The Most Beautiful Names (Attributes of Perfection)

                      “And to God belong the Most Beautiful

                      Names: so invoke Him by them, and

                      leave those who blaspheme His Names.

                      They will be requited for what they did”

                                        (Qur’an, 7:180).                         

The Qur’an describes God’s attributes as the Most Beautiful Names. Indeed, they are most beautiful and are the attributes of perfection: “He is God, besides Whom there is no god, the One who knows the unseen (= all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception), as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature’s senses or mind; He is the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace. He is God, besides Whom there is no other god, the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, t he Peace (= the One with Whom all salvation rests), the Securer (= the Giver of Faith), the Guardian (of Faith), the Mighty, the Compeller (= the One Who subdues wrong and restores right), the One to Whom all greatness belongs. Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! He is God the Creator, the Maker, who shapes all forms and appearances. His (alone) are the Most Beautiful Names (= Attributes of Perfection). All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory, for He alone is Almighty, truly Wise” (59:22-24).

God’s Names are His attributes, in action and behaviour, because a name is a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or a thing. And we can get these attributes only from Him, because He is the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper of all beings and the one Who gives them faculties of intelligence.

God is “the Living” because any other living being gets its life only from Him: He is the One “Who created death and life, that He may try you (to see) which of you is best in conduct, and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving” (67:2). He is “the Unique One”, “the Self Sufficient”, “the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all that exists”.

He is “the Sovereign Supreme” who governs all universe and all beings: “He directs the command (of all that exists), from the heaven to the earth; then it ascends to Him in a day whose measure is a thousand years by your reckoning” (32:5).

He is the One who is extremely subtle, so that He is intangible and unfathomable:  “No (human) vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all vision: for He alone is al-lateef al-Khabeer (= Unfathomable, all-Aware)” (6:103).

“Al-Lateef” also means  “the One who is All-Gentle”: “God is All-Gentle to His servants, He provides sustenance for whomsoever He will – for He alone is Powerful, Almighty”

(42:19).

This Gentleness together with God’s Wisdom made human beings differ: in their intelligence, in their appearance, in their standpoints on everything. “Had your Lord willed He would have made mankind one community (= with one standpoint), but they continue to differ, except those on whom your Lord has mercy; and that is why He created them .. “ (11:118-119). “And it is He who has made you inherit the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. Verily, your Lord is swift in retribution; yet, behold, He is indeed Much-Forgiving, a Dispenser of grace” (6:165).

Indeed, this diversity and multiplicity are in the interest of all mankind, to cover their needs. Consider if God were to make all humans similar in will, in desire, in capability, thus in their standpoint too; then what would happen? No mutual interactions, no mutual services and no exchange of livelihood: “.. We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world, and raised some of them above others by degrees, so that some of them may take others in service..” (43:32). “And if God were to grant (in this world) abundant sustenance to (all of) His servants, they would behave on earth with wanton insolence; but as it is, He bestows (His grace) from on high in due measure, as He wills; for, verily, He is fully Aware of (the needs of) His creatures, and sees them all” (42:27).

For that reason God has prepared for mankind all they need: “And the earth – We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused (life) of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner. And We have given you power in the earth, and have appointed for you therein (means of) livelihood, and those for whom you do not provide” (15:19-20).