SERIES FINALE: What Is the Greatest Name of Allah? | Allah’s Names | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ep. 30

What Is the Greatest Name of Allah?

Have you ever raised your hands in du'a and felt like you've already forgotten every name of Allah to call upon? You've learned so many names, Ar-Rahman, Al-Jawad, Al-Jami' yet in the moment you don't know which door to knock on. But then you remember there's one name that gathers them all, one call that opens every door, Allah. And when you say Allah, every other name answers.

Now the scholars have discussed from very early times, what is اِسْمُ اللهِ الأَعْظَم (Ism Allah Al-A'azam)? What is the greatest name of Allah? Imam Ibn Hajar, rahimahullah, mentioned over a dozen opinions, but the strongest two opinions contain three names. First that it is the name Allah itself, which is mentioned nearly 2,700 times in the Quran and is the name at the heart of the shahada and every du'a that we make. This affair of Islam started with Allah and the affair of the world will end when no one says that name anymore.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

The hour will not be established until no one on this earth says Allah, Allah. It's like the world is no longer worth it if it no longer remembers Allah. And the Prophet ﷺ said as much:

Indeed this world is void of blessing and everything in it is void of blessing except for the remembrance of Allah and what supports it and the scholar and the student.

Congratulations on spending the month being both one who remembers Allah and a student learning the names of Allah. So again many scholars say the greatest name of Allah is Allah. And when you forget to call upon him by any one of his other names, go back to what you know, Allah.

But say it with your heart and with all the meanings of those names embedded in your heart. Musa alayhi as-salaam once said يا رب, my Lord, teach me something by which I can remember you and call upon you. And Allah said say لا إله إلا الله.

And Musa alayhi as-salaam responded and he said يا رب, all of your servants say this. I was looking for something special just for me. And Allah said Ya Musa, if the seven heavens and all within them and the seven earths were placed on one side of a scale and لا إله إلا الله was placed on the other side, it would outweigh them all.

Al-Hayy Al-Qayyum: The Living, The Sustainer

The second opinion is that the greatest name of Allah is found in the pairing of Al-Hayy Al-Qayyum. Al-Hayy is the ever-living, Al-Qayyum is the ever-sustaining. And the Prophet ﷺ indicated that Allah's greatest name is found in three surahs.

He said in Al-Baqarah, Ali Imran, and Taha. So the scholars looked for what all three share and there it was, the pairing that keeps appearing together. اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ, Ayatul Kursi.

And then the beginning of Surat Ali Imran, الم * اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ. And then in Taha, وَعَنَتِ الْوُجُوهُ لِلْحَيِّ الْقَيُّومِ. So Anas ibn Malik radiallahu ta'ala anhu said that I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and a man was making du'a.

O Allah, I ask you by virtue of the fact that all praise is due to you. There is no God but you, al-mannaan, the one who bestows favors that change our trajectories, badee'u al-samawati wal-ard, the originator of the heavens and the earth, ya dhal jalali wal-ikram, the Lord of Majesty and Glory, ya hayyu ya qayyum, O Living One, O Sustaining One.

The Prophet ﷺ said: لَقَدْ دَعَا اللَّهَ بِاسْمِهِ الْأَعْظَمِ الَّذِي إِذَا دُعِيَ بِهِ أَجَابَ وَإِذَا سُئِلَ بِهِ أَعْطَى - he has called upon Allah using his greatest name, who when supplicated by this name he answers, and when asked by this name he gives.

But then there is another narration where another man was saying:

O Allah I ask you by bearing witness that there is no God but you, al-ahad, al-samad, the One, the Whole, the Eternal Refuge, who has not begotten and has not been begotten, and to whom no one is equal. And the Prophet ﷺ also said, he has asked Allah by his greatest name.

So some of the scholars reconcile this by saying that the greatest name is Allah, but the most comprehensive descriptions paired with that name are al-Hayy and al-Qayyum. So what do these two names, al-Hayy and al-Qayyum, mean and how do they factor in so heavily?

The Perfect Existence and Perfect Sustenance

Because al-Hayy speaks to his perfect existence. All of the sifat al-dhatiyya, the attributes that speak to his essence, whether it's his knowledge or his hearing or his seeing or his will or his power or his being unbeginning and unending.

All of these are expressions of him being al-Hayy. He is alive and fully exists with all of these attributes because they are who he is. And al-Qayyum speaks to his perfect doing, his perfect sustaining of all else.

All of the attributes of action, the sifat al-fi'aliyya, by which he creates, he decrees, he provides, he forgives, he gives life, he causes death. As the scholars say, قائم بنفسه مقيم لغيره, standing by himself but upholding all others. So all of the attributes that describe what Allah does are manifestations of his being al-Qayyum.

He is al-Hayy, the ever-living, whose life with all of its perfection never began and never ends. حياة كاملة لا أول لها ولا آخر. Every living person or thing that you know at some point dims and dies, whether it's your parents or your children or your friends or yourself, but he remains.

And his being alive means that his knowledge never pauses, his hearing never dulls, his sight never weakens. When you call on him in the middle of the night, he is not tired. And when a billion people call upon him at once, he is not overwhelmed because his life is eternal and unlike any life that you've ever known.

And then al-Qayyum, the sustainer of all existence, is the one who holds everything in place. If he were to leave it for the blink of an eye, it would all fall apart. Every breath that you take, every beat of your heart, every cell in your body, and every law that governs the cosmos, all of that functions only because he sustains it.

And imagine if he held this accountable for every part of it. It is said in some early reports that Dawood alayhi as-salaam asked, يا رب, show me the hidden blessings upon me. And he was told, يا داوود, take a breath.

And then he was asked, who can count this blessing day and night? Your lungs already preach these names to you. من يحصي هذه النعمة؟ Who is the one that's going to count this ni'mah? He does not create and leave, he creates and keeps. Think of an ICU monitor tracking one patient.

That machine can only watch you. But Allah is sustaining billions, and not just their health, but even their unseen needs.

The Du'a of Complete Dependence

The Prophet ﷺ once said to Fatima radiallahu anha. He said, oh my daughter, إني أحبك, I love you.

Pay close attention to what I'm sharing with you. Do not leave off a morning or an evening without saying:

Oh ever-living, oh ever-sustaining, it is in your mercy that I depend. Rectify all of my affairs. And do not leave me to myself, even for the blink of an eye.

Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu said that whenever anything would distress the Prophet ﷺ he would say, يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ.

Pay attention to how incredible this du'a is. First, he used the most comprehensive names, الحي and القيوم. And then he appealed to the most encompassing and comprehensive attribute of Allah. His rahmah, His mercy, where we started.

And then he made the most comprehensive ask. أصلح لي شأني كله. Rectify all of my affairs.

When you say that, you're placing every detail, worldly and eternal, into the hands of the one who never sleeps. I don't want Allah to answer me in accordance with what I think is best for me, but what He knows is best for me. Coming to terms with knowing that Allah is in control means gaining greater focus on what you control.

It's not just finding your strength. It's knowing what to exert it towards. Let Allah do His part and you do yours. And then be at peace with how it all plays out. لا تكلني إلى نفسي. Do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.

A man asked Haatim al-Asam, يا حاتم, on what have you built your tawakkul upon Allah, your trust in Allah? He said, on four things. I learned that my sustenance will not be taken by any other person. So I am at peace with that.

And I learned that my deeds will not be done by anyone else. So I keep myself busy with them. And I learned that death is racing towards me. So I started to race towards it. And I learned that I do not escape from Allah's sight. So I caused myself to remain shy of Him.

So put your trust in the One who is alive and does not die. And glorify His praises. And He is sufficient as One who is all aware of the deeds of His ibad.

The One who never dies has already told you to depend on Him, to glorify Him, and to know that He sees you completely.

The Structure of Ayatul Kursi

And then I want you to see how these names sit inside the greatest ayah of the Qur'an, Ayatul Kursi. It builds itself like the structure of a palace.

الله لا إله إلا هو - That's who He is. الحي القيوم - That's the essence that frames everything about Him. لا تأخذه سنة ولا نوم - And that's how His care never falters.

The greatest name isn't hidden in a secret code. It's the name you were always meant to live by, Allah. And when you pair it with الحي القيوم, you are calling on the One perfect in Himself and perfect in His care for you.

And on the day when all faces are humbled before الحي القيوم, the believer won't panic like a stranger in a first meeting. They will recognize the One they kept calling here, now speaking to them there.

A Call to Continue

Dear brothers and sisters, for the last month, you weren't just listening to the names of Allah. You walked with them. You called upon the One who gives. You called upon the One who forgives. You called upon the One who gathers. And you called upon the One who remains.

So don't let this month of Ramadan close like a door behind you. Let it open to Him for the rest of your life. And remember what Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu ta'ala anhu comforted this Ummah with when it had to bid farewell to the Prophet ﷺ:

If anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad ﷺ, then Muhammad is dead. But if any one of you used to worship Allah, then Allah is alive and shall never die.

And so I say to whoever was worshiping Ramadan, Ramadan is over. But whoever was worshiping Allah, Allah is alive and does not die. So we say farewell Ramadan, but welcome to a new life with Allah.

Final Du'a

Ya Allah, when I forget even myself, let your name always remain in my heart and on my tongue and let my heart always find its way back to you. When I call you by this name, I am calling every mercy, every promise, every door that leads home. You are what no one else is and for me what no one else can be.

Ya Hayy, the everliving, who never fades. Put life into my worship when it starts to fade and life into my purpose when I start to feel lost again. Let my faith in you stay alive when the world floods me with dying promises and the devil deceives with his deception.

Ya Qayyum, the sustainer of all that exists. Hold me together when I fall apart. Sustain my heart with your remembrance and my deeds with sincerity. Do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye. Study me when I swerve with your guidance. Receive me when I return with your grace.

Ya Allah, when I rise from one of your seasons of incredible mercy, let me remember that you were always merciful from the beginning and you will always be in the end so long as I return to you. Ya Allah, return me to you. Ya Allah, return me to you. Ya Allah, return me to you in the presence of your beloved ﷺ and all those who knew you the way I want to in the beginning and the end and always. To you, all praise is due.