الواسع
AL-WASI'
The All-Encompassing, whose knowledge and mercy embrace everything
Meaning and Explanation
Al-Wasi' comes from the root for vastness/breadth; it expresses that God's knowledge, mercy, and bounty are not limited by any boundary, encompassing everything. It appears in Surah Al-Baqarah in two separate verses together with Al-Alim (2:115, 2:268) — one on the unimportance of direction ("wherever you turn, there is the Face of God"), the other on the vastness of God's bounty against the fear of scarcity. Commentators read this name as a comfort against a servant's anxiety over scarcity of provision or forgiveness.
Traditional Note — Abjad Value
This name's abjad (letter numerical value) calculation is 137.
Letter-by-letter abjad calculation (root "واسع", excluding the definite article): و (6) + ا (1) + س (60) + ع (70) = 137.
Quranic Usage and Related Verses
Dhikr Counter
Dhikr Counter
Historical abjad value: 137.
0 / 33
Specific counts, days, or times are not religious obligations or guarantees of outcomes. Dhikr and abjad methodology
Remembrance and Reflection
Some sources describe reciting Al-Wasi' when feeling a sense of scarcity over provision or forgiveness, with the intention of recalling the vastness of God's bounty, as a traditional practice; no specific count (including 137) carries a religious obligation.
Understanding This Name
Vastness of knowledge, mercy, and dominion
Al-Wasi' expresses an all-encompassing vastness that cannot be measured by created space. In Al-Baqarah 2:115 the name appears with Al-Alim in a passage about the east, west, and turning toward God. Divine presence and knowledge are not confined to a human direction or territory. The verse still belongs to a legal and devotional context and should not be used to dismiss the established direction of prayer.
Expansiveness without vague claims
The name can widen hope when a person imagines that mercy or possibility has been exhausted. Yet no one may use it to promise a specific opening, income, or cure. Human response includes making room for others, learning beyond one's narrow experience, and avoiding the claim that a local custom exhausts Islam. Boundaries of truth and safety remain.
Other Names
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Al-Wasi' mean every belief or action is equally true?
No. Divine vastness does not erase revelation's moral and theological distinctions. It corrects attempts to confine God's knowledge and mercy to human limits.
Sources
- Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Kur'an Yolu Tafsir (Bakara 2:115, 2:268) (in Turkish)
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry "Vâsi'" (in Turkish)
- Al-Ghazali, al-Maqsad al-Asna fi Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna
- English Translation — Noor International Center (v1.1.2)
- TDV Encyclopedia of Islam — Esmâ-i Hüsnâ — in Turkish
- Diyanet High Council of Religious Affairs — The 99 Names of God — in Turkish
Prepared by: Kadir Özbek · Updated: