Al-Ali
Al-Ali is the Most High — exalted above His creation in essence, in power and in rank.
Name 36 of 99
الْعَلِيُّ
Al-Ali
The Most High
- In Arabic
- الْعَلِيُّ
- Transliteration
- Al-Ali
- Position in the list
- Name 36 of 99
Al-Ali — The Most High
What the name means
Uluw in Arabic is height, but the Quran uses it of status and dominance as much as of place. Allah is high above resemblance, above need, and above anything a mind can place beside Him.
It closes the verse of the Throne together with al-Azim, and appears again with al-Kabir — height and greatness stated as one idea.
Living by this name
It orders the heart's hierarchy: what is above everything cannot be second to anything, and the Quran treats rivalry for that place as the one unforgivable wrong.
Its response is to lower yourself in prostration, the posture the Prophet ﷺ called the closest a servant comes to his Lord. See also Al-Azim and Al-Muta'ali.
Al-Ali in the Quran
The 4 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Ali really is in each verse it is cited from.
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allah—there is no god except Him—is the Living One, the All-sustainer. Neither drowsiness befalls Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that may intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not comprehend anything of His knowledge except what He wishes. His seat embraces the heavens and the earth and He is not wearied by their preservation, and He is the All-exalted, the All-supreme.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255Read the full surah →ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ هُوَ ٱلْبَٰطِلُ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
So will it be, because Allah is the Reality, and what they invoke besides Him is nullity, and because Allah is the All-exalted, the All-great.
Surah Al-Hajj 22:62Read the full surah →ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ ٱلْبَٰطِلُ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
That is because Allah is the Reality, and whatever they invoke besides Him is nullity, and because Allah is the All-exalted, the All-great.
Surah Luqman 31:30Read the full surah →لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth belongs to Him, and He is the All-exalted, the All-supreme.
Surah Ash-Shura 42:4Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about Al-Ali
Al-Ali (الْعَلِيُّ) means "The Most High". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Yes. This page cites 4 verses containing Al-Ali, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Ali" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 36 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.