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Islam: God and Ultimate Reality

The Ninety-Nine Names of God

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on what the divine names are called, the purpose they serve, and the two that open almost every surah and their shared root.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Which two names appear in the formula that opens almost every surah?

Key term

From what root do the names the Merciful and the Compassionate both come, and what does it suggest?

Key term

Explain the distinction usually drawn between the two names.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What are the ninety-nine names of God called?

    Model answer

    They are called al-Asma al-Husna, the most beautiful names.

  2. 2

    What purpose do the divine names serve for a believer?

    Model answer

    They allow God to be known and addressed through His qualities, since His essence itself is beyond description.

  3. 3

    Which two names appear in the formula that opens almost every surah?

    Model answer

    The Merciful and the Compassionate.

  4. 4

    From what root do both those names come, and what does it suggest?

    Model answer

    Both come from a root also connected with the womb, suggesting a protective and nurturing mercy.

  5. 5

    Explain the distinction usually drawn between the two names.

    Model answer

    The Merciful is generally understood as God’s boundless mercy poured out on all creation, while the Compassionate is His particular and sustained mercy towards the faithful.

  6. 6

    Why is one of these names used only of God?

    Model answer

    Ar-Rahman functions almost as a proper name of God in the Qur’an and is never applied to a creature.

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Arguments for the Existence of God
Evil and Suffering
Religious Language
Self and Life After Death

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1 2:8-15.
TimothyCorinthiansPeter

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Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AExclusivism holds salvation is available only to Christians.
BInclusivism holds salvation is available through Christ to non-Christians.
CPluralism holds salvation is available through multiple religious paths.

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Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Olam Ha-Ba means the world to come.
TrueFalse

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