I.
Yes, among the names of Allah, may He be Exalted, is His greatest name, which, if He is called upon by it, He will respond, and if He is asked by it, He will give.
A number of authentic (sahih) hadiths were narrated concerning that, which we have quoted in the answer to question no. 146569.
The scholars of the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
Allah, may He be Exalted, says: {To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them, and keep away from those who profane His names. They will be requited for what they do} [al-A`raf 7:180]. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has ninety-nine names; whoever learns them will enter Paradise.” One of them is the greatest name which, if He is called upon by it, He will respond, and if He is asked by it, He will give. No one knows the true number of Allah’s names except Him, may He be Glorified and Exalted, and all of them are beautiful.
End quote from Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da’imah, 2/413.
II.
The scholars differed regarding which name of Allah is the greatest, and there are fourteen views, which al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar listed in Fat-h al-Bari.
Most of the scholars are of the view that “Allah” is the greatest name, as we mentioned in the answer referred to above. This is what is most likely to be the case, followed by “al-Hayy al-Qayyum (the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining).” Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The names of Allah, may He be Exalted, include “al-Hayy al-Qayyum (the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining),” which is the greatest name of Allah which if He is called upon by it, He will respond, and if He is asked by it, He will give.
End quote from Majmu` Fatawa wa Rasa’il al-`Uthaymin, 6/170.
III.
The above does not mean that simply by virtue of knowing the greatest name of Allah and calling upon Him by it He will cause extraordinary things to happen and bring about things that are impossible, and so on. Rather the point is to encourage people to ask of Allah, may He be Exalted, by His beautiful names, and in particular the name which implies all His other names. Hence Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The name “Allah” includes the meanings of all the beautiful names and sublime attributes in three ways.
End quote from Madarij as-Salikin, 1/32.
Those three ways are: identicalness, implication and necessity.
As the name “Allah” is like that, calling upon Him by this name is more appropriate and is more likely to bring a response. Then it depends on the supplication of the supplicant, how he offers it and the circumstances of the supplication, such as whether it is offered with sincerity and focus of mind, not overstepping the mark in supplication, and whether he persists in his supplication, and other means that will bring a response or impediments that will prevent it.
See the answer to question no. 5113 to learn more about the means that will bring a response to supplication or impediments that will prevent it.
The response to supplication can only be one of three things: either Allah will hasten to grant the person what he asks for, or He will store up goodness for him that is equivalent to it, or He will avert from him evil that is equivalent to it.
The phrase “if He is called upon by it, He will respond” does not mean that the supplicant will be granted what he asked for immediately; rather the matter is as noted above: either he will be given what he asked for, or some goodness will be stored up for him, or some evil will be averted from him.
IV.
Knowing the greatest name of Allah is not only for the elite among the awliya’ and the righteous among His slaves. Rather Allah may help ordinary people to attain knowledge and enable some particular believers or other common folk to draw close to Him through that knowledge. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There remains nothing that will bring you closer to Paradise or keep you away from Hell but it has been explained to you.” Narrated by at-Tabarani in Al-Mu`jam al-Kabir, 1647; classed as authentic (sahih) by al-Albani in As-Sahihah, 1803.
So the Muslim should ask Allah for what he needs, persist in asking Him, think positively of Him, take the measures that will lead to a response, put his trust in his Lord, and be content with what He decrees for him. There is nothing wrong with the person calling upon his Lord and asking Him to grant him some knowledge and enable him to call upon Him by His greatest name and accept that from him, even though he should also call upon Allah by all of His beautiful names, and choose the names that are appropriate to what he is asking Him for. Allah, may He be Glorified, says: {To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by them} [al-A`raf 7:180] and { Say [O Muhammad]: Call upon Allah, or call upon the Most Gracious [ar-Rahman]. No matter which name you call upon Him by, to Him belong the most beautiful names } [Aal-Isra’ 17:110].
As-Sa`di said:
Here Allah, may He be Exalted, says to His slaves: {Call upon Allah, or call upon the Most Gracious [ar-Rahman]} that is, whichever name you choose, for {No matter which name you call upon Him by, to Him belong the most beautiful names} that is, He does not have any name that is not beautiful, such that it would not be permissible to call upon Him by it; rather no matter what name you call upon Him by, it will serve the purpose. What should be done is to call upon Him for whatever is sought by the name that is appropriate to that need.
End quote from Tasfir as-Sa`di, p. 468.
So focus on supplication, persist in asking and draw close to Allah by obeying and remembering Him; take the measures that lead to a response and avoid the impediments that would prevent it, and ask Allah by His names and attributes, and He will answer your supplication by His leave, and give you what you ask for.
And Allah knows best.
