According to Muslim theology, there are four thousand names of God, meaning vocalized representations of his attributes. One thousand of these are known only to God; one thousand are known to God and the angels; one thousand to God, the angels, and the prophets; and one thousand to God, the angels, the prophets, and the believers. Of this thousand, three hundred are mentioned in the Pentateuch, three hundred in the Psalms, three hundred in the Gospels, and one hundred in the Koran. Of this hundred, ninety-nine are known to the ordinary faithful, while one is hidden, secret, and accessible only to the most illumined mystics.
the Koran refers to the ninety-nine names ("name": ism; plural, osama or asamy): "Most excellent titles hath God (al-Asma al-Husna); by these call ye on Him and stand aloof from those who pervert his titles." (8:180).
Call upon "God", or call upon the "God of Mercy," by whichsoever ye will invoke him: he hath most excellent names (17:110) God! There is no God but he! Most excellent his titles! (20:8).
The Prophet Muhammad said, "There are ninety-nine names that belong only to God. He that learns them, understands them, and enumerates them enters Paradise and achieves eternal salvation."
The mystic Tosun Bayrak, sheikh of the Jerrahiyya-Khalwatiyya Sufi order: "The beautiful names of God are proof of the existence of the oneness of God. O you who are parched and troubled because of the weight of suffering of the material world, may God let his beautiful names be soothing balm for your wounded hearts. Learn, understand, and recite the beautiful names of God. Seek out signs of these attributes of God in the skies, on the earth, and in what is beautiful about you yourselves. In that way you will find favor, in accordance with the measure of your sincerity. With the permission of God, those who have doubts will find certainty, the ignorant will find knowledge, those who deny will find affirmation. The greedy will become generous, tyrants will bow their heads, and the fire in the heart of the envious will go out."
Understanding the "essence" of these attributes calms the soul and brings faith and spiritual enrichment. For this reason, on a purely practical level, it has been the habit to repeat the names while counting the beads of a rosary composed of ninety-nine beads (or thirty-three if done three times). This rosary, called a subha in Arabic and tashbi (or komboloy) in Turkish, may have been derived from those used by Buddhists, composed of 108 beads and used in Central and Eastern Asia since the fourth century. In turn, the Muslim rosary, through immitation, led to the Catholic rosary, which was adopted at the end of the twelfth century and later given its current form.
- taken directly from pages 96 and 97 of...
"Muhammad: The Prophet" Gabriel Mandel Khan ISBN#1592234011. We highly recommend this BEAUTIFUL book; it is both a great exploration into Muhammad's life, teachings and events of the times but also the PICTURES are QUITE remarkable!
