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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful) الرَّحْمَٰن

In review — pending scholar verification

One of Allah's names — "the Most Merciful" — uniquely paired in the Quran's opening invocation; emphasises Allah's overwhelming, prior, and universal mercy that encompasses all creation.

Overview

Ar-Raḥmān (Arabic: الرَّحْمَٰن) is one of the most central names of Allah — translated as "the Most Merciful," "the Compassionate," or "the Beneficent." It appears in the opening formula Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm ("In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate") that prefaces every surah of the Quran except Surah At-Tawbah. Surah 55 of the Quran is named for it.

Classical scholars distinguish ar-Raḥmān from the related ar-Raḥīm: ar-Raḥmān denotes Allah's overwhelming, comprehensive mercy that encompasses all creation — believer and disbeliever alike, in this world; ar-Raḥīm denotes the specific, ongoing mercy reserved for believers in this world and the next (Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on Al-Fatihah 1:1).

Quranic references

  • Surah Ar-Rahman 55 — entire surah named for and centred on this attribute, with the refrain "So which of the favours of your Lord would you both deny?" repeated 31 times.
  • Surah Maryam 19:18, 19:26, 19:44, 19:75 — name ar-Raḥmān used distinctively, especially in the speech of Isa, Maryam, and Ibrahim.
  • Surah Al-Furqan 25:60 — "And when it is said to them: Prostrate to ar-Raḥmān, they say: And what is ar-Raḥmān?" The Quran defends the name against Quraysh objections.
  • Surah Ṭāhā 20:5 — "Ar-Raḥmān is established above the Throne."
  • Surah Al-Mulk 67:19, 67:29 — invocations of ar-Raḥmān as the Sustainer.
  • Surah Al-Isra 17:110 — "Say: Call upon Allah or call upon ar-Raḥmān; whichever you call — to Him belong the most beautiful names."

Hadith

Abu Hurayra reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "When Allah created the creation, He wrote in His Book — which is with Him above the Throne — My Mercy prevails over My Wrath." — Sahih al-Bukhari 7553; Sahih Muslim 2751
Abu Hurayra reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah has divided mercy into one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine with Himself and sent down one to the earth — and from this one part stems all the mercy that creatures show one another, even the mare lifting her hoof from her foal lest she trample it." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6000; Sahih Muslim 2752

Significance

The repeated invocation of ar-Raḥmān structures Muslim daily life: every prayer opens with Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm, every meal, every action of consequence. The Surah's 31-fold refrain frames creation itself as a sustained outpouring of His mercy.

See also

References

  1. The Quran (Sahih International translation): Surahs Al-Fatihah 1:1, 1:3; Al-Isra 17:110; Maryam 19; Ṭāhā 20:5; Al-Furqan 25:60; Ar-Rahman 55; Al-Mulk 67:19, 67:29.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 6000, 7553; Sahih Muslim 2751, 2752.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, commentary on Al-Fatihah.
  4. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Madārij as-Sālikīn, sections on Allah's attributes of mercy.
  5. al-Bayhaqi, al-Asmāʾ wa-aṣ-Ṣifāt, chapter on ar-Raḥmān.