Al-Muhyi
Al-Muhyi is the Giver of Life — the One who brings the living out of the dead, in bodies and in hearts.
Name 60 of 99
الْمُحْيِي
Al-Muhyi
The Giver of Life
- In Arabic
- الْمُحْيِي
- Transliteration
- Al-Muhyi
- Position in the list
- Name 60 of 99
Al-Muhyi — The Giver of Life
What the name means
Ihya is to give life. The Quran presents it as a repeated, visible sign rather than a distant claim: dead earth revived by rain is offered as the proof of the resurrection to come.
The definite name is not in the Quran; it appears in construct — the One who gives life to the dead — and reaches the ninety-nine through at-Tirmidhi.
Living by this name
The Quran also uses life for guidance: respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life. Being alive and being guided are treated as one thing.
Its response is to ask for the heart's revival as readily as for the body's health. See also Al-Mumit and Al-Hayy.
Where Al-Muhyi comes from
Al-Muhyi does not appear in the Quran as a standalone name. It reaches the famous list of ninety-nine through the narration of at-Tirmidhi, and its meaning is established by the Quran in other words — through verbs and related forms rather than the name itself. Scholars accepted such names on that basis; this page marks the distinction rather than hiding it.
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-Muhyi
Al-Muhyi (الْمُحْيِي) means "The Giver of Life". 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.
Not as a standalone name. Al-Muhyi reaches the list of ninety-nine through at-Tirmidhi's narration, while its meaning is established in the Quran through verbs and related forms. This page says so plainly rather than attaching a verse that does not contain it.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Muhyi" — 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 60 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.