الْبَرُّ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Barr
The Kind Benefactor
Al-Barr is the greatest benefactor, the most just, the wellspring of kindness, who grants mercy, health, wealth and joy. Its verse is 52:28, words of the people of Paradise looking back, and it is mentioned once in the Quran. The Quran also tells people what righteousness is (2:177).
Key verse
﴿إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْبَرُّ ٱلرَّحِيمُ﴾Indeed, we used to call upon Him ˹alone˺ before. He is truly the Most Kind, Most Merciful.”
The scholar's text
The One who is the biggest benefactor, the most just and the wellspring of kindness is Al-Barr. Allah is Allah. He is full of goodwill. He grants mercy and bestows health, money and pleasure to His people. He’s always sympathetic and merciful.
(إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْبَرُّ الرَّحِيمُ) الطور 52: 28
(“Truly, He is The Source of Goodness, The Compassionate.”) Surat At-Tur, 52:28
It is mentioned 1 time in the Holy Quran
البر هو أعظم المحسنين وأعدلهم ومنبع اللطف. الله هو الله. وهو كثير الخير، يرحم ويعطي عباده الصحة والمال والسرور، وهو عطوف رحيم دائما.
(إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْبَرُّ ٱلرَّحِيمُ) الطور 52: 28
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرة واحدة.
We Used to Call Upon Him
52:28 is spoken in Paradise. The people there remember being in awe of Allah among their families (52:26), say that He graced them and protected them from the scorching heat (52:27), and then: we used to call upon Him before; He is truly al-Barr, the Merciful. They called on Him, al-Sa'di explains, to protect them from that heat and bring them to bliss, drawing near with every kind of worship and calling on Him at all times. Ibn Kathir reports that Aisha, reciting these verses, prayed in the words of 52:27-28: be gracious to us and protect us from the torment of the scorching heat, You are al-Barr, the Merciful. Asked if this was in the prayer, al-A'mash, who narrated it, said yes.
Arabic: إنا كنا من قبل ندعوه
آية الطور يقولها أهل الجنة بعد أن ذكروا خشيتهم في أهليهم ومن الله عليهم: ﴿إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْبَرُّ ٱلرَّحِيمُ﴾، قال السعدي في دعائهم: «أن يقينا عذاب السموم، ويوصلنا إلى النعيم، وهذا شامل لدعاء العبادة ودعاء المسألة أي: لم نزل نتقرب إليه بأنواع القربات وندعوه في سائر الأوقات». ونقل ابن كثير: «عن عائشة؛ أنها قرأت هذه الآية: (فمن الله علينا ووقانا عذاب السموم إنا كنا من قبل ندعوه إنه هو البر الرحيم) فقالت: اللهم من علينا وقنا عذاب السموم، إنك أنت البر الرحيم. قيل للأعمش: في الصلاة؟ قال: نعم».
Not Which Way You Face
﴿لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ﴾Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives; who establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and keep the pledges they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in ˹the heat of˺ battle. It is they who are true ˹in faith˺, and it is they who are mindful ˹of Allah˺.
The Quran also tells people what righteousness is. 2:177 says it is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west, and lists what it is: faith in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books and the prophets, giving from cherished wealth, prayer, alms, keeping pledges and patience. That direction, al-Sa'di says, is not the righteousness meant for servants, and arguing at length about it leads only to division and dispute.
Arabic: ليس البر أن تولوا وجوهكم
وبين القرآن للناس ما البر: ﴿لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ﴾، ثم تعدد الإيمان بالله واليوم الآخر والملائكة والكتاب والنبيين، والإنفاق من المال المحبوب، والصلاة والزكاة والوفاء والصبر. قال السعدي: «أي: ليس هذا هو البر المقصود من العباد، فيكون كثرة البحث فيه والجدال من العناء الذي ليس تحته إلا الشقاق والخلاف».
What You Cherish
﴿لَن تَنَالُوا۟ ٱلْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِن شَىْءٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمٌ﴾You will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish. And whatever you give is certainly well known to Allah.
3:92 puts a price on it: you will never achieve righteousness until you donate some of what you cherish. Birr here, al-Sa'di says, is every good of obedience and reward that brings a person to Paradise. And he draws a measure from the verse: a servant's birr grows with how much he spends of what he loves, and shrinks as that shrinks. The verse ends that whatever you give is known to Allah, so nothing given is lost.
Arabic: لن تنالوا البر حتى تنفقوا مما تحبون
تجعل آية آل عمران للبر ثمنا: ﴿لَن تَنَالُوا۟ ٱلْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «البر الذي هو كل خير من أنواع الطاعات وأنواع المثوبات الموصل لصاحبه إلى الجنة». وقال: «ودلت الآية أن العبد بحسب إنفاقه للمحبوبات يكون بره، وأنه ينقص من بره بحسب ما نقص من ذلك». وتختم الآية بأن الله عليم بما ينفق، فلا يضيع منه شيء.
Truth Leads to It
The Prophet ﷺ traced the road to it: “It is obligatory for you to tell the truth, for truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and the man who continues to speak the truth and endeavours to tell the truth is eventually recorded as truthful with Allah” (Sahih Muslim 2607, from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud). Telling the truth leads to birr, and birr leads to Paradise, the place where 52:28 is said.
Arabic: إن الصدق يهدي إلى البر
وبين النبي ﷺ الطريق إليه: «عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَصْدُقُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الصِّدْقَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ صِدِّيقًا» (صحيح مسلم 2607، عن عبد الله بن مسعود). فالصدق يهدي إلى البر، والبر إلى الجنة، حيث تقال آية الطور.
Birr Is Good Character
An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an asked the Prophet ﷺ about birr and sin, and was given a definition short enough to carry: “Virtue is a kind disposition and vice is what rankles in your heart and that you disapprove that people should come to know of it” (Sahih Muslim 2553). The definition above describes Al-Barr's kindness to His people; the Prophet ﷺ describes what birr looks like in a person.
Arabic: البر حسن الخلق
سأل النواس بن سمعان النبي ﷺ عن البر والإثم، فقال: «الْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَالإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ» (صحيح مسلم 2553). فالتعريف في لطف البر بعباده، وكلام النبي ﷺ في صورة البر في الإنسان.
From the Sunnah
I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about virtue and vice. He said: Virtue is a kind disposition and vice is what rankles in your heart and that you disapprove that people should come to know of it
سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الْبِرِّ وَالإِثْمِ فَقَالَ الْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ وَالإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ
It is obligatory for you to tell the truth, for truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to Paradise, and the man who continues to speak the truth and endeavours to tell the truth is eventually recorded as truthful with Allah, and beware of telling of a lie for telling of a lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to Hell-Fire, and the person who keeps telling lies and endeavours to tell a lie is recorded as a liar with Allah
عَلَيْكُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ فَإِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَصْدُقُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الصِّدْقَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ صِدِّيقًا وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْكَذِبَ فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ وَمَا يَزَالُ الرَّجُلُ يَكْذِبُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الْكَذِبَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَذَّابًا
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ فِي سَفَرِنَا هَذَا الْبِرَّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَمِنَ الْعَمَلِ مَا تَرْضَى
O Allah, we seek virtue and piety from Thee in this journey of ours and the act which pleaseth Thee
Sahih Muslim 1342: from what the Prophet ﷺ said when he set out on a journey, as Ibn Umar reported; virtue is al-birr
Related Names
Questions about Al-Barr
What does Al-Barr mean?
Al-Barr is the greatest of benefactors, the most just, the source from which kindness flows.
Where is Al-Barr in the Quran?
Al-Barr is mentioned once in the Quran, in 52:28, said by the people of Paradise.
What is birr for a person?
Birr in a person is good character, the Prophet ﷺ said, while sin is what troubles your heart and you would hate people to see (Sahih Muslim 2553).
How does a person reach birr?
A person reaches birr by giving some of what they love (3:92), and by truthfulness, which leads to it (Sahih Muslim 2607).