The Greatest Name of Allah (Ism Allāh al-A‘ẓam)
The hearts of the believers continuously yearn to attain knowledge of the Greatest Name of Allah, as it is considered the key and the means for the acceptance of supplication (Du'ā'). Allah, the Exalted, possesses the Most Beautiful Names (Al-Asmā’ al-Ḥusnā) with which He has commanded us to supplicate, as He states in His Glorious Book {what means}: "And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them." [Al-A'rāf/180]. Among these names is the Greatest Name of Allah, and it is a confirmed fact that if He is invoked by it, He answers. This truth has been indicated by the noble Prophetic narrations (Aḥādīth):
First Narration: The Hadith of Buraydah ibn al-Ḥaṣīb al-Aslamī (may Allah be pleased with him)
He narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) heard a man supplicating and saying: "O Allah, I ask You, as I bear witness that You are Allah, there is no god but You, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master (Aḥad aṣ-Ṣamad), Who begets not nor is begotten, and none is equal to Him."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, he has asked Allah by His Greatest Name, by which if He is invoked, He answers, and if He is asked, He gives." [1].
Second Narration: The Hadith of Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him)
He reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed by Abū 'Ayyāsh Zayd ibn Ṣāmit az-Zuraqī while he was praying, and he was saying: "O Allah, I ask You, by the fact that to You belongs all praise, there is no god but You, O Mannān (The Bestower of Favors), O Badī' (Originator) of the heavens and the earth, O Dhū al-Jalāli wa al-Ikrām (Possessor of Majesty and Honor)."
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commented: "He has invoked Allah by His Greatest Name, by which if He is invoked, He answers, and if He is asked, He gives." [2].
Third Narration: A Further Narration from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)
In a subsequent narration from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the name Al-Ḥannān (The Most Compassionate) was included. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) affirmed: "You have asked Allah by His Greatest Name, by which if He is invoked, He answers, and if He is asked, He gives." [3].
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded this narration in Shifā’ al-'Alīl with the wording: "O Allah, I ask You, by the fact that to You belongs all praise, there is no god but You, Al-Ḥannān, Al-Mannān, Badī' as-Samāwāti wa al-Arḍ, Yā Dhā al-Jalāli wa al-Ikrām, Yā Ḥayyu Yā Qayyūm."[4].
Fourth Narration: The Hadith of Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī (may Allah be pleased with him)
He stated: "The Greatest Name of Allah, by which if He is invoked, He answers, is in three Sūrahs: Al-Baqarah, Āl 'Imrān, and Ṭā Hā."[5].
Some scholars have searched for this Name within these chapters and identified it in the following verses:
•Al-Baqarah: "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence" [Al-Baqarah/255].
•The opening of Āl 'Imrān: "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence' [Āl 'Imrān/2].
•Ṭā Hā: "And [all] faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence" [Ṭā Hā: 111].
It is also narrated from Asmā’ bint Yazīd in a Marfū' narration (traced back to the Prophet): "The Greatest Name of Allah is in these two verses: "And your god is one God; there is no deity except Him, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful" [Al-Baqarah/163], and the opening of Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān: 'Alif, Lām, Mīm. Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence} [Āl 'Imrān/1-2]." [6].
Moreover, the scholarly opinions regarding which of Allah’s Beautiful Names constitutes the Greatest Name have varied significantly:
The First Opinion: The Greatest Name is Contextual and Subjective
This perspective holds that the Greatest Name of Allah is not specifically designated or known as a single, fixed name. Rather, any of Allah's Names that a servant invokes his Lord with, while being completely absorbed in devotion—such that in his thought and mind there is no one else besides Allah—that Name, in that moment, becomes the Greatest Name. Imam Ibn Ḥajar noted that this meaning was narrated from Ja'far aṣ-Ṣādiq, Al-Junayd, and other scholars of spiritual knowledge [7].
The Second Opinion: The Greatest Name is a Specific, Definite Name
This view asserts that the Greatest Name is a specific, definite Name, but there is a difference of opinion regarding the knowledge of it. Some scholars maintained that it is not known to creation, while others held that it is known. Scholars who subscribe to the latter view have differed in specifying it, listing numerous possibilities. Imam Ibn Ḥajar enumerated fourteen opinions in Al-Fateḥ, and Imam As-Suyūṭī followed him, adding three more. Imam Ar-Rāzī mentioned six of these opinions.
The Names that these scholars attempted to specify—some based on textual evidence and some on scholarly deduction—include:
Category Specific Name or Phrase Arabic Transliteration
The Name Allah The Glorious word Allah Allāh
The word He Huwa
Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Allāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm
The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer Ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm al- Ḥayy al-Qayyūm
The Ever-Living, the Sustainer Al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm
Names from Aḥādīth The Most Compassionate, the Bestower of Favors, the Originator of the heavens and the earth Al-Ḥannān al-Mannān Badī' as-Samāwāti wa al-Arḍ
Originator of the heavens and the earth, Possessor of Majesty and Honor Badī' as-Samāwāti wa al-Arḍ Dhū al-Jalāli wa al-Ikrām
Possessor of Majesty and Honor Dhū al-Jalāli wa al-Ikrām
Supplication Phrases Lord, Lord Rabb, Rabb
The word of Monotheism Tawḥīd (i.e., Lā ilāha illā Allāh)
King of Sovereignty Mālik al-Mulk
O Allah Allāhumma
There is no god but You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers. Lā ilāha illā Anta Subḥānaka innī kuntu min aẓ-ẓālimīn
Allah, Allah, other than Whom there is no god, Lord of the Great Throne. Allāh, Allāh, alladhī lā ilāha illā Huwa Rabbu al-'Arsh al-'Aẓīm
Allah, there is no god but He, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not nor is begotten, and none is equal to Him. Allāh lā ilāha illā Huwa al-Aḥad aṣ-Ṣamad alladhī lam yalid wa lam yūlad wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan aḥad
Other Views It is said to be hidden within the Beautiful Names.
It is said to be mentioned in the opening letters of Sūrahs (such as Kāf Hā Yā 'Ayn Ṣād and Ḥā Mīm, 'Ayn Sīn Qāf)[8].
The Name Allah (Allāh)
The Name Allah is the only Name present in all the texts that mention the Greatest Name of Allah. It is the comprehensive Name of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, which encompasses all of His Names and Attributes. The eminent scholar Ibn ‘Ābidīn (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: "Hishām narrated from Muḥammad from Abū Ḥanīfah that [Allah] is the Greatest Name of Allah. Al-Ṭaḥāwī, many scholars, and most Gnostics ('Ārifīn) held this view, so much so that no mention is made among them for the person of higher spiritual station except through the mention of it, as stated in Sharḥ at-Taḥrīr by Ibn Amīr Ḥājj." [9].
The Word He (Huwa)
Imam Al-Ghazālī (may Allah have mercy on him) remarked concerning the word Huwa: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh (There is no god but Allah) is the phrase of monotheism, as understood by the common people ('awām), and Lā ilāha illā Huwa (There is no god but He) is the monotheism of the elite (khawāṣṣ)..." He then supported this with a verse from the Qur'an, citing: "And do not invoke with Allah another deity. There is no deity except Him. Everything will perish except His Face [or Him]. To Him belongs the judgment, and to Him you will be returned.' [Al-Qaṣaṣ/88]. The meaning of "except His Face" is "except Him." He noted that the phrase "except He" was mentioned immediately after "there is no deity," which indicates that the ultimate extent of monotheism is encapsulated in this phrase. (Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb 1/139-140).
The supplications contained within the noble Prophetic narrations, which have been compiled herein, explicitly indicate from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that they contain the Greatest Name of Allah. A Muslim should therefore be diligent, when supplicating, to begin, conclude, or incorporate these specific phrases into his Du'ā’, in the hope of coinciding with the Greatest Name of Allah through which supplication is answered. The successful individual is the one whom Allah, the Exalted, guides to immerse himself in the utilization of these names that scholars have concluded are found within the formulas of supplication.
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
Footnotes:
[1] Narrated by Abu Dawud (1493), Al-Tirmidhi (3475), Al-Nasa'i in Al-Sunan al-Kubra (7666), and Ibn Majah (3857).
[2] Narrated by Abu Dawud (1495), Al-Tirmidhi (3544), Al-Nasa'i (1300), Ibn Majah (3858), and Ahmad (13798) – and the wording is his. It is an authentic (Sahih) hadith.
[3] Narrated by Abu Dawud (1495), Al-Nasa'i (1300), Ibn Majah (3858), Ahmad (13798), and Al-Mundhiri in Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib (2/393). Its chain of narration is authentic (Sahih) or good (Hasan) or close to them.
[4] Ibn Al-Qayyim, Shifa' al-'Alil (2/759). It is authentic (Sahih).
[5] Narrated by Ibn Majah (3856), Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (8/282) (7925), and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat (27) from 'Abdullah ibn Al-'Ala' from Al-Qasim as Mawquf (stopped at a companion). It is a good (Hasan) hadith.
[6] Narrated by Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah.
[7] Lawami' al-Bayyinat, Al-Razi, p. 92; Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar, Vol. 11, p. 224; Al-Hawi lil-Fatawi, Al-Suyuti, Vol. 2, p. 138.
[8] Lawami' al-Bayyinat, Al-Razi, pp. 94-101; Fath al-Bari, Ibn Hajar, Vol. 11, p. 224; Al-Hawi lil-Fatawi, Al-Suyuti, Vol. 2, pp. 135-139.
[9] Radd al-Muhtar, 1/5.
[10] Mafatih al-Ghayb (Al-Tafsir al-Kabir), 1/139-140.
