99 Names of Allah and Paradise

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tells us in the Quran,

وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٨٠

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing. (180) [Quran, Al-A'raf 7:180)

Calling upon Allah (Du'a) means both to mention Him, to ask from Him, to seek Him, to affirm His Oneness, and other meanings. Du'a conveys a number of meanings. Du'a has a sense of invoking someone, calling upon them, asking them, seeking them, and seeking from them.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

“Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred less one, whoever encompasses them shall enter Paradise...." [At-Tirmidhi]

This should inspire us to seek understanding of Allah's beautiful Names and to strive our utmost to understand their meanings. Allah Most High has 99 Names, whoever encompasses them, enters Paradise. What does it means to encompass these 99 Names? By learning them, understanding them, mentioning them, realizing their meanings, memorizing them, characterizing ourselves by their qualities, by drawing closer to Allah through them.

What is a name? A name points to the one named. The descriptive names of Allah affirms qualities and attributes that Allah Most High possesses. They bring out different aspect of the perfection, majesty and beauty of Allah Most High.

May Allah grant us the tawfiq to learn His beautiful Names and bring us closer to Him. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.

Wassalaam