AL Batin (The Hidden One)

  God created pain and sorrow

that happiness might show itself by contrast.

For hidden things are made manifest

by means of their opposites:

since God has no opposite, He is hidden.

Mathnawi 1:1130-1, tr. Helminski

Al-Walí (The Protecting Friend)

The Protecting Friend, He who directs, manages, conducts, governs, measures, plans every action which happens at any moment in the entire universe. 


God is the Protector of all who are conscious of Him.
Al-Jathiyah 45:19, tr. Asad

Al Muta'ali ( The Supreme One)

The Supreme One, He who is higher than any action, manner or condition, and any thought that any being may have. 


He knows 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 --
the Great One, the One far above anything that is or could ever be!
Ar-Ra'd 13:9, tr. Asad

Al Barr (Source of All Goodness)

The source of All Goodness, He who is tolerant to His servants, to all creatures, and is good to them. 


And He it is who has set up for you the stars so that you might be guided by them
in the midst of the deep darkness of land and sea:
clearly, indeed, have We spelled out these messages unto people of innate knowledge!
Al-An'am 6:97, tr. Asad

Al Mantaqim (The Avenger)

The Avenger, he who punishes wrongdoers. 


Canst thou, perchance, O Muhammad, make the deaf hear,
or show the right way to the blind
or to such as are obviously lost in error?
But whether We do or do not take thee away ere thy message prevails --
verily, We shall inflict Our retribution on them;
and whether We show thee or do not show thee in this world
the fulfilment of what We have promised them
verily, We have full power over them!
Zukhruf 43:40-42, tr. Asad

Al Tawwab (The Acceptor to Repentance)

The Guide to Repentance


It is God alone who can accept the repentance of His servants
and is the true recipient of whatever is offered for His sake.
At-Tawbah 9:104, tr. Asad
Beware! Don't allow yourself to do
what you know is wrong, relying on the thought,
"Later I will repent and ask God's forgiveness."
True repentance flashes inside and rains tears.
Such lightning and clouds are needed.
Without the lightning of the heart
and the rain storms of the eyes,
how shall the fire of Divine wrath be calmed?
How shall the greenery grow
and fountains of clear water pour forth?
Rumi, Mathnawi II:1652-1656, tr. Helminski

Al Afu (The Pardoner)

The Forgiver, He who pardones all who repent sincerely as if they had no previous sin. 


As for those who avoid the truly grave sins and shameful deeds --
even though they may sometimes stumble --
behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness.
An-Najm 53:32, tr. Asad
Be cheerful, call for help
to the One who comes at the call,
saying, "Forgive us, You who love to forgive.
Rumi, Mathnawi 1:3252-3, tr. Helminski

AR Rauf (The Kind)

The Clement, The Compassionate, He who is benign. 


O you who have attained to faith!
Do not ask about matters which,
if they were to be made manifest to you in terms of law,
might cause you hardship;
for, if you should ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed,
they might indeed be made manifest to you as laws.
God has absolved you from any obligation in this respect:
for God is much-forgiving, forbearing.
Al-Ma'idah 5:101, tr. Asad

Al-Malik al-Mulk (The Owner of ALL)

The Owner of All


He alone is the all-knowing Creator:
His Being alone is such that when He wills a thing to be,
He but says unto it, "Be" -- and it is.
Limitless, then, in His glory is He
in whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things;
and unto Him you all will be brought back.
Ya Sin 36:83, tr. Asad

Dhul Jalali Wal Ikram ( The Lord of Majesty and Bounty)

The Lord of Majesty and Bounty


All that lives on earth or in the heavens
is bound to pass away:
but forever will abide thy Sustainer's Self,
full of majesty and glory.
Ar-Rahman 55:26-27, tr. Asad

Al Muqsit ( The Equitable One)

The Equitable One, He who does His work accordingly and in a balanced way. 


If thou dost judge, judge... with equity:
verily, God knows those who act equitably.
Al-Ma'idah 5:42, tr. Asad
What is justice? Giving water to trees.
What is injustice? To give water to thorns.
Justice consists in bestowing bounty in its proper place,
not on every root that will absorb water.
Mathnawi V:1089-1090, tr. Helminski

Al Ghani ( The Rich One )

The Self-sufficient 


Unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth;
and, verily, God -- He alone -- is self-sufficient,
the One to whom all praise is due.
Al-Hajj 22:64, tr. Asad

Al moghni ( The Enricher )

The Enricher


It is He alone who frees from want and causes to possess;
and... it is He alone who sustains the brightest star.
An-Najm 53:49-50, tr. Asad
Abundance is seeking the beggars and the poor,
just as beauty seeks a mirror.
Beggars, then, are the mirrors of God's bounty,
and they that are with God are united with
Absolute Abundance.
Mathnawi I:2745, 2750, tr. Helminski

Al maani ( The Preventer of Harm )

He alone knows that which is beyond the reach
of a created being's perception,
and to none does He disclose aught of the mysteries
of His Own unfathomable knowledge,
unless it be to an apostle whom He has been pleased to elect therefor:
and then He sends forth the forces of heaven to watch over him in whatever lies open before him and in what is beyond his ken --
so as to make manifest that it is indeed but their Sustainer's messages that these apostles deliver:
for it is He who encompasses with His knowledge all that they have to say,
just as He takes count, one by one, of everything that exists.
Al-Jinn 72:26-28, tr. Asad
Said He (to Moses): We shall strengthen thine arm through thy brother,
and endow both of you with power,
so that they will not be able to touch you:
by virtue of Our messages shall you two, and all who follow you, prevail!
Al-Qasas 28:35, tr. Asad
Many prayers are destructive,
which God in kindness ignores.
Mathnawi II:140, tr. Helminski

Ad darr ( The Creator of the Harmful )

The Creator of the Harmful, He who creates which makes one despondent. 
If We let man taste some of Our grace and then take it away from him --
behold, he abandons all hope,
forgetting all gratitude for Our past favours.
And thus it is:
if We let him taste ease and plenty after hardship has visited him,
he is sure to say, "Gone is all affliction from me!" --
for, behold, he is given to vain exultation,
and glories only in himself.
And thus it is with most men --
save those who are patient in adversity and do righteous deeds:
it is they whom forgiveness of sins awaits, and a great reward.
Hud 11:9-11, tr. Asad

An Naafi ( The Creator of Good )

The Creator of Good, The Propitious, He who creates all things which provide goodness and benefit. 


It is God who grants abundant sustenance
or gives it in scant measure unto whomever He wills.
Ar-Rum 30:37, tr. Asad

An Nour ( The Light )

The Light, He who provides divine light to the entire universe, to the face, minds and hearts of His servants. 


Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche
and within is a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass;
the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed Tree,
an Olive, neither of the East nor of the West,
whose Oil is nearly luminous, though fire has hardly touched it.
Light upon Light!
Allah guides whom He will to His Light,
Allah sets forth Parables for men,
and Allah knows all things.
An-Nur 24:35, tr. Helminski
The light which shines in the eye
is really the light of the heart.
The light which fills the heart
is the light of God, which is pure
and separate from the light of intellect and sense.
Mathnawi 1:1126-7, tr. Helminski

Al Hadi ( The Guide )

The Guide, He who guides, gives success and directs His servant to do things beneficial to others. 


Who is it that guides you
in the midst of the deep darkness of land and sea,
and sends forth the winds as a glad tiding of His coming grace?
An-Naml 27:63
Without an escort you're bewildered on a familiar road;
don't travel alone on a way you haven't seen at all;
don't turn your head away from the Guide.
Mathnawi I:2944-2945, tr. Helminski

Al Badee ( The Originator )

The Originator, The Incomparable, He who creats wonders in the universe without any design. 


Say: "Go all over the earth and behold
how wondrously He has created man in the first instance:
and thus, too, will God bring into being your second life --
for, verily, God has the power to will anything!
Al-Ankabut 29:20, tr. Asad

Al Baqi ( The Everlasting One)

The Everlasting One


As for us, behold, we have come to believe in our Sustainer,
hoping that He may forgive us our faults...
for God is the best to look forward to,
and the One who is truly abiding.
Ta-Ha 20:73, tr. Asad

Al Wariss ( The inheritor of ALL )

The Inheritor of All, He who has everlasting ownership of all things. Finite man only has temporary ownership, and at death all creatures have nothing. 


Behold, We alone shall remain
after the earth and all who live on it have passed away,
and when unto Us all will have been brought back.
Maryam 19:40, tr. Asad

Ar Rashid ( The Righteous Teacher )

The Righteous Teacher, He who is the guide, with wisdom, to the right path according to His eternal plan. 


We shall teach thee,
and thou wilt not forget aught of what thou art taught,
save what God may will thee to forget --
for verily, He alone knows all that is open to man's perception as well as all that is hidden from it --
and thus shall We make easy for thee
the path towards ultimate ease.
Al-A'la 87:7-8, tr. Asad
God turns you from one feeling to another
and teaches by means of opposites,
so that you will have two wings to fly,
not one.
Rumi, Mathnawi II:1552, 1554, tr. Helminski

As sabur ( The Patient One )

The Patient One


And be patient in adversity:
for, verily, God is with those who are patient in adversity.
Al-Anfal 8:46, tr. Asad
If you are wholly perplexed and in straits,
have patience, for patience is the key to joy.
Rumi, Mathnawi I:2908, tr. Helminski

Arrazzaq ( The Sustainer )

It is God who has made the earth a resting-place for you
and the sky a canopy,
and has formed you — and formed you so well –
and provided for you sustenance out of the good things of life.
Such is God, your Sustainer:
hallowed, then, is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!
Ghafir 40:64, tr. Asad


Look at every animal from the gnat to the elephant:
they all are God’s family
and dependent on Him for their nourishment.
What a nourisher is God!
All these griefs within our hearts
arise from the smoke and dust
of our existence and vain desires.
Mathnawi I:2295-2296, tr. Helminski