The Ninety-Nine Names · the 68th name
الصَّمَد
As-Samad
The Eternal Refuge, needing none, needed by all
- The rootص م د
- From the rootsamad: solid all the way through, with no hollow; and the one everything turns to in need
The essay
Two ancient meanings, both preserved. A rock called samad is one with no cavity, nothing missing inside it. And the samad of a tribe is the one everyone goes to when something has gone wrong. Put together: He is full, and He is the destination of every need. The Qur'an uses the word exactly once, in the four-line surah about who He is, and it is the only line there that is a positive description rather than a denial.
In the Qur'an
What it asks of you
Notice who you go to first when the news is bad. That is your actual samad, and it may not be Him yet.
Read beside it
The words