The hadith cited in connection with the Divine Names says that God describes Himself by means of the Names «إِنَّ الْأَسْمَاءَ صِفَاتٌ وَصَفَ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ». Another transmitted hadith, from Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (AS), refers instead to the attributes with which the Creator describes Himself «بِصِفَاتِهِ الَّتِي وَصَفَ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ».
In the first, then, the reference is to the Name by which God describes Himself; in the second, to the attribute by which He does so. We may therefore conclude that the narrator may inadvertently have exchanged “Name” and “attribute” when transmitting the hadith. Or perhaps, since in meaning a Name and an attribute are one and the same when applied to the Divine Essence, exchanging them causes no problem: in this context, the two words are synonymous.
From another perspective, we may understand an attribute as a Name with its explanation—as an expanded and elaborated Name, differing from it only in whether it is contracted or unfolded. The Name is contraction; the attribute, unfolding.
عنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي نَجْرَانَ قَالَ: كَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع أَوْ قُلْتُ لَهُ جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ نَعْبُدُ الرَّحْمَنَ الرَّحِيمَ الْوَاحِدَ الْأَحَدَ الصَّمَدَ قَالَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ مَنْ عَبَدَ الِاسْمَ دُونَ الْمُسَمَّى بِالْأَسْمَاءِ أَشْرَكَ وَ كَفَرَ وَ جَحَدَ وَ لَمْ يَعْبُدْ شَيْئاً بَلِ اعْبُدِ اللَّهَ الْوَاحِدَ الْأَحَدَ الصَّمَدَ الْمُسَمَّى بِهَذِهِ الْأَسْمَاءِ دُونَ الْأَسْمَاءِ إِنَّ الْأَسْمَاءَ صِفَاتٌ وَصَفَ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ
Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 88
عنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: مَنْ عَبَدَ اللَّهَ بِالتَّوَهُّمِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ وَ مَنْ عَبَدَ الِاسْمَ دُونَ الْمَعْنَى فَقَدْ كَفَرَ وَ مَنْ عَبَدَ الِاسْمَ وَ الْمَعْنَى فَقَدْ أَشْرَكَ وَ مَنْ عَبَدَ الْمَعْنَى بِإِيقَاعِ الْأَسْمَاءِ عَلَيْهِ بِصِفَاتِهِ الَّتِي وَصَفَ بِهَا نَفْسَهُ فَعَقَدَ عَلَيْهِ قَلْبَهُ وَ نَطَقَ بِهِ لِسَانُهُ فِي سَرَائِرِهِ وَ عَلَانِيَتِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع حَقّاً وَ فِي حَدِيثٍ آخَرَ أُولئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا
Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 1, p. 87
Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Whoever worships God according to his own imagination is an unbeliever. Whoever worships only God’s Name, without the One named, is an unbeliever. Whoever worships both the Name and the One named is a polytheist. But whoever worships the One named, applies the Names to Him in accordance with the attributes by which He has praised Himself, holds fast to this in his heart, and gives voice to it both privately and publicly—these are the true companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS).”
Uṣūl al-Kāfī, translated by Mostafavi, vol. 1, p. 116