Al-Badi'
Al-Badi' is the Incomparable Originator — who creates in ways without precedent, from no prior model.
Name 95 of 99
الْبَدِيعُ
Al-Badi'
The Incomparable Originator
- In Arabic
- الْبَدِيعُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Badi'
- Position in the list
- Name 95 of 99
Al-Badi' — The Incomparable Originator
What the name means
Ibda in Arabic is invention with no antecedent, which is why the word for a religious innovation shares the root. The name says Allah created without copying, because there was nothing to copy.
The Quran uses it in construct: Originator of the heavens and the earth — the two largest things named, to set the scale.
Al-Badi' in the Quran
The 2 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Badi' really is in each verse it is cited from.
بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:117Read the full surah →بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَّهُۥ صَٰحِبَةٌۭ ۖ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ
[He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing.
Surah Al-Anam 6:101Read 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-Badi'
Al-Badi' (الْبَدِيعُ) means "The Incomparable Originator". 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 2 verses containing Al-Badi', each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Badi'" — 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 95 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.