al-Ism al-Azam
Question: What exactly does "al-Ism al-Azam" refer to? What is the importance of al-Ism al-Azam?
Answer: "al-Ism al-Azam" is a term mentioned in some authentic hadiths. Let's give an example from Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) heard a man saying: "O Allah, I ask You by virtue of the fact that I bear witness that You are Allah, there is no god but You, the One, the Eternal, the Self-Sufficient, who begets not nor was begotten, and there is none comparable to Him." Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: "By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, this man has supplicated to Allah by His greatest name, which, when He is called by it, He responds, and when He is asked by it, He gives."(1)
The Arabic version of the supplication mentioned in this text is as follows: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ الأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
As you will notice, the supplicant combines testimony, the phrase of monotheism, and Surah Al-Ikhlas in his supplication. It can be understood from the favor of the Prophet (pbuh) that he did not just say these with his tongue, but he really meant them.
The phrase used by the Prophet (pbuh) is: “بِاسْمِهِ الأَعْظَمِ” which means “with His (Allah's) greatest name”.
In Arabic, the comparative form is used for comparison and also to express the highest degree in the sense of "the greatest". In this respect, it would be more correct to understand the sentence as "with some of the greatest names of Allah".
Although there are a few more authentic hadiths similar to this hadith, none of them explain which of the greatest names or in what qualities they are. The hadiths mention that "When called upon with it, He responds, and when asked by it, He gives," which has led to general interest in this issue.
The hadith "Allah has ninety-nine names, whoever learns them will enter Paradise" (2) is authentic, but the Prophet did not inform us of these ninety-nine names. There are two lists in the hadith books, which differ from each other, are compilations of the companions or scholars. The Prophet did not give a list.
The guarantee of the acceptance of the supplication mentioned in the first hadith has drawn the attention of the public. Most people think that there is a specific name as "al-Ism al-Azam", and whoever mentions it, their wish will be granted immediately. It can't be said that this is a valid understanding.
Allah is great, so all of His names are great. On the other hand, looking at the relevant hadiths, it can be said that if names that emphasize the concept of Tawhid, the unity of Allah, His independence from others, His power and majesty are mentioned in a prayer with knowledge and complete belief in this regard, it can lead to quick acceptance of the prayer.
Al-Ism al-Azam can be said to ensure that our petition to Allah, which we present by praying, reaches its destination more quickly.
1-) https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3475
2-) https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7392