All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The Names of Allah Almighty are established only through revelation. Therefore, Allah may only be named by what He has named Himself in His Book or by what His Messenger ﷺ has named Him. As for statements made about Allah, their scope is broader than that of His Names. Thus, it is permissible to speak about Him using an expression with a correct meaning, even if it has not been established as one of His Names, provided that it does not imply any deficiency or inappropriate meaning regarding Allah Almighty.
The basic principle is that the Most Beautiful Names of Allah are not established merely through linguistic derivation or reason, but rather through what has been revealed in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Allah Almighty says:
“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—about all of those one will be questioned.”
[Al-Isra’ 17:36]
And He says:
“Say: My Lord has only forbidden immoralities—what is apparent of them and what is concealed—and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and that you say about Allah what you do not know.”
[Al-A‘raf 7:33]
For this reason, scholars have established that the category of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names is based on revelation; nothing may be added to or removed from it without evidence.
A distinction should be made between naming Allah and making statements about Him.
Allah is invoked only by His established Most Beautiful Names. However, when speaking about Him, it is permissible to use expressions whose meanings are correct even if they are not among His Most Beautiful Names.
Examples include saying that Allah Almighty is a being (shay’), existent, possesses an Essence, and is self-subsisting. These are valid expressions when speaking about Allah, but they are not necessarily among His Most Beautiful Names.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the distinction between these two categories: Allah Almighty is invoked only by the Most Beautiful Names, whereas statements about Him must not use an evil or inappropriate name, but may use a good expression or an expression containing no improper meaning, even if it is not one of His Most Beautiful Names.
A number of scholars have counted the name “Al-‘Alim” among the Names of Allah Almighty, including Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him. It has also appeared in some narrations listing the Most Beautiful Names of Allah, as mentioned by a number of scholars.
Among the evidence affirming the attribute of knowledge for Allah Almighty is His saying:
“Knower of the unseen and the witnessed.”
[Az-Zumar 39:46]
However, some scholars have pointed out that the word “Al-‘Alim” appears in the Qur’an in a construct form, such as in Allah’s saying: “Knower of the unseen and the witnessed,” and does not occur in this passage as an unrestricted, independent Name.
Therefore, the issue is based on scholarly disagreement regarding whether the Name itself is established. A number of scholars have counted it among the Most Beautiful Names, while others have refrained from affirming it as an independent Name because, in their view, there is no sufficiently explicit text establishing it as such.
Accordingly, a number of scholars have permitted applying “Al-‘Alim” to Allah Almighty, and this should not be condemned when what is intended is to affirm the perfection of Allah’s knowledge indicated by the revealed texts.
As for “Al-Mutajalli,” it has not been established, as far as scholars have determined, as one of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah.
However, tajalli (manifesting Himself) is established for Allah Almighty as an active Attribute. The establishment of the Attribute of tajalli does not necessarily mean that the Name “Al-Mutajalli” may be derived from it and regarded as one of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names.
Allah Almighty says:
“And when Moses came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show me Yourself that I may look at You.’ He said, ‘You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it remains in its place, then you will see Me.’ But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble, and Moses fell unconscious.”
[Al-A‘raf 7:143]
This verse affirms tajalli for Allah Almighty in a manner befitting Him, without likening Him to creation, drawing comparisons, or asking how.
Authentic hadiths also mention Allah’s manifestation to His servants on the Day of Resurrection and the believers seeing their Lord. The methodology of the early Imams was to affirm what is stated in the revealed texts and believe in it without asking how or likening Allah to His creation.
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said in the context of affirming Allah’s Attributes:
“No one’s manifestation is like His manifestation.”
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the position of Ahl al-Sunnah regarding such Attributes: they affirm what has come in the revealed texts and say: “without asking how,” because there is nothing whatsoever like Allah Almighty.
And Allah knows best.