Could you give me the most accurate translation for these names of Allaah: [al alaa] [al akram] [al ilaah] [al awwal]
Question

                Could you give me the most accurate translation for these names of Allaah: [al alaa] [al akram] [al ilaah] [al awwal]
Praise be to Allah.
	al-A‘laa, al-Akram, al-Ilaah and al-Awwal are among the 
	beautiful names of Allah. 

	Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
	meaning):

	“Glorify the 
	Name of your Lord, the Most High [al-A‘laa]”

	[al-A‘laa 87:1]

	“Read! And 
	your Lord is the Most Generous [al-Akram]”

	[al-‘Alaq 96:3]

	“For Allah is 
	(the only) One Ilaah (God)”

	[an-Nisa’ 4:171]

	“He is the 
	First [al-Awwal](nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), 
	the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer 
	than Him). And He is the All‑Knower of every thing”

	[al-Hadeed 57:3]. 

	Al-A‘laa (the Most High) is the One Who is the most exalted 
	in all aspects: exalted in His Essence, exalted in His attributes, exalted 
	in the sense of prevailing and controlling. 

	Being exalted in His Essence means that He, may He be 
	glorified, is far above all of creation in His Essence; He is above His 
	Throne, above all that He has created. 

	Being exalted in His attributes means that to Him belong all 
	perfect attributes, and He is far above all shortcomings. 

	Being exalted in the sense of prevailing and controlling 
	means that He has prevailed over and subdued all things, and everything has 
	submitted to His control. 

	Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	The Muslims are unanimously agreed that Allah, may He be 
	glorified, is Exalted, Most High, and the Quran speaks of that. Allah, may 
	He be glorified and exalted, is the only One Who is Most High in all 
	aspects, because His Highness is an attribute of praise. So we affirm that 
	Allah, may He be exalted, is Most High in His Essence, Most High in His 
	attributes, and Most High in the sense of prevailing and controlling. End 
	quote. 

	Ijtimaa‘ al-Juyoosh al-Islamiyyah 
	(2/182) 

	As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Al-‘Aliy, al-A‘laa (the Exalted, the Most High) is the One 
	Who is most sublime and exalted in all aspects, in Essence, in esteem and 
	attributes, and in terms of prevailing over all others. 

	He is the One Who rose over the Throne and is the ultimate 
	Sovereign; He is the One who possesses all attributes of greatness, pride, 
	majesty, beauty and all other perfect attributes, and His attributes are the 
	most perfect. End quote. 

	Tafseer as-Sa‘di 
	(p. 946) 

	Al-Akram (the Most Generous) is the One Who is very generous 
	and very kind to His creation. 

	Al-Khattaabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	He is the most generous of the most generous and no generous 
	one could ever match or equal His generosity. End quote. 

	Al-Asma’ wa’s-Sifaat 
	by al-Bayhaqi (1/148) 

	Abu Hayyaan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Al-Akram (the Most Generous) is a description that is 
	indicative of emphatic generosity, for His generosity surpasses all 
	generosity; He bestows innumerable blessings, shows forbearance to the 
	sinner, accepts repentance and pardons bad deeds. End quote. 

	Al-Bahr al-Muheet 
	(10/507) 

	Generosity is not just the matter of giving. Rather the word 
	al-karam, translated here as generosity, means good; Allah is al-Akram 
	(translated above as the Most Generous), which means that He is the best and 
	most perfect in His attributes. 

	As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	The name al-Akram may refer to one who has numerous 
	attributes in the most perfect manner, whose generosity and kindness are 
	abundant, and whose munificence encompasses all things. End quote.

	Tafseer as-Sa‘di 
	(p. 930) 

	Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) 
	said:

	With regard to the words (interpretation of the meaning),
	

	“Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that 
	exists),

	Has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated 
	blood),

	Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous [al-Akram]”
	

	[al-‘Alaq 96:1-3], 
	

	Allah describes Himself as being generous after stating that 
	He created man, so as to show that He is generous to His creation, and that 
	He helps them to attain praiseworthy goals and aims. 

	The word al-karam is a comprehensive term that includes all 
	good and praiseworthy characteristics. It does not mean only giving; rather 
	giving is its ultimate meaning, because kindness to others is the ultimate 
	good characteristic. Therefore al-karam is an abundance of goodness and 
	availability thereof… 

	Anything good and praiseworthy may be described as karam. 
	Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“Do they not 
	observe the earth, how much of every good kind [min 
	kulli zawjin kareem] We cause to grow therein?”

	[ash-Shu‘ara’ 26:7]. 

	Ibn Qutaybah said: This means: of every good type (of 
	plants). Az-Zajjaaj said: Zawj (translated here as kind) means type, and 
	kareem means praiseworthy (or good). Others said that “min kulli zawj” means 
	of every type or kind, and “kareem” means good, of plants that are eaten by 
	humans and livestock. It may be said in Arabic “nakhlah kareemah” to 
	refer to a palm tree that bears good fruit, and “naaqah kareemah” to 
	refer to a she-camel that produces a lot of milk. 

	Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that He is al-Akram (the 
	Most Generous), in the superlative form of the word, using the definite 
	article, which indicates that He alone is the Most Generous. This is unlike 
	if He had said “wa Rabbuka akram (and your Lord is most generous – 
	without the definite article al-), which would not be indicative of 
	exclusivity. 

	The word al-Akram (with the definite article) is indicative 
	of exclusivity. And He did not say “more generous than…”; rather He left it 
	open, to highlight that He is the Most Generous of all, without any 
	restriction. This indicates that His is the ultimate generosity, unsurpassed 
	by anything else, and subject to no shortcomings. 

	Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: Then Allah, may He be exalted, says to him 
	(interpretation of the meaning): “Read! 
	And your Lord is the Most Generous [al-Akram]” 
	[al-‘Alaq 96:1-3], by 
	way of consoling and comforting the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
	upon him). It is as if He is saying: Carry on with what you are commanded to 
	do, for your Lord is not like other lords; rather He is the Most Generous, 
	Whose generosity will never fall short, so He will support you and cause you 
	to prevail. 

	I say: Some of the early generations said: No one should give 
	a gift for the sake of Allah that he would feel embarrassed to give to 
	someone who is dear to him, for Allah is the Most Generous of all those who 
	are generous. That is, He is the One who deserves honour (ikraam) 
	more than anyone else, for He is more generous and more honourable than 
	anything. He, may He be glorified, is majestic and munificent (dhu’l-jalaali 
	wa’l-ikraam), so He deserves to be venerated and honoured. Veneration 
	implies glorifying and honouring implies praise and love. End quote. 

	Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa 
	(16/293-296) 

	Al-Ilaah (God) means the One Who is loved and worshipped, Who 
	alone deserves to be acknowledged as divine and worshipped. The idols are 
	only called aalihah (gods) because the mushrikeen worship them 
	besides Allah and claim that they are deserving of that. The name of Allah 
	is derived from the word al-ilaah (lit. “the God”). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah 
	have mercy on him) said: 

	Al-Ilaah is the One Who possesses all attributes of 
	perfection and majesty. This name includes all the divine names. Hence the 
	correct view is that the root of the name Allah is al-Ilaah, as is the view 
	of Seebawayh and the majority of his companions, except very few of them, 
	and that the name of Allah, may He be exalted, encompasses all the meanings 
	of the beautiful names and sublime attributes of Allah. End quote. 

	Badaa’i‘ al-Fawaa’id 
	(2/249). 

	Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	The word “Allah” is a proper noun referring to the Lord, may 
	He be glorified and exalted. Its root is the word al-Ilaah (“the God”), but 
	the word is contracted to make it easier to pronounce, because it is 
	repeated so frequently. The word ilaah refers to the one who is 
	loved, and the one who is loved is the one who is worshipped out of love and 
	veneration. End quote. 

	Ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ 
	(3/56) 

	Al-Awwal (the First) is the One before Whom there is nothing.

	This is a name which indicates that Allah alone possesses 
	absolute perfection, that He encompasses all time (and is above time), and 
	that everything other than Him is something that came into being after not 
	being. 

	Muslim narrated in his Saheeh (2713) from Abu Hurayrah 
	(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him) used to say: 

	“Allaahumma Rabb al-samawaati wa’l-ard 
	wa Rabb al-‘arsh il-‘azeem, Rabbaanaa wa Rabba kulli shay’in, Faaliq al-habb 
	wa’l-nawa wa munzil al-Tawraati wa’l-Injeeli wa’l-Furqaan, a’oodhu bika min 
	sharri kulli shay’in anta aakhidhun bi naasiyatihi. Allaahumma anta al-awwal 
	fa laysa qablaka shay’un, wa anta al-aakhir fa laysa ba’daka shay’un, wa 
	anta al-zaahir fa laysa fawqaka shay’un wa anta al-baatin fa laysa doonaka 
	shay’un. Iqdi ‘annaa al-dayna wa aghninaa min al-faqri (O Allaah, Lord 
	of the seven heavens and the exalted Throne, our Lord and Lord of all 
	things, splitter of the seed and the date-stone, Revealer of the Tawraat and 
	the Injeel and the Furqaan [Qur’aan], I seek refuge in You from the evil of 
	all things You shall seize by the forelock [have total mastery over]. O 
	Allaah, You are the First so there is nothing before You, and You are the 
	Last so there is nothing after You. You are al-Zaahir [the greatest and 
	highest] so there is nothing above You, and You are al-Baatin [aware of the 
	subtlest secrets] so there is nothing closer than You. Settle our debt for 
	us and spare us from poverty).”

	Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
	meaning):

	“He is the 
	First [al-Awwal](nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), 
	the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer 
	than Him)”

	[al-Hadeed 57:3]. 

	Al-Awwal (the First) means that there is nothing before Him, 
	because if there were anything before Him, Allah would be something created, 
	but He, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Creator. Hence the Prophet 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained the name al-Awwal as 
	meaning the One before Whom there was nothing; all that exists came after 
	Allah, may He be glorified and exalted; there is nothing with Allah and 
	nothing before Allah. End quote.

	Liqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh 
	(208/4) 

	And Allah knows best.