Al-Hafiz (الْحَفِيْظُ) means The Preserver. It is name 38 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Al-Ḥafīẓ preserves the heavens and the earth, records every deed, and protects His servants. Yaʿqub said, when he let Binyamin go: "Allah is the best guardian."
The root and its meaning
Al-Hafiz comes from the Arabic root ح ف ظ (ḥ-f-ẓ), which carries the sense of guarding and preserving.
Where it is in the Quran
Al-Ḥafīẓ is in 11:57, 34:21 and 42:6.
Surah Hud 11:57
فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُم مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِۦٓ إِلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلَا تَضُرُّونَهُۥ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌۭ
Fa in tawallaw faqad ablaghtukum maaa ursiltu biheee ilaikum; wa yastakhlifu Rabbee qawman ghairakum wa laa tadur roonahoo shai'aa; inna Rabbee 'alaa kulli shai'in Hafeez
But if they turn away, [say], "I have already conveyed that with which I was sent to you. My Lord will give succession to a people other than you, and you will not harm Him at all. Indeed my Lord is, over all things, Guardian."
Quran 11:57. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Surah Yusuf 12:64
قَالَ هَلْ ءَامَنُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا كَمَآ أَمِنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَخِيهِ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ فَٱللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَٰفِظًۭا ۖ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
Qaala hal aamanukum 'alihi illaa kamaa amintukum 'alaaa akheehimin qabl; fal laahu khairun haafizanw wa Huwa arhamur Raahimeen
He said, "Should I entrust you with him except [under coercion] as I entrusted you with his brother before? But Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of the merciful."
Quran 12:64. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Calling on Allah by this Name
Allah says: "And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them" (7:180). Begin your dua with يَا حَفِيْظُ (Yā Ḥafīẓ) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā Ḥafīẓ, guard my faith, my family and what You have given me."
O Allah, guard me from in front of me and behind me, from my right and my left and from above me. (From the morning and evening dua.)
Sunan Abi Dawud 5074
- Quran 11:57, translation by Sahih International.
- Quran 12:64, translation by Sahih International.
- Sunan Abi Dawud 5074.
Our teachers will check the Arabic, transliteration and meanings on this page before launch.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.