Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e., one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.” [1]
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah has ninety-nine Names, i.e., one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly, will enter Paradise; and Allah is witr (one) and loves ‘the witr’ (i.e., odd numbers).[2]
The hadith mentions that the one who memorizes the 99 names of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ will enter Jannah. People often read this with skepticism as they take it literally, they question and doubt, “that’s it, that’s all I have to do to go to heaven?” Because of a lack of trust among people we’ve developed a sixth sense, “if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because it is.” But Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ knows best, learning the 99 names of Allah may be some deciding factor for you to enter paradise – but it’s not to say we can neglect all mandatory acts. It is my understanding of this hadith and of hadith in general, that exaggeration was a tool used by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a teaching mechanism to emphasize the great rewards to Bedouin Arabs. During this time, education wasn’t mandatory, for effective communication among both the illiterate and literate, analogies, metaphors, and hyperbole were used to emphasize the importance of a thing. Allah knows best, but it’s probably not enough to just learn the names of Allah and disregard all your other duties as a Muslim.
As you start this beautiful journey, it may begin with rote memorization. But gradually make the effort to ‘believe their meanings and act accordingly. This is where a deeper understanding and connection with Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is established. It’s best to tackle this in chunks, if I lined up 99 people and asked you to remember each one of their names, that seems like quite the challenge. But if I shrunk them down to a smaller group of five, I know you could do it. Do the same with the ninety names of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. Start with five and no more, randomly throughout the day ask yourself, what were the five names of today? Once you firmly grasp the five then add to it. In just twenty days you could say you know all ninety names of Allah. This is a more digestible approach. We recommend taking the 99 names of Allah quiz as a fun and interactive way to learn the 99 names of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ and test your knowledge.
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