Al-Wahid
Al-Wahid is the One — single in His essence, His attributes and His right to be worshipped, with no partner.
Name 66 of 99
الْوَاحِدُ
Al-Wahid
The One
- In Arabic
- الْوَاحِدُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Wahid
- Position in the list
- Name 66 of 99
Al-Wahid — The One
What the name means
Wahdaniyyah is oneness that excludes partnership. The Quran uses this name in the argument against many lords: are separate lords better, or Allah, al-Wahid al-Qahhar?
It is the doctrinal centre of Islam. Every other name is understood through it, because an attribute shared would not be divine.
Al-Wahid 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-Wahid really is in each verse it is cited from.
قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ ۚ قُلْ أَفَٱتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ نَفْعًۭا وَلَا ضَرًّۭا ۚ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى ٱلْأَعْمَىٰ وَٱلْبَصِيرُ أَمْ هَلْ تَسْتَوِى ٱلظُّلُمَٰتُ وَٱلنُّورُ ۗ أَمْ جَعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ خَلَقُوا۟ كَخَلْقِهِۦ فَتَشَٰبَهَ ٱلْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ خَٰلِقُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَهُوَ ٱلْوَٰحِدُ ٱلْقَهَّٰرُ
Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah!’ Say, ‘Have you then taken others besides Him for guardians, who have no control over their own benefit or harm?’ Say, ‘Are the blind one and the seer equal? Are darkness and light equal?’ Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them? Say, ‘Allah is the creator of all things, and He is the One and the All-paramount.’
Surah Ar-Rad 13:16Read the full surah →يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ ٱلْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ۖ وَبَرَزُوا۟ لِلَّهِ ٱلْوَٰحِدِ ٱلْقَهَّارِ
The day when the earth is turned into another earth and the heavens [as well], and they are presented before Allah, the One, the All-paramount
Surah Ibrahim 14:48Read the full surah →قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ مُنذِرٌۭ ۖ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ٱلْوَٰحِدُ ٱلْقَهَّارُ
Say, ‘I am just a warner, and there is no god except Allah, the One, the All-paramount,
Surah Sad 38:65Read the full surah →لَّوْ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًۭا لَّٱصْطَفَىٰ مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ ۖ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْوَٰحِدُ ٱلْقَهَّارُ
Had Allah intended to take a son, He could have chosen from those He has created whatever He wished. Immaculate is He! He is Allah, the One, the All-paramount.
Surah Az-Zumar 39:4Read 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-Wahid
Al-Wahid (الْوَاحِدُ) means "The One". 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-Wahid, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Wahid" — 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 66 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.