Name 73 of the 99 Names of Allah. See its root and meaning, the verse where it appears, and how to use it in your dua.
Name 73 of 99
الْأَوَّلُ
Al-Awwal
The First
A recording of this Name is coming: our reciter is recording the Names we do not have yet.
Meaning
Al-Awwal (الْأَوَّلُ) means The First. It is name 73 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Al-Awwal is the First, with nothing before Him. He existed when nothing else did.
Al-Awwal comes from the Arabic root أ و ل (ʾ-w-l), which carries the sense of first, beginning.
Al-Awwal, Al-Ākhir, Aẓ-Ẓāhir and Al-Bāṭin come together in 57:3.
هُوَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْءَاخِرُ وَٱلظَّٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Huwal Awwalu wal'Aakhiru waz Zaahiru wal Baatinu wa huwa bikulli shai'in Aleem
He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is, of all things, Knowing.
Quran 57:3. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
يَوْمَ نَطْوِى ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَطَىِّ ٱلسِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ ۚ كَمَا بَدَأْنَآ أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍۢ نُّعِيدُهُۥ ۚ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَآ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا فَٰعِلِينَ
Yawma natwis samaaa'a kataiyis sijilli lilkutub; kamaa badaanaa awwala khalqin nu'eeduh; wa'dan 'alainaa; innaa kunna faa'ileen
The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it.
Quran 21:104. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Allah says: "And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them" (7:180). Begin your dua with يَا أَوَّلُ (Yā Awwal) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā Awwal, be first in my life."
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ
Allāhumma antal-awwalu fa-laysa qablaka shayʾ
O Allah, You are the First, and there is nothing before You. (From the Prophet's ﷺ dua before sleeping.)
Sahih Muslim 2713
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Questions
Al-Awwal (الْأَوَّلُ) means The First. Al-Awwal is the First, with nothing before Him.
Al-Awwal, Al-Ākhir, Aẓ-Ẓāhir and Al-Bāṭin come together in 57:3.
Say Yā Awwal (يَا أَوَّلُ) at the start of your dua, then ask for what suits the Name, for example: "Yā Awwal, be first in my life."
Use Abdul-Awwal, "servant of Al-Awwal". Scholars say Awwal on its own should not be used as a person's name, because this Name belongs to Allah alone.