All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
What is meant is that the name “Allah” is not a name for an essence stripped of attributes. Rather, it is the name of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted, who is described by all attributes of perfection, both essential and active. It is therefore incorrect in belief to conceive of a “bare divine essence” separated from its attributes, for Allah is known through His Names, Attributes, and Actions that He has informed us about Himself or that His Messenger ﷺ has informed us about Him.
When a Muslim says, “Allah is my Lord,” he does not mean merely the existence of an essence with no attributes. Rather, he means the Lord, Glorified and Exalted, who possesses the attributes of perfection, such as knowledge, power, life, hearing, sight, speech, mercy, and all other attributes authentically established for Him.
For this reason, scholars say: The Names of Allah are both proper names and descriptions. They indicate the Essence of Allah Almighty and include the attributes of perfection indicated by those names.
For example:
Each of Allah’s Names indicates His Essence, the attribute contained in that Name, and other attributes necessarily implied by it.
The name “Allah” is the most distinctive of the Lord’s Names and the most comprehensive in encompassing the meanings of the Most Beautiful Names and the Loftiest Attributes. Therefore, the other Names occur as descriptions of Him.
Allah Almighty says:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.”
[Al-Fatihah 1:1]
Here, “Allah” is the Name, while “the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful” are descriptions of Him.
Allah Almighty also says:
“He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supremely Great. Glory be to Allah above what they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
[Al-Hashr 59:23–24]
Many Names are mentioned after the name “Allah”: the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supremely Great, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner, and the All-Wise. All of them indicate the perfection of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted.
Yes. What is meant includes the attributes by which Allah has described Himself, whether they are essential or active attributes, while affirming them in a manner befitting His Majesty.
The essential attributes, such as knowledge, power, life, hearing, sight, and speech, are established for Allah.
Likewise, the active attributes established in the Qur’an and Sunnah, such as rising over the Throne, descending, coming, being pleased, and being angry, are affirmed for Allah Almighty in a manner befitting Him, without likening Him to creation, drawing comparisons, or asking how.
However, an important point should be noted: We do not say that everything Allah does, or every statement reported about Him, constitutes an independent Name of His. The category of Names is narrower than the category of Attributes, while the category of Attributes is broader than that of Names. The Names and Attributes are based on revelation regarding what may be affirmed for Allah Almighty.
When we say, “Allah is All-Knowing,” we do not mean that there is first a bare essence and then knowledge is added to it as something separate from it. Rather, Allah Himself is described by knowledge, and His knowledge is one of His attributes.
Likewise, when we say, “Allah is Merciful,” mercy is an established attribute of His and is not something separate from the Lord Almighty.
The same applies to all other attributes established by evidence.
For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that the name “Allah” is not a name for an essence stripped of attributes. Rather, it is the name of an Essence described by all attributes of perfection and qualities of majesty.
Among the attributes of Allah Almighty is speech, and the Qur’an is the Speech of Allah and is not created, because it is from His Speech, and Allah’s Speech is one of His attributes.
This is what Ahl al-Sunnah mean when they argue that Allah’s attributes are included in what His Name denotes. Saying “Allah” does not mean an essence stripped of knowledge, power, life, speech, and the other attributes established for Him.
The inclusion of an attribute in what the Name denotes does not mean that the attribute is something independent of Allah. Rather, it is an attribute of the Lord, subsisting in Him, in a manner befitting His Majesty.
No. Conceiving of a “bare essence” that has no knowledge, power, life, hearing, sight, or speech, and then calling that essence “Allah,” is incorrect. Allah is the perfect Lord who possesses all attributes of perfection and is exalted above every deficiency.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that separating the Essence from the Attributes or the Attributes from the Essence is merely a mental abstraction with no actual reality. The Lord, Glorified and Exalted, is an Essence described by the attributes of perfection.
This helps the Muslim understand the subject of Allah’s Names and Attributes correctly. He does not imagine an unknown deity stripped of attributes. Rather, he worships Allah, who has made Himself known to His servants through His Names, Attributes, and Actions.
The name “Allah” is the Name that encompasses the meanings of the Most Beautiful Names and the Loftiest Attributes. It is not a name for an essence stripped of attributes. The attributes included in this meaning encompass both the essential and active attributes authentically established for Allah Almighty.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is an Essence described by all attributes of perfection. He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Most Merciful, the One who speaks, and He possesses all the attributes He has affirmed for Himself, without likening Him to creation, drawing comparisons, asking how, or denying His attributes.
We must know Allah as He has made Himself known to us in His Book and as His Messenger ﷺ has described Him, affirming for Him what He has affirmed for Himself in a manner befitting His Majesty.
And Allah knows best.