Al-Alim — The All-Knowing One
اَلْعَلِيْمُ
Name 19 of the ninety-nine. The One nothing is absent from His knowledge
Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Alim (in Arabic: العليم), meaning the one whose knowledge is comprehensive and extends to all that is seen and unseen, apparent and hidden, present and future, near and far.
The root
From the root ayn-lam-mim (ع ل م), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to have knowledge, be cognizant, be certain, to be aware, thoroughly informed, to find out, gather information, to have intuitive knowledge, or to be firmly rooted in knowledge, to know the minutiae, to be wise and act according to knowledge.
Reflection
As a person grows older, he begins to learn about different subjects and thinks of himself as knowledgeable. But if we stop to think of the vastness of Allah's knowledge, we realize we know nothing. It's a humbling experience to really ponder and ask ourselves how much we think we know. Realize and embrace the truth that we know nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Letting any amount of superiority sink its way into your mind will just impede the way to further growth. We don't know what we don't know – we may ask for forgiveness for things in our hearts we know we did wrong. But what about the things we are not aware of? Ask Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ to pardon all our sins, to give us a clean slate.
Ask to increase our capacity to learn and to know of our shortcomings, to make us among students with great Islamic knowledge. Narrated Zayd ibn Thabit: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: May Allah brighten a man who hears a tradition from us, gets it by heart and passes it on to others. Many a bearer of knowledge conveys it to one who is more versed than he is; and many a bearer of knowledge is not versed in it.
[1] It was narrated that Zirr bin Hubaish said: "I went to Safwan bin Assal Al-Muradi and he said: What brought you here? I said: I am seeking knowledge.
Where it appears
[1] Sahih (Al-Albani) Sunan Abi Dawud 3660,[2] Hasan (Darussalam) Sunan Ibn Majah 226