Al-Latif
Al-Latif is the Subtle and Kind — the One whose knowledge reaches the finest detail and whose kindness arrives unnoticed.
Name 30 of 99
اللَّطِيفُ
Al-Latif
The Most Subtle and Kind
- In Arabic
- اللَّطِيفُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Latif
- Position in the list
- Name 30 of 99
Al-Latif — The Most Subtle and Kind
What the name means
Lutf carries two senses that Arabic keeps together: fineness, so subtle it escapes perception, and gentleness. Allah is Latif in both — He knows what is too small to be seen, and He is gentle with His servants in ways they do not detect.
The Quran joins the two directly: vision does not reach Him and He reaches vision, and He is al-Latif, al-Khabir.
Living by this name
It reframes an unwanted outcome as possible kindness in a form not yet recognised. Yusuf ﷺ used the name at the end of his story: my Lord is Latif in what He wills — after the well, the slavery and the prison.
Its response is gentleness in dealing with people. See also Al-Khabir and Ar-Ra'uf.
Al-Latif in the Quran
The 4 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Latif really is in each verse it is cited from.
لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.
Surah Al-Anam 6:103Read the full surah →أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَتُصْبِحُ ٱلْأَرْضُ مُخْضَرَّةً ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
Do you not see that Allah has sent down rain from the sky and the earth becomes green? Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted.
Surah Al-Hajj 22:63Read the full surah →يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنَّهَآ إِن تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍۢ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍۢ فَتَكُن فِى صَخْرَةٍ أَوْ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ أَوْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
[And Luqman said], "O my son, indeed if wrong should be the weight of a mustard seed and should be within a rock or [anywhere] in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Indeed, Allah is Subtle and Acquainted.
Surah Luqman 31:16Read the full surah →أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted?
Surah Al-Mulk 67:14Read 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-Latif
Al-Latif (اللَّطِيفُ) means "The Most Subtle and Kind". 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 4 verses containing Al-Latif, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Latif" — 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 30 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.