Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, made it clear during his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk that “Allah” is a proper name denoting the Divine Self, and that meanings of proper names are typically not justified. The meanings of some of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah are justified, but some, which denote the Divine Self, cannot be justified. Scholars said that the nature of the Divine Self - divine and sanctified - is not fully realized or comprehended, so the name denoting it cannot be analyzed or returned to its origin in the same way, e.g., Creator  refers to create or Sustainer to sustain.

His Eminence pointed out that existence is a critical issue, so the existence of anything is dependent on someone that brings it into existence. Nothing in the universe is self-existent. It became existent after it was in a state of nothingness, and this applies to all existents except for Allah Almighty, Who is self-existent, and Whose existence is eternal. Whenever you think of Allah Almighty, you perceive Him as existing, neither preceded by non-existence nor followed by non-existence, unlike our existence which is preceded by non-existence and followed by non-existence. The Grand Imam emphasized that Allah as a name indicates this meaning, i.e., the self-existence of Allah Almighty, for His name and His self are eternally existent. The creatures’ existence, on the other hand, is only a possiblity; Allah grants them existence and takes it away whenever He wants.

The Great Imam explained that the name of Allah comes at the beginning of the Noble Qur’an, whether we consider the first verse in the Qur’an to be “In the name of Allah” or “Praise be to Allah.” The word “Allah” is present in both. He stressed that the existence of man in this world is temporary and that it can be taken from him at any moment. Therefore, man has to cling to and have a good relationship with the One who is permanently existent. Man has to believe that he is perishable; hence, he must always search for the One on whom he can depend, the One whose existence is eternal, neither preceded nor followed by non-existence, i.e. Allah Almighty.

His Eminence emphasized that the nature of life now and the tyranny of senses and the emergence of atheism make these meanings as if they were a world of imagination to some people who do not comprehend these meanings. In fact, this speech is directed to those who believe in Allah Almighty and His Messenger (pbuh). Our Prophet (pbuh) said, “The truest statement ever said by a poet is ‘Everything other than Allah is vain, and every worldly bliss is perishable.’ Thus, the Prophet (pbuh) wants the believer to know that every existent including man is vain. Allah Almighty is the only exception. His Eminence pointed out that man’s real share of the name of Allah is to realize that everything is vain, that the whole universe is mortal, and that his own existence is ephemeral, one that will inevitably come to an end.

Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, explains the names of Allah during the episodes of his Ramadan program, which is broadcast daily on the Egyptian TV, the Holy Qur’an radio station, Abu Dhabi TV Channel, and a number of other Arabic channels throughout the blessed month of Ramadan.