Al-Wahhab
Al-Wahhab is the Bestower — the One who gives freely, without being asked and without expecting anything in return.
Name 16 of 99
الْوَهَّابُ
Al-Wahhab
The Bestower
- In Arabic
- الْوَهَّابُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Wahhab
- Position in the list
- Name 16 of 99
Al-Wahhab — The Bestower
What the name means
A hibah in Arabic is a gift given for nothing: no price, no exchange, no obligation created. The intensive form makes it constant — giving as a standing habit rather than an occasional act.
It distinguishes this name from provision. A razzaq feeds what he sustains; a wahhab gives what was never owed at all.
Living by this name
The Quran records it in du'a more than in description: our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate, and grant us mercy from Yourself — You are al-Wahhab. Sulayman ﷺ used it when asking for a kingdom, and the Quran preserves both requests.
It teaches asking largely, and giving without keeping accounts. See also Ar-Razzaq and Al-Karim.
Al-Wahhab 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-Wahhab really is in each verse it is cited from.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
[Who say], "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.
Surah Ali 'Imran 3:8Read the full surah →أَمْ عِندَهُمْ خَزَآئِنُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْوَهَّابِ
Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the Exalted in Might, the Bestower?
Surah Sad 38:9Read the full surah →قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكًۭا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍۢ مِّنۢ بَعْدِىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
He said, "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower."
Surah Sad 38:35Read 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-Wahhab
Al-Wahhab (الْوَهَّابُ) means "The Bestower". 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-Wahhab, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Wahhab" — 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 16 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.