Sources and method

The list, its order, and every explanation in this app are drawn from the Quran, the Sunnah, and the classical works of Sunni scholarship listed here. Each name page links to the exact verses and hadith it relies on, so everything can be checked at the source.

The list of 99 names

The names and their order follow the enumeration narrated in Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3507 (also in Ibn Majah), the most widely used list. Hadith scholars grade that enumeration as weak in its wording, considering the list a narrator's compilation, so it is treated here as customary rather than as revealed. The core hadith that Allah has ninety-nine names, and that whoever preserves them enters Paradise, is agreed upon: Sahih al-Bukhari 2736 and Sahih Muslim 2677.

Primary sources

  • The Quran. Verse references link to quran.com; surah names and ayah numbering follow the standard Kufan count.
  • Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Jami' at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abi Dawud. Hadith numbers follow the standard editions and link to sunnah.com.

Classical commentaries the explanations follow

  • Al-Khattabi (d. 388 AH), Sha'n al-Du'a
  • Al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH), Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat
  • Al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH), Al-Maqsad al-Asna fi Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna
  • Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH), Al-Asna fi Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna
  • Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, on the verses cited
  • Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH), discussions of the names in Madarij al-Salikin and Al-Nuniyyah
  • Al-Sa'di (d. 1376 AH), Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman and its appendix on the beautiful names
  • Ibn 'Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH), Al-Qawa'id al-Muthla fi Sifat Allah wa Asma'ihi al-Husna

Method

  • The names and attributes are affirmed as they come in the Quran and the Sunnah, without likening them to creation and without explaining them away, as Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah do.
  • Where a name occurs in the Quran as a noun, the verses listed are places it occurs. Where it does not, the entry says so and cites the verses that establish the attribute together with the Tirmidhi enumeration.
  • Explanations are short summaries of the meanings given in the works above; the one-sentence 'simple words' version says nothing the full explanation does not say. They are not a substitute for studying those works with a qualified teacher.

Pronunciation audio

The pronunciation clips are spoken by the Daniel voice from ElevenLabs (elevenlabs.io), generated from the fully vocalised text. They are an aid to hearing the vowels, not a substitute for a teacher's recitation.