Allah’s seven excellent names
The personal nature of Allah is revealed through seven isma-e-hasna (excellent names), or attributes. Four are called Sifat-e-Lazmi fit zal-e-Allah, or “Attributes essential in the being of Allah” and three are called Sifat-e-Sabuti fil zat-e-Allah, or “Attributes substantiating the being of Allah”. The first four are Haiyat (Life), Ilm (Knowledge), Qudrat (Power) and Iradah (Will).
The first isma-e-hasna (excellent name) is Haiyat (Life). Allah is not an abstract being, but living God. He is not as most people are led to believe, simply a Supreme Light, a Supreme Power, an impersonal energy. Allah is all these but He is overwhelmingly a lot more.
The second isma-e-hasna is Ilm (Knowledge) which reveals Allah as a knowing being. Allah is Alim (Knower). He knows Himself and all His creation perfectly. This means Allah is the living being not an abstract energy. He has absolute total knowledge of every single aspect of His own unlimited individual identity. This is a definition of individuality. Allah is individuality with individual attributes, knowledge and consciousness.
The third isma-e-hasna is Qudrat (Power), which reveals Allah as Qadar (Almighty).
The fourth isma-e-hasna is Iradah (Will). Allah has individual will power.
Thus Allah is the Supreme Person Who knows Himself and His position perfectly: Who is the supreme eternal living One Who has unlimited knowledge, power and will, Who makes Himself known through his kalam (speech).
The next three are Samaa (Hearing), Basar (Seeing) and Kalam (Speaking). These three isma-e-hasna (excellent names) – Kalam, Samaa, Basar – confirm the being of Allah as a Person. For it is a person who speaks, hears and sees as a living being. These three names are called isma-e-sabuti bil zat-e-Allah (names proving the being of Allah).
Therefore, Allah is one; but richly so. His oneness is enriched with isma-e-hasna (excellent names), which reveal His nature as a living personal God Who is inconceivable and unknowable by such limited beings as us.
By summarizing all the above mentioned points we can assert that Allah, as revealed in the Qur’an, is not an abstract being but a being who has haiyat (life), ilm (knowledge), qudrat (power), iradah (will) and who is able to kalam (speak), basar (see) and samaa (hear). Saying that Allah cannot be a person is offensive since it is tantamount to calling Him deaf, dumb, blind etc. Moreover, it contradicts the Qur’anic statements. Actually He has life which is eternal, knowledge which embraces everything, power which is unexcelled, will which determines everything and He is able to speak with the entire universe, to see and hear everything with no effort. These attributes clearly indicate that Allah is not a person in the ordinary material sense. Considering Allah an ordinary mundane person is a severe limitation of His personality. He is an unlimited Supreme Transcendental Person beyond our imagination and perception of our mundane limited senses.
