الْخَبِيرُ
Al-Khabir
The All-Aware
What Al-Khabir Means
Al-Khabir comes from the root kha-ba-ra, from khabar — news of a thing’s inner reality. Scholars explain that while Al-Alim (name 19) covers Allah’s knowledge of all things, Al-Khabir highlights His knowledge of their hidden insides: the true state of hearts, motives, and secrets that even their owners may not fully know. The Quran closes the verse that ranks mankind by God-consciousness alone with this name: ‘Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware’ (49:13) — He knows who is really noble, whatever people display. It seals the command to review what we have sent ahead for the Day of Judgment (59:18), and on the Day the graves are scattered, ‘their Lord is, that Day, fully Aware of them’ (100:11). For the believer, this name calls for honesty with oneself: public image impresses people, but Al-Khabir already knows the inside of every deed.
Al-Khabir in the Quran
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
“O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into races and tribes, so that you may identify one another. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah’s sight, is the one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah, and everybody must consider what he (or she) has sent ahead for tomorrow. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is fully aware of what you do.”
إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌۢ
“Surely your Lord, that day, is fully aware of them.”
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught Us
THE FOUNDATION OF THE 99 NAMES
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they have been doing.”
Allah commands us to call upon Him by His names (7:180), so you may say, in your own words: ‘Ya Khabir — O All-Aware — You know my inward state better than I do; purify my intentions and make my inside better than my outside.’ The lesson of this name is self-accounting before the great accounting: since Al-Khabir knows the hidden reality of every act, the believer works on sincerity in private, where only the All-Aware is watching and only His knowledge counts.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the Glory of Iman hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.