السَّمِيعُ
As-Sami
The All-Hearing
What As-Sami Means
As-Sami comes from the root sin-mim-‘ayn: hearing. Allah’s hearing is unlike the hearing of creatures: no sound is too faint, no distance too far, and no crowd of voices confuses Him — He hears every whisper, every silent prayer, and every cry of the wronged at once. The Quran opens Surah Al-Mujadila with His hearing of a woman pleading her case (58:1), and records Ibrahim calling Him Sami’ud-du’a, the Hearer of supplication (14:39). His hearing is joined to knowledge and sight — ‘there is nothing like Him, and He is As-Sami, Al-Basir’ (42:11) — so nothing heard is ever lost or misunderstood. For the believer, this name means no dua is ever spoken into emptiness. It also guards the tongue: the One who hears the quietest complaint also hears every careless, hurtful, or false word.
As-Sami in the Quran
قَدْ سَمِعَ ٱللَّهُ قَوْلَ ٱلَّتِى تُجَـٰدِلُكَ فِى زَوْجِهَا وَتَشْتَكِىٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ يَسْمَعُ تَحَاوُرَكُمَآ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
“Allah has heard the talk of the woman who was debating with you about her husband, and was complaining to Allah. Allah was hearing the conversation between both of you. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى وَهَبَ لِى عَلَى ٱلْكِبَرِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ
“Praise be to Allah who, despite my old age, blessed me with Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) and IsHāq (Isaac). Surely, my Lord is the One who listens to the prayer.”
فَاطِرُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَمِنَ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ أَزْوَٰجًا ۖ يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ ۚ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
“He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs from the cattle. He makes you expand in this way. Nothing is like Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
“When Ibrāhīm was raising up the foundations of the House, along with Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) (supplicating): “Our Lord accept (this service) from us! Indeed, You – and You alone – are the All-Hearing, 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.”
“Abu Musa reported: We were along with Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) on a journey when the people began to pronounce “Allahu Akbar” in a loud voice. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: O people, show mercy to yourselves for you are not calling One who is deaf or absent.”
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 you may say, in your own words: ‘Ya Sami — O All-Hearing — hear my dua as You heard the plea of the wronged and the prayer of Ibrahim; answer me and do not turn me away empty.’ The Prophet ﷺ taught that we are never calling a Lord who is deaf or absent, but One who hears and is near. So speak to Him with certainty, even in a whisper — He has already heard.
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.