Allah’s Special Names in Abraham’s Three Religions

Since Judaism is the oldest of the three Abrahamic religions, and there were hundreds of Prophets Moses and Aaron’s people entered into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, and for 1200 years were the only ongoing monotheistic community, one may think that Judaism might allow a closeness that is rare in most theologies. In the Babylonian Talmud Berachot 7a there is this wonderful example of this closeness.

Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha says: “I once entered the innermost part of the Jerusalem Temple to offer incense and saw The Crowned God, Adonai of Hosts, seated upon a high and exalted throne. God said to me: ‘Ishmael, My son, bless Me [barcheini]!’ I replied: ‘May it be Your will that Your compassion overcomes Your anger. May Your compassion prevail over Your other attributes. May You deal with Your children (humans) compassionately. May You not judge us solely with strict justice!’

And God nodded (closeness) to me.”

We learn from this that the blessing of an ordinary person should not be taken lightly. If God says that God wants to be blessed by “us little human beings,” who am I to correct God? To me, this is a great example of rabbinic Judaism’s “audacious humility” (or is it “humble audacity”) — we claim the right to improve upon God’s creation and even to improve God by submitting ourselves to God’s will. Is that closeness or what? So I will stick with daily prayers that begin with “Blessed are You…” Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser

“One of the 99 names of Allah in Islamic tradition for Allah is Al Shakur— “The Appreciative One.” There are several verses of the Qur’an which speak of God as “appreciative”: “If anyone willingly does what is good, God is appreciative and cognizant.” (Quran 2:158)

“Why would God punish you if you are grateful and faithful, since God is most appreciative, most cognizant?” (Quran 4:147) “As God will pay them their due and more, from the bounty divine, for God is most forgiving, most appreciative.” (Quran 35:30)

“And for anyone who brings about good, We will add goodness to it, for God is forgiving, appreciative.” (Quran 42:23)

This is truly, truly amazing. The Lord God – Originator of the heavens and the earth, Creator of all that exists, Giver of Life, the Most Powerful of all things, the King of all kings – is al Shakur, or “the appreciative one.”

Ibn Al-Qayyim writes: The attribute of generosity is an attribute of God who feeds and is not fed. The most beloved creatures to Allah are those who take on his characteristics. Indeed, Allah is noble and loves nobility from his servants, he is knowledgeable and loves the scholars, he is powerful and loves courage, and he is beautiful and loves beauty. (al-Wābil al-Ṣayyib 1/34)

Thus only one of the many appellations of the One universal creator of space and time are special to Christianity, Islam and Judaism as its Divine personal name that is always in the believer’s heart and soul.

In English, the word God is not the name of the one and only God. It is the generic term for any and every deity, similar to the West Semitic root word EL as it is found in Sumerian and Akkadian, Ellil-Enlil, in Hittite and Hurrian as Ellel, in Hebrew El-Elohim in Arabic as Al-Ilahi, the God or Allat, a pre Islamic Goddess, one of three daughters of Al-Ilah worshiped in Palmyra as Allat and referred to by Herodotus as Alilat, and worshiped as Allatu by North African Carthaginians.

This name Jesus for Christians, Allah for Muslims and YHVH for Jews, differs from all the other names that are just philosophical terms for various universal aspects or roles of God. This Divine name has a very intimate special meaning for each of the three religious communities of believers that is lacking in all the other names.

For Jews this personal name is connected to the covenant the One God YHVH made with Prophets Moses (Exodus 3:13-15) Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17), and Muhammad (Qur’an 33:7)

One name of God that few Christians and Jews know or use today, is a name that I believe will become more important in the future as Christians, Jews and Muslims learn more about each other’s religions. This name, El Ro’ee, only appears twice in the Hebrew Bible and, as far as I know, is not used at all in the Talmud or any other Jewish literature.

Abraham’s wife Hagar’s name for God is El-Ro’ee. El Ro’ee means A Self-reflecting God or A God Who Sees (literally mirrors) Me. “Then she (Hagar) called the name of YHVH, who spoke to her, ‘El Ro’ee’, ‘You are a God who sees me’; for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?’ Therefore the well was called Beer-laHai-roee; the well of the Living One (Al-Hayy) who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13-14)

Neither Sarah nor Hagar/Ha-jar are mentioned by name in the Qur’an, but the story of Ha-jar’s exile from Abraham’s home is traditionally understood to be referred to in a line from Ibrāhīm’s prayer in the Qur’an (14:37): “I have settled some of my family in a barren valley near your Sacred House.”

Muslim tradition relates that when Hā-jar ran out of water, and Ismā’īl, an infant at that time, began to die; Hā-jar panicked and ran between two nearby hills, Al-Safa and Al-Marwah repeatedly searching for water.

After her seventh run, Ismā’īl hit the ground with his heel and caused a miraculous well to spring out of the ground called Zamzum Well. It is located a few meters from the Kaaba in Mecca.

Perhaps this previously unique Torah name of God, El Ro’ee or Hai Ro’ee; which are Hagar’s names for God, meaning A Self-reflecting God or A God Who Sees Me, and the name for the well ‘Beer-laHai-ro’ee’ the well of the Self-reflecting God; can help bring Christians, Jews and Muslims to see themselves in the eyes of each other better, and thus come closer together in the future.

As al-Nawawi narrated Islamic scholars are agreed that the names of Allah are not limited to this number (99). Thus, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: “The names of Allah are not limited to a certain number…With regard to the words of the Prophet “Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Whoever learns them will enter Paradise,” this does not mean that He does not have any names apart from these, rather it means that whoever learns these (particular) ninety-nine of His names will enter Paradise.”

So this female formulated, introspective very old from the time of Prophet Abraham/very new from the present name, El-Ro’ee, which means A Self-reflecting God or A God Who Sees (literally mirrors) Me. can be an excellent example of the power of just one of the many names of the One God to make all of us better lovers of the One God, and the many nations and religions that the One God has fashioned.

That would be an excellent example of the power of just one of the many names of the One God to make us better lovers of the One God and the many nations and religions God has fashioned.