The Wording “Qarn al-Shams” in Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s al-Ḥizb al-Aʿẓam

Question

Some duāʾ books mention that Allāh’s eight names are written on “qarn al-shams.” Is this supported by ḥadīth? If so, is the narration authentic or weak? What are the eight names? What is the ḥadīth’s sanad?

Answer

There are unauthentic narrations that mention this. For instance:

حَدِيثُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ لمَّا خَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ مِنْ مَكَّةَ يُرِيدُ حِرَاءً هَبَطَ إِلَيْهِ جِبْرِيلُ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يُقْرِئُكَ السَّلامَ وَقَدْ عَلَّمَنِي دُعَاءً تَدْعُو بِهِ فَيَجْعَلُ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ أَهْلِ مَكَّةَ سِتْرًا فَعَلَّمَهُ النَّبِيَّ وَقَالَ جِبْرِيلُ مَنْ كَتَبَ هَذَا الدُّعَاءَ وَعَلَّقَهُ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ أَوْ دَعَا بِهِ فِي سَفَرٍ لَمْ يَخَفْ سُلْطَانًا جَائِرًا وَلا شَيْطَانًا مُرِيدًا وَيَدْفَعُ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ آفَاتِ اللَّيْلِ وَيَزِيدُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيَذْهَبُ السُّوءُ مِنْ مَنْزِلِهِ، اللَّهُمَّ يَا كَبِيرُ يَا قَدِيرُ يَا سَمِيعُ يَا بَصِيرُ يَا مَنْ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَلا وَزِيرَ يَا خَالِقَ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ الْمُنِيرِ يَا عِصْمَةَ الْبَائِسِ الْخَائِفِ الْمُسْتَجِيرِ يَا رَزَّاقَ الطِّفْلِ الصَّغِيرِ يَا جَابِرَ الْعَظِيم الْكَسِيرِ يَا قَاسِمَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ أَسْأَلُكَ وَأَدْعُوكَ دُعَاءَ الْبَائِسِ الْفَقِيرِ كَدُعَاءِ الْمُضْطَرِّ الضَّرِيرِ أَسْأُلَك بِمَعَاقِدِ الْعِزِّ مِنْ عَرْشِكَ وَبِمَفَاتِيحِ الرَّحْمَةِ مِنْ كِتَابِكَ وَبِأَسْمَائِكَ الثَّمَانِيَةِ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ عَلَى قَرْنِ الشَّمْسِ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كَذَا وَكَذَا (يخ) من حَدِيث أنس وَفِيه عبد الله بن قيس

“Once the Prophet set out from Makkah to the Cave of Hira. Jibrīl came to him and said: ‘Verily, Allāh sends salām to you. And He has informed me of a prayer that will protect you from the Makkans.’ He taught that to the Prophet and then said: ‘Whoever writes this down and hangs it in his home or recites it on a journey, he does not need to fear an unjust leader nor an insurgent devil. Allāh will remove harms that are found at night from him, He will increase his provision, and He will make evil disappear from his home. (Here the prayer is mentioned until the words…) And through Your eight names that are written on the sun’s first light…” (Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah, 2:330)

This narration’s chain is located in al-Tadwīn li Akhbār Qazwīn, 3:132. One may also review al-Firdaws bi Maʾthūr al-Khiṭāb 1:289 and Tahdhīb 1:192.

This narration is a fabrication. Additionally, it does not mention the eight names. In fact, it mentions more than eight.

It is possible that this supplication refers to the names taken from the eight Divine Qualities that the Mātūrīdīs have mentioned. They are: ʿilm, qudrah, samʿ, baṣar, ḥayāh, irādah, kalām, and takwīn. This is mentioned by some of India’s senior scholars. These eight names are:

العليم، القدير، السميع، البصير، الحي، المريد، المتكلم، المكون أي الخالق

“The All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Ever-Living, the All-Willing, the Speaker, and the Maker.”

For further reference, see: Miṣbāḥ al-ʿAqāʾid.

(Translated, with slight changes and adjustments, from an answer given in Fatāwā Dār al-ʿUlūm Zakariyyā, 8:356-57)