The Difference Between the Names of Allah and His Attributes

Question

May Allah bless you. From Mauritania, the listener Saadi A.N. says: Noble Shaykh, I would like to know the difference between the Names of Allah and His attributes, may you be rewarded.

Answer (English translation)

The Shaykh:

The difference between a Name and an attribute is evident. If I say, for example, 'as-Sami' (the All-Hearing), then as-Sami' is a Name and the attribute is hearing (as-sam'). If I say 'al-Basir' (the All-Seeing), then al-Basir is a Name and the attribute is sight (al-basar). If I say 'al-Aliyy' (the Most High), then al-Aliyy is a Name and highness (al-'uluw) is an attribute. If I say 'al-Hakim' (the All-Wise), then al-Hakim is a Name and wisdom (al-hikmah) is an attribute — and so on. This is the difference: the Name is that by which Allah is named, and the attribute is that with which Allah is described — the meaning subsisting in Allah the Exalted.

There are also attributes that are not attributes of meaning, such as the Hand: Allah the Exalted has two Hands, as He said: [Rather, both His hands are extended; He spends as He wills] (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:64). And the Eye: Allah the Exalted has two Eyes, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the Dajjal is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed — and similar matters reported in the Book and the Sunnah. These attributes and their like are not attributes of meaning; rather, their namesakes correspond to dimensions and parts in our own usage.