Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Whoever ‘ahsaaha‘ will enter Jannah.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
The word ‘ahsaaha’ in the Arabic language could mean five things:
‘Ahsaaha’ includes:
1) Memorising the names of Allah – We spend much time revising and memorising for our exams, yet have we ever thought about dedicating a few hours or days in memorising the names of Our Creator? Try and make it a goal this Ramadhaan to memorise the names of Allah and do it with the intention to get to know your Lord better and to be able to be of those with His pleasure granted.
2) Believing in them – To believe in them means to live with them and by them. For example, when we are going through a difficult time or circumstance, we should not lose hope due to our situation because we understand and acknowledge that Allah is Ar-Raheem, the Most Merciful, and Al-Mujib, the One who will respond to our situation. We also remember that Allah is Al-Fattaah, and He will open doors for us in ways we could not have even imagined.
3) Calling upon Allah with them – Part of understanding and living with these beautiful Names is to call upon Allah with them in your Du’aa! If you want something, ask Him by using His glorious names. For example you may say: “O Allah, Al-Wahhaab (The Giver of Gifts) , bestow upon me a righteous offspring who will be the coolness and delight to my eyes.” or you may say, “O Allah, Al-Mujeeb (The Responsive), remove the difficulty I am facing and have mercy upon me, O Rahmaan (The Most Merciful).”
4) Praising Allah with those names – One of the etiquettes of making Du’aa is to begin by praising Allah and sending salutations upon the Messenger (Salallahu Alayhi Wasallam). Glorify and do Hamd of Allah using His beautiful names and attributes. As indeed, Allah loves it when His slave praises and glorifies Him.
5) Understanding and Acknowledging His names – Memorising is important. However, this paticular word also means to make an effort in understanding the Names of Allah and especially their meanings. When you study the root words and the deeper meaning of certain names you become fascinated by the wonders of the Arabic language and of the beautiful, rich meanings behind each of Allah’s names. Reading commentaries by our scholars is also advised in order to gain a better understanding of the Names of Allah.
Also, with each Name of Allah you memorise, strive to answer the following questions:
1) What does this Name mean to me?
2) How can it impact my worship?
3) How can it impact my dua?
4) How can it impact my heart?
5) How can it impact my character?
May Allah give us the ability to believe, memorise, understand and use His names so that we can be guaranteed His Jannah.
May Allah strengthen our memory and give us the tawfeeq to maintain the names in our memories and use them to draw closer to Him. Ameen.
JazakAllahu khair for such an excellent reminder.
Could you please provide us some links to summary/list of the names of Allah and their meanings.
May Allah increase you and reward you immensely.
You can visit this site for 99 names of Allah meaning with explanation. JAzakAllah
http://namesofallah.co.uk/