Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It is authentically established in the two Sahihs, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said, relating from his Lord, Mighty and Majestic:
“The son of Adam hurts Me; he insults Ad-Dahr, while I am Ad-Dahr. The affair is in My Hand; I alternate the night and the day.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhari (4826) and Muslim (2246).]
This hadith does not indicate that “Ad-Dahr” is one of the Names of Allah. Rather, it means that Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, is the One who manages time and controls what takes place within it of events and affairs. Whatever people attribute to time in terms of changes and events occurs only by Allah’s decree and will.
The scholars have explained that what is intended is not that Ad-Dahr is a name of Allah. Rather, the meaning is that Allah is the One who manages time and controls what takes place within it.
Al-Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The meaning of the hadith is that Allah Almighty is the Lord of time and the One who manages the affairs that people attribute to time. Whoever insults time believing that it is the one causing these events, then his insult ultimately returns to Allah, because He is the One who brought them into existence and decreed them.
Imam An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the meaning of the hadith:
“For Allah is Ad-Dahr” means: He is the One who brings about calamities and events and the Creator of created beings.
Thus, the meaning is that Allah Almighty is the true doer of what occurs in time; it does not mean that time itself is one of the Names of Allah.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, explained that “Ad-Dahr” is not one of the Names of Allah, for two reasons:
First: The Names of Allah are Beautiful
Allah Almighty says:
﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them﴾
[Al-A‘raf: 180].
The Names of Allah indicate complete meanings and attributes; they are not merely fixed words that have no meaning.
As for the word “Ad-Dahr,” it is a name for time and the passing of periods. In itself, it does not contain one of the meanings of perfection that befit Allah Almighty. Therefore, it cannot be considered one of the Beautiful Names of Allah.
Second: The context of the hadith itself shows that Ad-Dahr is not Allah
The Prophet ﷺ said in the hadith:
“And I am Ad-Dahr; the affair is in My Hand; I alternate the night and the day.”
The One who alternates the night and the day is Allah Almighty, whereas night and day are parts of time.
Therefore, it is not correct for the thing that is being controlled and changed to be the same as the One who performs the changing. Rather, the meaning is that Allah Almighty is the One who manages time and alternates the night and the day.
It is important to note that the hadith occurs in the context of prohibiting insulting time. A person who insults time because of calamities and events that occur within it may, through his words, be objecting to Allah’s decree, because Allah is the One who decrees matters and causes them to occur according to His wisdom.
For this reason, Allah Almighty says in the Hadith Qudsi:
“The son of Adam hurts Me; he insults Ad-Dahr.”
Time itself has no power to do anything. Rather, events occur according to Allah’s decree and will.
“Ad-Dahr” is not one of the Beautiful Names of Allah. The statement in the Hadith Qudsi, “And I am Ad-Dahr,” does not mean that Allah is time itself. Rather, it means that Allah Almighty is the One who manages time, controls the events that occur within it, and alternates the night and the day.
Therefore, it is not permissible to say that “Ad-Dahr” is one of the Names of Allah. Rather, the Names of Allah must be affirmed only on the basis of authentic evidence, while understanding the texts in a manner befitting His Majesty and perfection.
And Allah knows best.