Al-Qayyum (الْقَيُّوْمُ) means The Self-Sustaining. It is name 63 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Al-Qayyūm sustains Himself and keeps everything else in existence. Without Him nothing could last a moment.
The root and its meaning
Al-Qayyum comes from the Arabic root ق و م (q-w-m), which carries the sense of standing and maintaining.
Where it is in the Quran
Al-Qayyūm comes three times, always with Al-Ḥayy: 2:255, 3:2 and 20:111.
Surah Al-Baqara 2:255
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa Huwal Haiyul Qaiyoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zal lazee yashfa'u indahooo illaa bi-iznih; ya'lamu maa baina aydeehim wa mww khalfahum wa laa yuheetoona bishai'im min 'ilmihee illaa bimaa shaaa'; wasi'a Kursiyyuhus samaawaati wal arda wa laa ya'ooduho hifzuhumaa; wa Huwal Aliyyul 'Azeem
Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Quran 2:255. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Surah Taa-Haa 20:111
۞ وَعَنَتِ ٱلْوُجُوهُ لِلْحَىِّ ٱلْقَيُّومِ ۖ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ حَمَلَ ظُلْمًۭا
Wa 'anatil wujoohu lil Haiiyil Qaiyoomi wa qad khaaba man hamala zulmaa
And [all] faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. And he will have failed who carries injustice.
Quran 20:111. 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 قَيُّوْمُ (Yā Qayyūm) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā Qayyūm, hold my affairs together."
From the Sunnah
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ
Yā Ḥayyu yā Qayyūmu bi-raḥmatika astaghīth
O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek help. (The Prophet ﷺ said this when something distressed him.)
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3524, graded hasan
- Quran 2:255, translation by Sahih International.
- Quran 20:111, translation by Sahih International.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 3524, graded hasan.
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