Al Asma Al Husna

How do you define Allah? How do you know Him? And how do you call to Him? By his attributes. Allah is known to have 99 Most Beautiful Names, each Name defining a Divine attribute. For example, the Name 'Al-Khaaliq' means 'The Creator' as Allah has created everything in the Heavens and the Earth. He is 'Al Ghafoor', or the 'All-Forgiving' as He readily forgives a believer who sincerely repents. He is 'Al-Adl', or 'The Utterly Just', as He is the Best Judge in all matters of life and the world. The 99 Names of Allah are collectively called 'Asma Al Husna' in Arabic, where 'asma' means 'names' and 'al husna' means 'beautiful'.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'To God belongs 99 names, 100 minus 1, anyone who memorizes them will enter Paradise; He (God) is odd (odd number, he is the Only One), and He loves odd numbers (such as 99).' Allah says in the Quran (20: 8): 'Allah! There is no god but He! To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.' In Quran (7:180), Allah says, 'And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names. They will be requited for what they used to do.'

 

Allah’s Names are mostly mentioned in pairs in the Quran such as "Ar-Rahman-ar-Raheem" in the first verse of the Quran, which is also first verse of all chapters, barring one. In Ayat Al Kursi, there is mention of "Al-Hayyu al-Qayyum" and "Aliyy-ul-Azeem." Similarly, there are other pairs such as "Ghafoor-ar-Raheem", "Azeez-al-Hakeem", "Samee-al-Aleem" which are mentioned across verses in the Quran. At Baradari, we have brought out a collection of beautiful canvas artworks in which Allah's Names have been written in pairs. The calligraphic style used is Diwani, which is very elaborate, intricate and indeed very striking. Do browse our collection and pick from the first-of-its kind collection of artworks on the Names of Allah. Feel free to ping us in case of enquiries.