyum inni as'alukal jannah wa 'aūdhubika minan nār

(O Allah! I ask You by virtue of the fact that all praise is due to You; none has the right to be worshiped but You alone, and You have no partner or associate, the Bestower, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor, O Ever-Living, O Eternal One (I ask You for Jannah and I seek refuge with You from Hell)

The Prophet (ﷺ) then said: “Do you know what he has supplicated with?” They said: “Allāh and His Messenger know best.” He said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, he called upon Allāh by His greatest Name, which – if He is called by it – He responds, and if He is asked by it, He gives.”

[An-Nasa’i 1300]

2️⃣ Hanzalah bin 'Ali narrated that: Mihjan bin Al-Adra' narrated to him that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) entered the masjid and there was a man who had finished his prayer and he was reciting the tashahhud. He said: 

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ يَا اللَّهُ بِأَنَّكَ الْوَاحِدُ الأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ أَنْ تَغْفِرَ لِي ذُنُوبِي إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Allāhumma inni as'aluka ya Allāh! Bi-annakal-Waḥidul-Aḥad uṣ-Ṣamad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yūlad, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan aḥad, an taghfirali dhunubi, innaka Antal-Ghafurur-Raḥīm 

(O Allāh, I ask of You, O Allāh, as You are the One, the Only, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor was He begotten, and there is None equal or comparable to Him, forgive me my sins, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful)" 

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "He has been forgiven," three times.

[Sunan an-Nasa'i 1301]

3️⃣Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) heard a man saying: 

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 Allāh, 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, 

and he said: You have supplicated Allāh using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers

[Sunan Abi Dawud 1493]

Other Ḥadith Mentions Names and Attributes of Allāh ﷻ

4️⃣

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ أَنْتَ الأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الآخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ اقْضِ عَنِّي الدَّيْنَ وَأَغْنِنِي مِنَ الْفَقْرِ

(Allāhumma Rabbas samāwātis-sab`i wa Rabbal-`Arshil-`Aẓīm, Rabbana, wa Rabba kulli shai’in, munzilat-Tawrāti wal-Injīli wal-Qur’ān, Fāliqal-habbi wan-nawā, a`ūdhu bika min sharri kulli shay’in Anta ākhidhun bināṣiyatihi, Antal-Awwalu falaysa qablaka shay’un, wa Antal-Ākhiru falaysa ba`daka shai’un, wa Antaẓ-Ẓāhiru falaysa fawqaka shay’un, wa Antal-Bāṭinu falaysa dūnaka shay’un, iqḍi `anni-dayna wa aghnini minal-faqr).”

O Allāh, Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Magnificent Throne, our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil, and the Qur'ān, Splitter of the seed-grain and the date-stone, I seek refuge in You from the evil of everything that You are holding by the forelock, You are the First, for there is nothing above You, and You are the Last, for there is nothing after you. And you are az-Zahir, for there is nothing above you. And you are Al-Batin, for there is nothing beyond You. Relieve me from debt, and enrich me from poverty ‏"

[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3481]

5️⃣

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ جِبْرَائِيلَ وَمِكَائِيلَ وَإِسْرَافِيلَ فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالۡأَرْضِ عَالِمَ الغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ أَنْتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ إِهۡدِنِي لِمَا اخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ مِنَ الۡحَقِّ بِإِذْنِكَ إِنَّكَ تَهْدِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ الۡمُسْتَقِيمٍ

Allāhumma Rabba Jibrā'īl wa Mikā'īl wa Isrāfīl, 'Ālim al-ghaybi wash-shahādah, Anta taḥkumu bayna 'ibādika fīma kānū fīhi yakhtalifūn, ihdinī limakh tulifa fīhi minal ḥaqqi bi'idhnika, innaka tahdī man tashā'u ilā sirāti mustaqīm

"O Allāh, Lord of Jibril, Mika'il and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and earth, Knower of the unseen and seen, You judge between Your servants concerning that where in they differ, guide me with Your permission in their divergent views. Indeed You guide whom You will to a straight path."

[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 770]

6️⃣

اللَّهُمَّ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ، فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، رَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَمَلِيكَهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِي، وَمِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطَانِ وَشِرْكِهِ

Allāhumma 'Ālimal ghaybi wash-shahādah, Fāṭiras samawāti wal-arḍ, Rabba kulli shay'n wa Malīkahu, ash-hadu an lā ilāha illa Anta, a'ūdhu bika min sharri nafsī wa min sharri Shaytāni wa shirkihi

"O Allah, Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, Creator of the heavens and the earth, everything is in Your hands. I testify that there is no god but You. I seek refuge with You from the evil of myself and the evil of shaytan and his (encouragement to) associate others (with You)."

[Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1202]