Name

Q.   What is Al-lah innate name?

  His innate name is Al-lah. This is known as ISMUZ-ZAT.

Q.   What do we call the other names of Al-lah, such as Khaliq and Raz-zaq, etc.?

  His names other than Al-lah are known as Attributive Names ‘Asma’us-sifat’.

Q.   What does the term Attributive Name mean?

  There are various Attributes of Al-lah. For example,

His being Eternal (Qadim) i.e. being there from eternity to eternity;

His being Omniscient or knower of all things (‘Alim);

His being Omnipotent i.e. all-powerful (Qadir);

His being Eternally alive (Hai).

Such names, because they indicate the Attributes, are known as Attributive Names. 
For example, there is a person whose name is Jamil. This is his proper and personal name for all people to recognize him by. There is no reference in it to any one of his qualities. But he has also acquired knowledge. He knows how to write and has also acquired knowledge. He knows how to write and has also learnt the Holy Qur-an by heart. Because of these qualities he is also known as ‘Alim (scholar), Munshi (expert in writing) and Hafidh (one who has learnt the Holy Qur-an by heart). These names refer to his quality of knowledge; skill in writing and of memorizing the Holy Qur-an. Similarly, Al-lah is the proper name of God, while Qadir (Omnipotent), ‘Alim (Omniscient), Malik (Lord), etc., are His attributive names.

 Q.   The proper name of God is one, i.e. Al-lah. How many attributive names has He?

  Al-lah has observed in the Holy Qur-an:

WA-LIL-LAHIL-ASMA’UL-HUSNA FAD’UHU BIHA

(Al-lah has many good names, call Him by them.)

The Hadith says:

IN NA LIL-LAHI T’ALA TIS’ATU(N)W-WA TIS’INA ISMAM-MI’ATAN IL-LA WAHIDAN

(Verily, Al-lah has ninety-nine i.e. one short of a hundred names.)