The Theological Problem
The Quran names God by 99 attributes — al-‘Alim (the Knowing), al-Qadir (the Powerful), al-Hayy (the Living), al-Sami’ (the Hearing), al-Basir (the Seeing), and scores more. But the Quran also insists: “Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Self-Sufficient Master; He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him.” (112:1-4)
If God is absolutely One and no thing is like Him — how can He have multiple attributes? Does the attribute of Knowledge differ from the attribute of Power? If so, there seems to be multiplicity in the divine essence. If not, how are they different names meaningful?
The Major Positions
Mu’tazilites (rationalist school): Denied that attributes are real additions to the divine essence. God is Knowledge itself, Power itself — these words name the essence from different angles but add nothing to it. The alternative implies that God is a composite of essence + attributes, which violates unity.
Ash’aris (classical Sunni mainstream): Affirmed seven eternal attributes subsisting in the divine essence — Knowledge, Power, Will, Life, Hearing, Sight, Speech — without saying they are identical to or separate from the essence. This is held through tafwid (entrusting the how to Allah) without comparison to creatures.
Maturidis: Similar to Ash’aris with some distinctions on will and the relationship of attributes to actions.
Ismaili ta’wil: Most radical in negation (tanzih): not only are attributes not additions to the essence — God cannot be positively described at all. Even “One” adds something. The proper approach to speaking about God is ta’til of attributes and ta’wil (inner interpretation) of all Quranic anthropomorphisms.
The Names in Practice: Dhikr
Whatever the theological debates about the metaphysics of names, all traditions agreed on the practice: reciting the divine names (dhikr) transforms the one who recites them. The names are not merely conceptual labels — they are reality-channels through which the attribute reaches the person who sincerely remembers.
See also: Tawhid Divine Unity, Dhikr, Hikma Wisdom, Batin Zahir, Quran Sciences, Ilm Al Kalam