Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Allah Almighty is described in the Quran as “Rafi‘ al-Darajat” (Exalted in Degrees), but the word “Ar-Rafi‘” does not appear in the Quran as an unrestricted, independent Name without an attached qualification.
Some scholars have included “Ar-Rafi‘” among the Most Beautiful Names of Allah based on certain narrations that enumerate the ninety-nine Names, or by deriving it from the Quran. Other scholars refrained from doing so because the Quranic wording is specifically “Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
Therefore, this is a matter of scholarly ijtihad, and the safer approach is to adhere to the Quranic wording: “Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
The fundamental principle concerning Allah’s Names is that they are tawqifi, meaning that Allah may only be named with what is established by the Quran or authentic Sunnah.
Allah Almighty says:
“Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—each of these will be questioned.”
[Al-Isra’: 36]
Therefore, it is not permissible to derive a Name for Allah from every action or description mentioned in the revealed texts without considering what the text actually indicates and the manner in which the wording occurs.
Scholars have established that the category of statements and descriptions that may be used when speaking about Allah is broader than the category of His Most Beautiful Names. Merely having a correct meaning is not, by itself, sufficient to establish a word as a Name of Allah.
It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred minus one; whoever enumerates them will enter Paradise.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
However, this does not mean that all of Allah’s Names are limited to ninety-nine.
Among the evidence for this is the supplication of the Prophet ﷺ:
“I ask You by every Name that belongs to You, which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept exclusively with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen...”
Narrated by Ahmad.
This indicates that Allah has Names whose knowledge He has kept to Himself.
A hadith reported by al-Tirmidhi and others lists the ninety-nine Names one by one, but scholars differed regarding the authenticity of this enumeration.
A number of leading hadith scholars considered it weak, including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Hajar. A group of hadith masters held that the detailed enumeration was an insertion by some narrators and was not part of the words of the Prophet ﷺ.
On the other hand, some scholars authenticated certain narrations that specify the Names, including Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, while al-Nawawi graded the hadith as hasan.
For this reason, scholars later exercised ijtihad in extracting the Most Beautiful Names from the Quran and Sunnah. They agreed upon a large number of them and differed regarding some others.
Allah Almighty says:
“Rafi‘ al-Darajat, Owner of the Throne, He sends the Revelation by His command to whomever He wills among His servants.”
[Ghafir: 15]
Here, the word “Rafi‘” occurs in the qualified expression “Rafi‘ al-Darajat.” According to the fatwa, the Quran does not use “Ar-Rafi‘” by itself as an unrestricted Name of Allah in the way that, for example, “Al-‘Ali” (The Most High) occurs as a Divine Name.
This point forms the basis of the scholarly disagreement over whether “Ar-Rafi‘” should be counted among the Most Beautiful Names.
“Ar-Rafi‘” appears in some narrations that enumerate the Most Beautiful Names, although the authenticity of these detailed lists is disputed.
Some scholars also affirmed it through their own scholarly derivation of the Divine Names from the Quran.
Among them was al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, who examined the Names of Allah occurring in the Quran and included “Ar-Rafi‘” among those he derived from it.
The Name also appears in some lists transmitted from other scholars.
Therefore, whoever counts “Ar-Rafi‘” among Allah’s Names based on this derivation or by following scholars who affirmed it is relying upon a recognized scholarly opinion. This is not an issue in which those holding the other view should be condemned.
Other scholars held that the precise manner in which the expression appears in the Quran must be observed.
The Quran does not say about Allah in an unrestricted form: “Ar-Rafi‘.” Rather, it says:
“Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabi drew attention to this distinction. He noted that the Name “Al-‘Ali” occurs in an unrestricted form, whereas “Rafi‘” occurs with the qualification “al-Darajat.” Therefore, he considered it appropriate to preserve the qualification used in the revealed text.
For this reason, many scholars did not include “Ar-Rafi‘” in their lists of the Most Beautiful Names.
Given the scholarly disagreement, adhering to the explicit Quranic wording is safer and further removed from difficulty. Thus, we say about Allah Almighty:
“Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
This is how He, Glorified be He, described Himself.
As for someone who says “Ar-Rafi‘” and counts it among Allah’s Most Beautiful Names by following scholars who affirmed it, he should not be condemned, because the matter is one of scholarly ijtihad and a number of scholars have affirmed this Name.
The Name “Ar-Rafi‘” does not occur independently and unrestrictedly in an explicit Quranic text. Rather, Allah Almighty says:
“Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
[Ghafir: 15]
Some scholars affirmed “Ar-Rafi‘” as a Name of Allah by deriving it from this verse or by relying on certain narrations that enumerate the Most Beautiful Names. Others refrained from doing so because the revealed wording is qualified and the Name does not occur independently.
Therefore, affirming it is a matter of permissible scholarly ijtihad. The safer approach, and the one closest to adhering strictly to the revealed text, is to say “Rafi‘ al-Darajat.”
Whoever affirms “Ar-Rafi‘” by following scholars who considered it one of Allah’s Names has no blame upon him.
And Allah knows best.