Author: Mufti Muhammad Sher Alqadri

It is a well-established principle in Islamic scholarship that the multiplicity of names given to a named one (musamma) indicates the greatness of that named one. This is attested by the eminent Muḥaddith Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī al-Harawī (d. 1014 AH) in Sharḥ al-Shifā’, where he cites the statement of Ibn Fāris:

“كَثْرَةُ الْاَسْمَاءِ تَدُلُّ عَلٰى شَرْفِ الْمُسَمَّى الْمُشْعِرَةِ بِكَثْرَةِ النُّعُوْتِ وَالْأَوْصَافِ“

“The multiplicity of names indicates the nobility of the named one and gives an awareness of the abundance of his attributes and praiseworthy qualities.”[i]

‘Allāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī al-Shāfi’ī, in Fatḥ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, records the opinion of certain leading scholars in the following terms:

“أَسْمَاءُ النَّبِيِّ (ﷺ) عَدَدُ أَسْمَاءِ اللّهِ الْحُسْنَى تِسْعَةٌ وَّتِسْعُوْنَ اِسْمًا وَنَقَلَ اِبْنُ الْعَرَبِيِّ فِي شَرْحِ التِّرْمَذِيِّ عَنْ بَعْضِ الصُّوفِيَّةِ أَنَّ لِلهِ أَلْفَ اِسْمٍ وَلِرَسُوْلِهٖ أَلْفَ اِسْمٍ“

“The number of the blessed names of the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) equals the number of the Beautiful Names of Allah Almighty, that is, ninety-nine blessed names. ‘Allāmah Abū Bakr ibn al-‘Arbi (R.A) has quoted in his commentary on al-Tirmidhī, from certain eminent Sufis, that Allah Almighty has one thousand names and His Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) likewise has one thousand names.”[ii]

‘Allāmah Badr al-Dīn al-‘Aynī (d. 855 AH) has also recorded the same statement of the Sufis in his ‘Umdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.[iii]

It should be kept in mind that the blessed names of the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) are not merely proper nouns (‘alam) in the conventional linguistic sense. Rather, they are descriptive in nature; that is, every one of his blessed names is in reality an expression of his noble qualities and attributes.

Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī al-Harawī (d. 1014 AH) writes in Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ:

“فَإِنَّهُ (ﷺ) لَيْسَ لَهٗ اِسْمٌ جَامِدٌ نَعَمْ لَهٗ أَسْمَاءٌ نُقِلَتْ مِنَ الْوَصْفِيَّةِ إِلَى الْعَلَمِيَّةِ، كَاَحْمَدَ وَمُحَمَّدٍ وَغَيْرِهِمَا وَلَهُ صِفَاتٌ بَاقِيَةٌ عَلٰى أَصْلِهَا مُخْتَصَّةٌ بِهٖ“

“The blessed name of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is not a static noun (jāmid). Rather, his blessed names are those which have been transferred from the realm of descriptiveness to the realm of proper nouns, as is the case with Aḥmad (ﷺ) and Muḥammad (ﷺ) and others besides them. He (ﷺ) also possesses numerous other attributes that remain in their original descriptive sense and are particular to him alone.”[iv]

Al-Shaykh al-Ajall ‘Allāmah Yūsuf ibn Ismā’īl ibn Yūsuf al-Nabhānī (d. 1350 AH) writes in Jawāhir al-Biḥār fī Faḍā’il al-Nabī al-Mukhtār (ﷺ) that Allah Almighty has declared:

“I created from My own essential illumination (nūr-e-dhātī) a form of heart-captivating beauty that is the comprehensive manifestation of My attributes and names, and it is the locus of manifestation (maẓhar) of My spiritual-occurrences (tajalliyyāt).”

Continuing in this context, he further writes:

“فَالْاَ نْبِیَا ءُ وَالْاَوْلِیَا ءُ صَلَوَاتُ اللہِ عَلَیْھِمْ مَظَاہِرُ الْاَسْمَاءِ وَ الصِّفَاتِ وَ مُحَمَّدٌ (ﷺ) مَظْہَرُ الذَّاتِ“

“The Prophets and the friends of Allah Almighty, may Allah’s blessings be upon them, are the loci of manifestation (maẓāhir) of His names and attributes, whereas the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) is the locus of manifestation (maẓhar) of the Divine Dhāt itself.”[v]

Al-Shaykh Yūsuf ibn Ismā’īl al-Nabhānī (d. 1350 AH) also quotes Sayyid ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (R.A), who declares:

“وَ اَشْہَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا (ﷺ) قُطْبُ رَحْیِ الْکَمَالَاتِ، وَ مَنْصَبُ حَقَائِقِ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَ الصِّفَاتِ“

“I bear witness that Muḥammad (ﷺ) is the axis around which the millstone of all perfections revolves, and the elevated station wherein the realities of all divine names and attributes find their fullest expression.”[vi]

Al-Shaykh al-Qāḍī Muḥammad Thanā’ Allāh Pānīpatī al-Ḥanafī al-Muẓharī writes in Tafsīr Muẓharī, in his commentary on the name Aḥmad. The substance of what he says is as follows:

“This is one of the two personal names of the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ). It is a superlative form derived from praise (ḥamd), meaning that he (ﷺ) is the one who praises Allah Almighty most abundantly of all. All the Prophets are those who praise, and they are praised more than all of creation. All the Prophets are praiseworthy (maḥmūd) and are adorned with noble qualities. Nevertheless, the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) surpasses all others in his virtues and is the most comprehensive of all in his excellent qualities and praiseworthy attributes, by virtue of which he is the most deserving of praise above all others.”

He then goes on to say:

“Hadrat Mujaddid Alf Thānī (R.A) stated that the blessed name Aḥmad of the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) has a particular and special connection with spirituality (rūḥāniyyat). It is for this reason that Hadrat ‘Īsā (Jesus) (A.S), before the Prophet’s bodily creation from the physical elements, mentioned him by this name. Another of his blessed names is Muḥammad (ﷺ), which has a particular connection with his bodily creation. The Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) has been granted two forms of sanctity (wilāyat): first, Wilāyat Muḥammadiyyah (ﷺ), which is the sanctity of the Beloved and which is intertwined with love; and second, Wilāyat Aḥmadiyyah (ﷺ), which is the pure and exclusive sanctity of being the Beloved. It is therefore preferable to hold that the latter is derived from maḥmūdiyyat. And Allah Almighty knows best.”[vii]

The Sufi interpretation of the blessed names of the Exalted Prophet (ﷺ) has a profoundly deep connection with spirituality (rūḥāniyyat), recognition (ma’rifat), and Sufism (taṣawwuf). The eminent Sufis do not regard these blessed names as mere outwardly words; rather, they perceive within them meaningful realities, spiritual stations, and the secrets of spirituality (‘irfān). They view each and every one of his blessed names through the lens of his quality and the spiritual influence (ta’thīr) of that quality. They draw spiritual inspiration from all of his blessed names, and in particular from the name Aḥmad and the name Muḥammad (ﷺ).

This article was originally published in Urdu in Monthly Mirrat ul Arifeen International Magazine.

To cite the original article:

Alqadri, Mufti Muhammad Sher. ” A Sufi Interpretation of the Blessed Names of the Exalted Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ).” Mirrat-ul-Arifeen International, September 2025. Available at https://www.mirrat.com/article/48/1662

References:

1.  Sharḥ al-Shifā’, Vol. 1, p. 489. Publisher: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut
2. Fatḥ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 6, p. 558. Publisher: Dār al-Ma’rifah, Beirut
3. ‘Umdat al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 16, p. 96. Publisher: Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī, Beirut
4. Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ Sharḥ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Bāb Asmā’ al-Nabiyy (ﷺ) wa Ṣifātihi
5. Jawāhir al-Biḥār fī Faḍā’il al-Nabī al-Mukhtār (ﷺ), Vol. 4, p. 264. Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon
6. Ibid., p. 285
7.  Tafsīr Muẓharī, Vol. 7, p. 105. Maktabah Rashīdiyyah, Sarkī Road, Quetta