Al-Alim
Al-Alim is the All-Knowing — the One whose knowledge covers everything at once, without learning it and without forgetting it.
Name 19 of 99
الْعَلِيمُ
Al-Alim
The All-Knowing
- In Arabic
- الْعَلِيمُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Alim
- Position in the list
- Name 19 of 99
Al-Alim — The All-Knowing
What the name means
Human knowledge is acquired, partial and lost. Allah's is none of these: it precedes the thing known, includes what will never happen, and does not increase.
The Quran presses the point through scale — no leaf falls but He knows it — and through interiority: He knows what the breasts conceal, which is knowledge of motive, not only of act.
Living by this name
It makes sincerity the only sensible policy. An audience that sees the intention cannot be impressed by the performance.
It is also relief for the wronged and the misunderstood: the record does not depend on your ability to explain yourself. See also Al-Khabir and Ash-Shahid.
Al-Alim in the Quran
The 3 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Alim really is in each verse it is cited from.
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
They said, "Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise."
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:32Read the full surah →وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِۦمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:127Read the full surah →إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ ٱلْخَلَّٰقُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
Indeed, your Lord - He is the Knowing Creator.
Surah Al-Hijr 15:86Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and both are agreed upon. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about Al-Alim
Al-Alim (الْعَلِيمُ) means "The All-Knowing". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Yes. This page cites 3 verses containing Al-Alim, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Alim" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 19 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.