Al-Latif
Al-Latif is the Subtle and Kind — the One whose knowledge reaches the finest detail and whose kindness arrives unnoticed.
Name 30 of 99
اللَّطِيفُ
Al-Latif
The Most Subtle and Kind
- In Arabic
- اللَّطِيفُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Latif
- Position in the list
- Name 30 of 99
Al-Latif — The Most Subtle and Kind
What the name means
Lutf carries two senses that Arabic keeps together: fineness, so subtle it escapes perception, and gentleness. Allah is Latif in both — He knows what is too small to be seen, and He is gentle with His servants in ways they do not detect.
The Quran joins the two directly: vision does not reach Him and He reaches vision, and He is al-Latif, al-Khabir.
Living by this name
It reframes an unwanted outcome as possible kindness in a form not yet recognised. Yusuf ﷺ used the name at the end of his story: my Lord is Latif in what He wills — after the well, the slavery and the prison.
Its response is gentleness in dealing with people. See also Al-Khabir and Ar-Ra'uf.
Al-Latif 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-Latif really is in each verse it is cited from.
لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
The sights do not apprehend Him, yet He apprehends the sights, and He is the All-attentive, the All-aware.
Surah Al-Anam 6:103Read the full surah →أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَتُصْبِحُ ٱلْأَرْضُ مُخْضَرَّةً ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
Have you not regarded that Allah sends down water from the sky, whereupon the earth turns green? Indeed Allah is all-attentive, all-aware.
Surah Al-Hajj 22:63Read the full surah →يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍۢ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍۢ فَتَكُن فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
‘O my son! Even if it should be the weight of a mustard seed, and [even though] it should be in a rock, or in the heavens, or in the earth, Allah will produce it. Indeed Allah is all-attentive, all-aware.
Surah Luqman 31:16Read the full surah →أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
Would He who has created not know? And He is the All-attentive, the All-aware.
Surah Al-Mulk 67:14Read 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-Latif
Al-Latif (اللَّطِيفُ) means "The Most Subtle and Kind". 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-Latif, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Latif" — 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 30 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.