THE NINETY-NINE NAMES OF GOD
THERE is a teaching which has been recorded in different books of Hadith. According to Sahih al-Bukhari: The Prophet of Islam once observed: God has ninety-nine names, one less than a hundred. Those who have counted these words will enter Paradise.” In this saying of the Prophet, reference is made to the enumeration of the best names of God. This realization must be at a conscious level rather than at the level of counting the beads on the rosary.
These names of God are, in fact, different aspects of the attributes of God. When a person reflects on the existence of God and His creations, various aspects of God appear to him and he is able to understand these different aspects of God. Conscious realization of these aspects is what is meant by enumeration of God’s names. Those who attain the realization of God in this way will undoubtedly go to Paradise, because Paradise is the reward for the realization of God.
When the feeling of servitude awakens within man and God’s consciousness becomes a reality then, naturally, different kinds of spiritual feelings arise within him.
The term ninety-nine in the teaching is purely symbolic. In reality, it means that there are countless names or attributes of God. Imam Razi (1149-1210) in his commentary has quoted the opinions of certain religious scholars—“God’s names amount to five thousand.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, vol. 1, p. 36).
But the truth is that God has innumerable names. In the teaching the number of God’s attributes (Asma-e-Husna) is put at ninetynine. By studying the Quran, the scholars have discovered these, name by name. But these names do not denote the countless attributes of God. All these names, in fact, relate to the need of human beings.
The truth is that when the feeling of servitude awakens within man and God’s consciousness becomes a reality then, naturally, different kinds of spiritual feelings arise within him. Naming the divine attributes, in fact, is an appropriate way of expressing these divine feelings. For instance, a person reflects on his own existence, which is indeed an example of the best of moulds (95: 4). He reflects on nature, in which everything is astonishingly a model of perfection. He reflects on the earth and the sky, and finds no defect in them (67: 3).
This thinking and observation create experiences for a person. He spontaneously feels that he should have the words which are appropriate to express these sublime feelings. At that time, the Quran, in exact accordance with his desire, gives him these words: “Glory be to God, the Best of Creators.” (23: 14)