أسماء الله الحسنى
Asmāʾ Allāh al-Ḥusnā
Topic
The most beautiful names of Allah, by which He is called upon and known.
What it means
Asmāʾ Allāh al-ḥusnā means “the most beautiful names of God”. They include al-Raḥmān, al-Raḥīm, al-Malik, al-Ḥayy, al-ʿAzīm and many more. Each name points to a quality that belongs to God in perfection, and the names are used in prayer, remembrance (dhikr) and the study of God’s attributes. The Quran says that to God belong the most beautiful names and that people should call on Him by them (7:180); a similar statement appears at 17:110 and 59:24. A well-known hadith, in the collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, speaks of ninety-nine names. Scholars differ over the exact list, and the Quran names more than ninety-nine.
Often misunderstood as
That the names are mere titles, when they are descriptions of real attributes that believers use to call on God.
What the sources say
Al-Ghazali wrote a commentary on the names, al-Maqṣad al-asnā, in which he explained each one and how a servant may reflect its meaning in his own conduct.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 64, listed as ASMĀ’ ALLAH AL ḤUSNĀ. The definition is restated here.