Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that Allah’s name Al-Muhaymin has three meanings: to take care of something, to watch and observe it, and to be a witness to it at the same time. In their true sense, these denotations can only be ascribed to Allah, Glory be to Him, the Most High. It is impossible for a human being, whose knowledge is very limited to be aware of everything and to constantly watch them since he typically sleeps and forgets, nor can he be a witness over everything because he may see something at a specific time and place, but still fails to see what happens at other places and other times.

During the eleventh episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence clarified that Allah’s Most Beautiful Names are of two types. The first type includes names that can be ascribed only to Allah, the Most High; people cannot be named after them neither in reality nor metaphorically, such as Ar-Raḩmān (the Most Gracious). The second type includes common attributes such as Al-ˁĀlim (the one with knowledge), Ar-Rāziq (the provider), and Al-Qādir (the one with ability).The association here is in the pronunciation only, but the meaning indicated by the word ˁĀlim as a name of Allah - the Most High - is completely different from its meaning when attributed to man. His Eminence explained that such a fact does not detract from the value and worth of a person, but everything must be described as it really is, for we cannot describe a vessel of water as if it were a sea, and it is also unfair to describe the sea as a vessel of water.

The Grand Imam clarified the meaning of Al-Muhaymin in the noble verse, which some people misunderstand due to their ignorance of the Arabic language: “We have revealed to you the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture, and a watcher (muhaymin) over it.”  The Book here means scriptures, not in the singular form. Although it is singular in form, the plural is intended and this is what the definite article al- denotes in the word “al-Kitab,” which means all the scriptures revealed by Allah, Glory be to Him. His Eminence pointed out that those who do not know the secrets of the Arabic language well enough flounder in understanding the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and even poetry; therefore, some people misunderstand this verse. Some people misunderstand the name of Allah Al-Muhaymin as the dominant; this is not correct because Al-Muhaymin actually means a witness that the Book was revealed and that some people believed in it and others disbelieved in it.

Regarding the meaning of muhaymin in the verse: “We have revealed to you the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and a watcher (muhaymin) over it’ (Qur’an, 5: 48), some people think it denotes domination. In fact, muhaymin here means witness, so the Qur’an is a witness that there were Scriptures before it revealed to people; it is a witness that some people believed in them, and others did not believe. This is the meaning of the domination of the Qur’an over the other revealed books referred to in this verse. His Eminence concluded with the fact that this nation is a witness to the other nations because it came after them, and it also has knowledge from the Qur’an that narrated the news of the previous nations, so it is a witness over them.