What does belief in the names and attributes of Allah mean, and does He have only 99 names?

Believing in the names and attributes of Allah is one of the articles of faith, that is, believing in Allah, His Ruboobiyah, Uloohiyah and His names and attributes. Therefore, this article enjoys great significance in Islam. No one can worship Allah in a perfect manner until he knows the names and attributes of Allah, the Exalted, and worships Him knowingly and properly.

The Essence of Allah must have names and qualifications, because it is impossible for any essence to exist without attributes. That is why believing in Allah's names and attributes entails believing in Allah Himself.

The attributes of Allah are a matter which belongs to the invisible world. This means that one must believe in them as they occur in the texts of the Qur'an and hadith.

• The first rule is that all of the names of Allah are absolutely fine and beautiful, for they connote the attributes of perfection and are free from every probability of defect.
• The second rule is that the names of Allah are both appellations and epithets: appellations in terms of His essence, and epithets in terms of the meaning and significance. As appellations, the Living, the Knower, the Hearer, the Seer, the Merciful, the Powerful and the Wise are all names of One God, Allah, the Exalted. As epithets, each one of these names has a different significance from the others; that is, His name "the Living" has a different meaning from that of the Hearer, or the Knower.
• The third rule is that the names of Allah necessitate confirming the name as one of Allah's, confirming the attribute that the name signifies as one of Allah's, and confirming the ruling of that name. For example, Allah is Merciful, meaning that for sinners who repent to Him, He turns to them with mercy.
• The fourth rule is that the names of Allah are not subject to opinion. In other words, we cannot give Allah names that He has neither named Himself with, nor did His Messenger ﷺ name Him with.
• The fifth rule is that the names of Allah are not limited to a certain number. Although there is a hadith related to the Beloved Prophet ﷺ mentioning that Allah has 99 names, this does not mean that He has no other names. Rather, there are names of Allah that He has not mentioned in the Qur'an, nor taught to any of His creatures.
• The sixth rule is that the names and attributes of Allah should not be suspended or distorted. This is common practice of the deviant sects, who either deny some of these names, their signification or rulings, or hold them to resemble human attributes. Some even give Allah names that He has not named Himself with, as the Christians call Him 'The Father.' [Ibn Abi al-Izz, Commentary on the Creed of At-Tahawi 1-66; Murad, The Articles of Faith 6-21]