Al-Qayyum
Al-Qayyum is the Self-Subsisting Sustainer — existing by Himself, and holding everything else in existence.
Name 63 of 99
الْقَيُّومُ
Al-Qayyum
The Self-Subsisting Sustainer
- In Arabic
- الْقَيُّومُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Qayyum
- Position in the list
- Name 63 of 99
Al-Qayyum — The Self-Subsisting Sustainer
What the name means
Qiyam in Arabic is standing and maintaining. The name says two things at once: Allah stands in need of nothing, and everything else stands only because He maintains it.
The verse of the Throne states the second half directly: neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him, and preserving the heavens and the earth does not tire Him.
Al-Qayyum in the Quran
The 3 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Qayyum 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 →ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ
Allah—there is no god except Him—is the Living One, the All-sustainer.
Surah Ali 'Imran 3:2Read the full surah →۞ وَعَنَتِ ٱلْوُجُوهُ لِلْحَىِّ ٱلْقَيُّومِ ۖ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ حَمَلَ ظُلْمًۭا
All faces shall be humbled before the Living One, the All-sustainer, and those who bear [the burden of] wrongdoing will fail.
Surah Ta-Ha 20:111Read 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-Qayyum
Al-Qayyum (الْقَيُّومُ) means "The Self-Subsisting Sustainer". 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 3 verses containing Al-Qayyum, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Qayyum" — 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 63 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.