Are There Only 99 Names of Allaah?

Al-Asmaa ul-Husnaa or the 99 Names of Allaah as it is popularly known, is something Muslims the world over is familiar with. 

But did you know that there is something about the Names of Allaah that most Muslims aren't aware of? 

Nowhere in the Noble Quran nor in the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم does it explicitly say the number is limited to 99 nor did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم give us an explicit list of 99 Names. 

In this hadith the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells us that Allaah has ninety-nine Names which are given a promise, that whoever preserves them correctly and acts upon them will enter Paradise. This does not mean that Allaah azza wa jal does not have Names apart from these.

To put it simply, it's like when someone says: “I have twelve dresses to give to charity,” which does not mean that the speaker has only these twelve dresses, rather these twelve are prepared for this purpose.

The list of 99 Names that are widely popular was actually compiled from the ijtihad of scholars. The scholars, from the early times right until this day, have striven to look through the Book of Allaah and the authentic Sunnah to extract these ninety-nine Names.