The 99 Names (Asma al-Husna)
Islam teaches that Allah has 99 names (actually 99 "most beautiful names" plus the name Allah itself, making 100). Muslims are encouraged to memorize and recite these names, believing it will lead them to paradise:
"Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Whoever counts them (knows them, believes in them) will enter Paradise." — Sahih al-Bukhari 7392
These names are supposed to reveal Allah's nature and attributes. They include names like: The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman), The Most Gracious (Ar-Rahim), The King (Al-Malik), The Holy (Al-Quddus), The Compeller (Al-Jabbar), The Proud (Al-Mutakabbir), The Creator (Al-Khaliq), The All-Knowing (Al-Aleem), and many others.
But when we examine these names and how the Quran describes Allah, a troubling picture emerges. The Allah of Islam is fundamentally different from the God revealed in the Bible, and many of his attributes raise serious questions about his character.
Allah the Deceiver
One of the most disturbing revelations about Allah's character is that he practices deception. The Quran explicitly describes Allah as the "best of deceivers" or "best of plotters":
"And the disbelievers planned, but Allah planned. And Allah is the best of planners." — Quran 3:54
"And when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners." — Quran 8:30
The Arabic word used is "makr" (مكر), which means deception, scheming, or plotting. While some English translations soften this to "planner," the Arabic root carries a negative connotation of trickery and deceit. Allah is described as the best at makr—the best deceiver.
This is confirmed by Islamic scholars. Ar-Tabari, one of Islam's most authoritative commentators, explains that Allah's "makr" means he deceives disbelievers.
Think about the implications: Allah actively deceives people. This is supposedly a positive attribute—he's the "best" at it. But deception is morally wrong. A truthful God wouldn't deceive; deception is the characteristic of Satan, not the Creator.
Allah the Proud and Arrogant
Another of Allah's 99 names is Al-Mutakabbir (المتكبر), which means "The Proud" or "The Arrogant One":
"He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior [Al-Mutakabbir]." — Quran 59:23
Pride and arrogance are condemned as sinful in both Christianity and Islam's own teachings about human behavior. Yet Allah claims this attribute for himself. He is characterized by the very quality he forbids in humans.
The Quran condemns pride in humans:
"And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful." — Quran 31:18
"Indeed, He does not like the arrogant." — Quran 16:23
So Allah doesn't like arrogance in humans, yet claims arrogance for himself? This reveals moral incoherence.
Allah the Capricious
Allah's attributes include "He does what He wills" (Quran 3:40, 14:27, 22:14, 22:18). While Islamic apologists present this as sovereignty, the Quran shows Allah's will is often arbitrary and unpredictable:
• He guides whom he wills and misguides whom he wills (6:125, 14:4, 16:93, 35:8)
• He forgives whom he wills and punishes whom he wills (2:284, 3:129, 5:18, 48:14)
• He chooses whom he wills with no apparent basis (3:74)
This isn't sovereignty based on justice or consistent principle—it's capriciousness. Muslims have no assurance of salvation because Allah's will is unpredictable and his mercy is arbitrary.
Allah Is Not Love
Significantly, "Love" is not among Allah's 99 names. While Allah is called "loving" (Al-Wadud) toward those who please him, he is never described as "love" itself or as loving unconditionally.
The Quran repeatedly lists categories of people Allah does NOT love:
• Allah does not love transgressors (2:190)
• Allah does not love corrupters (5:64)
• Allah does not love the treacherous (8:58)
• Allah does not love the arrogant (16:23)
• Allah does not love those who are exultant (28:76)
• Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster (31:18)
Allah's love is conditional, limited, and based on human performance. He loves only those who meet his standards. This is fundamentally different from biblical love.
Biblical Contrast: God Is Love
The God revealed in the Bible is fundamentally different from Allah:
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." — 1 John 4:16
This isn't just an attribute—love is God's essential nature. Everything about him flows from love.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." — Romans 5:8
God loved humans while they were his enemies, not only after they pleased him. His love is unconditional.
Regarding deception, God explicitly cannot lie:
"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind." — Numbers 23:19
"In hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time." — Titus 1:2
Deception is fundamentally incompatible with God's nature. He is truth itself (John 14:6). The contrast with Allah, who is "the best of deceivers," is stark.
Regarding pride, God is humble and opposes the proud:
"For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" — Isaiah 57:15
"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." — James 4:6
God is not characterized by pride or arrogance. He is holy, righteous, and identifies with the humble.
Allah Is Unknowable
Despite the 99 names, Allah remains fundamentally unknowable and relationally distant. The Quran emphasizes Allah's transcendence but offers no true intimacy:
"There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." — Quran 42:11
Muslims can never truly know Allah. He is utterly transcendent, distant, unknowable. The relationship is master-slave, not Father-child.
In contrast, Jesus invites believers into intimate relationship:
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." — John 15:15
"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." — John 1:12
Christians can know God personally, not just know about him. We become his children, not merely his slaves.
The Character Problem
The 99 names reveal a character problem with Allah:
• He is the "best deceiver" yet claims to be truth
• He is proud/arrogant yet condemns pride in humans
• He is capricious, guiding and misguiding arbitrarily
• His love is conditional and limited
• He is fundamentally unknowable and relationally distant
• His mercy is unpredictable; no Muslim has assurance of salvation
This is not the God of the Bible—the God who is love, who cannot lie, who desires all to be saved, who sent his Son to die for sinners, who invites intimate relationship as Father.
Questions to Consider
- How can Allah be "the best deceiver" if deception is morally wrong?
- Why is pride one of Allah's attributes when he condemns pride in humans?
- If Allah guides whom he wills and misguides whom he wills arbitrarily, how is he just?
- Why isn't "love" Allah's essential nature, as it is with the biblical God?
- How can Muslims have assurance of salvation if Allah's mercy is unpredictable?
- What does it reveal about Allah that his love is conditional?
- Would you trust someone whose best quality is being a deceiver?
Conclusion
The 99 names of Allah reveal a being fundamentally different from the God of the Bible. Allah is characterized by deception, pride, capriciousness, and conditional love. He is unknowable, relationally distant, and offers no assurance to his followers. Muslims serve a master they can never truly know and whose favor they can never be certain of obtaining.
The biblical God, by contrast, is love itself. He cannot lie or deceive. He opposes pride. He desires all to be saved. He sent his Son to die for sinners. He invites believers into intimate relationship as his children. Christians can know God personally and have assurance of salvation through Christ.
The character differences between Allah and the God of the Bible are so fundamental that they cannot be the same being. Muslims worship a different god—one who shares some characteristics with the biblical God but fundamentally differs in nature, character, and relationship with humanity.
Related articles: Predestination in Islam, Angels and Jinn