الْعَلِيمُ
Al-Alim
The All-Knowing
What Al-Alim Means
Al-Alim is built on the root ‘-l-m, knowledge. His knowledge is complete in every direction: nothing in the heavens or the earth is hidden from Him, and He knows the past, the present and what has not yet come to be. The angels themselves confess the boundary of created knowledge in His presence: ‘Glory be to You; we know only what You have taught us. Indeed, You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise’ (2:32). At the end of his long story — the pit, the prison and the palace — Yusuf ﷺ sums it up with the same pair of names: ‘He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise’ (12:100): Al-Alim had seen the whole story while Yusuf could only see one painful chapter at a time. For a believer this name trains three habits: honesty in private, because he is seen and known; humility in learning, because his knowledge is a drop; and istikhara, handing his decisions to the One who knows their unseen ends.
Al-Alim in the Quran
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
“They said, “To You belongs all purity! We have no knowledge except what You have given us. Surely, You alone are the All-knowing, All-wise.””
وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوا۟ لَهُۥ سُجَّدًا ۖ وَقَالَ يَـٰٓأَبَتِ هَـٰذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُءْيَـٰىَ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّى حَقًّا ۖ وَقَدْ أَحْسَنَ بِىٓ إِذْ أَخْرَجَنِى مِنَ ٱلسِّجْنِ وَجَآءَ بِكُم مِّنَ ٱلْبَدْوِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ أَن نَّزَغَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَ إِخْوَتِىٓ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَطِيفٌ لِّمَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
“And he raised his parents up on the throne, and they all fell before him in prostration. He said, “My father, here is the fulfillment of my early dream. My Lord has made it come true. He favored me when he released me from the prison, and brought you from the countryside after Satan had caused a rift between me and my brothers. Surely, my Lord does what He wills in a subtle way. Surely, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.””
أَوَلَيْسَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِقَـٰدِرٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَخْلُقَ مِثْلَهُم ۚ بَلَىٰ وَهُوَ ٱلْخَلَّـٰقُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
“Is it that the One who has created the heavens and the earth has no power to create ones like them? Why not? He is the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing.”
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught Us
THE FOUNDATION OF THE 99 NAMES
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
“Narrated Jabir: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to teach us the Istikhara for each and every matter as he used to teach us the Suras from the Holy Qur’an.”
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they have been doing.”
Allah commands us to call upon Him by His names (7:180), so when a decision weighs on you, call Him ‘Ya Alim — O All-Knowing’ in the spirit of the Istikhara the Prophet ﷺ taught: ‘You know and I do not know, and You are the All-Knower of the unseen’ (Bukhari 6382). Ask Him to choose for you what He knows is best, and then accept His choice with a calm heart — the All-Knowing does not misjudge your case.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the DeenHub hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.