بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Believing in Allah is the basis of Islam, the best religion for mankind. But who is Allah? And what are His qualities?

Allah is the Creator and Master of everything that exists. As Muslims we know Allah from the Quran (The generous book sent by Allah to His Prophet Muhammad Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), and the sunnah (the example of the Prophet PBUH).

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّـهُ أَحَدٌ ﴿١﴾ اللَّـهُ الصَّمَدُ ﴿٢﴾ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ ﴿٤
Say, “He is Allah, [who is] One, (1) Allah, the Eternal Refuge. (2) He neither begets nor is born, (3) Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” (4)

This is a very beautiful and short surah (chapter) from the Quran which very simply and clearly explains who Allah is. Allah is one. There is not more than Him. He is eternal. He always existed and will always exist. He doesn’t have children and he doesn’t have any parents. And there is nothing like him. So anything you imagine in your head to be God, is definitely NOT God.

Allah has at least 99 names that we know about. But this does not mean He ONLY has 99 names. In an authentic hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah we learn that the Prophet PBUH said:

“Surely, Allah has 99 names, one less than 100. Whoever counts these names will enter Jannah (Paradise).” -Found in Bukhari and Muslim.

Counting the 99 names doesn’t mean just saying them, but it means knowing them, understanding them, and living in a way that shows you know and believe in them.

For example when we know Allah is Al-Baseer (The all-seeing) then we know that He sees everything at all times. This would remind us from doing bad deeds, because we know Allah is watching us. Normally we wouldn’t do something bad in front of our parents, so what more in front of Allah?

Thank you for staying with me so far. In the next article we will list some of Allah’s names, explain their meaning, and their impact on our lives insha Allah.