Name 37 of 99
الْكَبِيرُ
Al-Kabir – The Most Great
- Transliteration
- Al-Kabir
- Meaning
- The Most Great
- Arabic root
- ك ب ر
- Theme
- Majesty and perfection
Meaning of Al-Kabir
Al-Kabir is the One who is greater than everything, in every sense. The call "Allahu Akbar", repeated in every prayer and in the call to prayer, comes from the same root and affirms that Allah is greater than anything else that might occupy our attention.
Al-Kabir in the Quran
Al-Kabir appears in the Quran as a name or description of Allah. Two of the verses where it occurs:
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ هُوَ ٱلْبَٰطِلُ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
That is because Allah, He is the True, and that whereon they call instead of Him, it is the false, and because Allah, He is the High, the Great.
عَٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ ٱلْكَبِيرُ ٱلْمُتَعَالِ
He is the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, the Great, the High Exalted.
Reflection
Saying "Allahu Akbar" is a reminder to put Allah before every other concern.
Related names: majesty and perfection
Frequently asked questions
What does Al-Kabir mean?
Al-Kabir (الْكَبِيرُ) means "The Most Great". Al-Kabir is the One who is greater than everything, in every sense. The call "Allahu Akbar", repeated in every prayer and in the call to prayer, comes from the same root and affirms that Allah is greater than anything else that might occupy our attention.
Is Al-Kabir mentioned in the Quran?
Yes. Al-Kabir is mentioned as a name or description of Allah in Surah Al-Hajj 22:62 and Surah Ar-Ra'd 13:9.
The list of 99 names follows the order of the narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3507, without the name “Allah”, and adds Al-Ahad from Sunan Ibn Majah 3861. The hadith that Allah has ninety-nine names is in Sahih al-Bukhari 2736 and Sahih Muslim 2677. Quran text: Tanzil (Uthmani); translation: Marmaduke Pickthall (1930, public domain).