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In Islam the Hadith, or Traditions, state "Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred minus one, and whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly will enter Paradise. And Allah is Witr (one) and He loves Witr (odd numbers)."*
The seventh Surah of the Qur'an, A'raf, says, "The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them."
Almost all of these Ninety-Nine names are found in the Qur'an; the few that are not are readily implied, or can be found in the Hadith. Though there are various lists,* each only slightly differing from the other, the underlying aspect of the tradition is that each name represents an aspect of God's character and His behavior toward us, His creation.

Though not a Christian tradition, many of the ninety-nine names used by Muslims, and found in the Qur'an do have Semitic roots,* and each of the characteristics that the names represent mirror the character of God as described in the Christian Bible. These striking similarities serve to bring the people of the book closer in understanding both to each other and to God.

During the Journey of the Magi the pilgrims adopted the Muslim tradition of the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God. They used this important tradition both as a bridge of understanding and solidarity to the Muslims around them, and personally to learn to walk closer with God in their own lives.
Each day of the journey started with a reference to one of the Ninety-Nine Names, and prayer in that name of God. As they walked the journeymen had plenty of time to meditate personally on the aspect of God that they were travelling under that day.
As one of the Journeymen, Todd Elkins, said, "When all you have to do all day is set one foot in front of another, you have plenty of time to think."

Why the journeymen walked in the names of God

Click to learn about the "most beautiful names."