الرَّحْمَنُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Ar-Rahman
The Most Compassionate
Ar-Rahman is the One who wills goodness and mercy for all His creatures. No one else may be called Ar-Rahman, al-Baghawi says. It is mentioned 57 times in the Quran, which opens a whole surah with it: the Most Compassionate taught the Quran.
Key verse
﴿قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَٱبْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا﴾Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Compassionate: whichever you call, He has the Most Beautiful Names.” Do not recite your prayers too loudly or silently, but seek a way between.
The scholar's text
He who wills goodness and mercy for all His creatures
(قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَابْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا ﴿١١٠﴾) الإسراء 17: 110
"Say, “Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call: to Him belong the best names.” And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way." (Al-Isra 17:110)
It is mentioned 57 times in the Holy Quran
الذي يريد الخير والرحمة لجميع خلقه.
(قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ ۖ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا۟ فَلَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ وَلَا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلَاتِكَ وَلَا تُخَافِتْ بِهَا وَٱبْتَغِ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا) الإسراء 17: 110
ورد في القرآن الكريم 57 مرة.
Call On Allah, or Call On Ar-Rahman
﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ قَالُوا۟ وَمَا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ أَنَسْجُدُ لِمَا تَأْمُرُنَا وَزَادَهُمْ نُفُورًا ۩﴾When it is said to them, “Prostrate to the Most Compassionate,” they ask ˹in disgust˺, “What is ‘the Most Compassionate’? Will we prostrate to whatever you order us to?” And it only drives them farther away.
The idolaters of Makkah claimed not to know this Name. Told to prostrate to the Most Compassionate, they asked, “What is ‘the Most Compassionate’?” (25:60). Al-Sa'di says they even used it against the Prophet ﷺ: he forbids us other gods, they said, while he calls on another, saying Ya Rahman. The answer is 17:110: call on Allah or on Ar-Rahman. Al-Sa'di explains that Allah has no Name that is not beautiful, so whichever of them you call Him by reaches the goal, and His Names are many because His attributes are many, each pointing to a perfection.
Arabic: قل ادعوا الله أو ادعوا الرحمن
زعم مشركو مكة أنهم لا يعرفون هذا الاسم، فلما أمروا بالسجود للرحمن ﴿قَالُوا۟ وَمَا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ﴾ (الفرقان 25: 60)، قال السعدي: «بزعمهم الفاسد أنهم لا يعرفون الرحمن، وجعلوا من جملة قوادحهم في الرسول أن قالوا: ينهانا عن اتخاذ آلهة مع الله وهو يدعو معه إلها آخر يقول: يا رحمن». والجواب في آية الإسراء: ﴿قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ﴾، قال السعدي: «ليس له اسم غير حسن، أي: حتى ينهى عن دعائه به، أي: اسم دعوتموه به، حصل به المقصود»، وقال في آية الفرقان: «فأسماؤه تعالى كثيرة لكثرة أوصافه وتعدد كماله، فكل واحد منها دل على صفة كمال».
A Name No One Else Carries
Al-Baghawi reports the difference between the two Names of mercy. Ar-Rahman is mercy that reaches all creation, the One who provides for everyone in this world; Ar-Raheem is mercy kept for the believers in the next. That, he says, is why someone other than Allah can be called rahim, merciful, but no one other than Allah is called Rahman: the word is His alone, while its meaning reaches everyone. Al-Sa'di puts the two together: a vast mercy that takes in everything and every living thing, which He wrote for the God-fearing who follow His prophets. They have mercy in full, and everyone else has a share of it.
Arabic: اسم لا يسمى به غيره
قال البغوي: «فالرحمن بمعنى الرزاق في الدنيا وهو على العموم لكافة الخلق»، «والرحيم بمعنى المعافي في الآخرة والعفو في الآخرة للمؤمنين على الخصوص»، «ولذلك يدعى غير الله رحيما ولا يدعى غير الله رحمن. فالرحمن عام المعنى خاص اللفظ والرحيم عام اللفظ خاص المعنى». وقال السعدي: «اسمان دالان على أنه تعالى ذو الرحمة الواسعة العظيمة التي وسعت كل شيء، وعمت كل حي، وكتبها للمتقين المتبعين لأنبيائه ورسله. فهؤلاء لهم الرحمة المطلقة، ومن عداهم فلهم نصيب منها».
One Part Out of a Hundred
The Prophet ﷺ gave the scale of that mercy: “There are one hundred (parts of) mercy for Allah and He has sent down out of these one part of mercy upon the jinn and human beings and animals and the insects, and it is because of this (one part) that they love one another, show kindness to one another and even the beast treats its young one with affection, and Allah has reserved ninety nine parts of mercy with which He would treat His servants on the Day of Resurrection” (Sahih Muslim 2752). Every kindness between people and every mother animal's care for its young comes from that one part. He also reported that when Allah created the creation, He wrote in His Book: “Verily, My mercy predominates My wrath” (Sahih Muslim 2751).
Arabic: مائة رحمة
قال النبي ﷺ: «إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مِائَةَ رَحْمَةٍ أَنْزَلَ مِنْهَا رَحْمَةً وَاحِدَةً بَيْنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ وَالْبَهَائِمِ وَالْهَوَامِّ فَبِهَا يَتَعَاطَفُونَ وَبِهَا يَتَرَاحَمُونَ وَبِهَا تَعْطِفُ الْوَحْشُ عَلَى وَلَدِهَا وَأَخَّرَ اللَّهُ تِسْعًا وَتِسْعِينَ رَحْمَةً يَرْحَمُ بِهَا عِبَادَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ» (صحيح مسلم 2752). فكل عطف بين الخلق، وكل رفق للدابة بولدها، من تلك الرحمة الواحدة. وأخبر ﷺ: «لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابِهِ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِي» (صحيح مسلم 2751).
The Most Compassionate Taught the Quran
A whole surah opens with the Name and nothing before it: “The Most Compassionate”, then “taught the Quran”, “created humanity”, “˹and˺ taught them speech” (55:1-4). Al-Sa'di says the Name was put first because it shows how wide His mercy is, and then come its effects. The first of them is the Quran, which he calls the greatest favour and mercy Allah gave His servants; in the surah it comes even before the creation of the human being. Speech comes after it, and he counts it among the greatest gifts that set the human being apart.
Arabic: الرحمن علم القرآن
افتتحت سورة الرحمن بالاسم وحده: ﴿ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ﴾ ﴿عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ﴾ ﴿خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ﴾ ﴿عَلَّمَهُ ٱلْبَيَانَ﴾، فذكر تعليم القرآن قبل خلق الإنسان. قال السعدي: «افتتحها باسمه الرَّحْمَنُ الدال على سعة رحمته، وعموم إحسانه، وجزيل بره، وواسع فضله»، وفي ﴿عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ﴾: «وهذا أعظم منة ورحمة رحم بها عباده»، وفي ﴿عَلَّمَهُ ٱلْبَيَانَ﴾: «فالبيان الذي ميز الله به الآدمي على غيره من أجل نعمه، وأكبرها عليه».
The Servants of the Most Compassionate
﴿وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا﴾The ˹true˺ servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the foolish address them ˹improperly˺, they only respond with peace.
In 25:63 Allah names the best of His servants after this Name, the ones who walk humbly and answer the foolish with peace. Al-Sa'di says Allah joined them to Ar-Rahman as a sign that they reached that state only through His mercy. The mercy is meant to pass on: “The merciful are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman. Be merciful on the earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens. The womb is named after Ar-Rahman, so whoever connects it, Allah connects him, and whoever severs it, Allah severs him” (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1924, graded sahih by al-Albani).
Arabic: عباد الرحمن
سمى الله خير عباده باسم الرحمن: ﴿وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا﴾ (الفرقان 25: 63)، قال السعدي: «ولهذا أضافها إلى اسمه الرحمن إشارة إلى أنهم إنما وصلوا إلى هذه الحال بسبب رحمته». والرحمة يتراحم بها الناس، قال النبي ﷺ: «الرَّاحِمُونَ يَرْحَمُهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ ارْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ الرَّحِمُ شُجْنَةٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ فَمَنْ وَصَلَهَا وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَهَا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ» (جامع الترمذي 1924، صححه الألباني).
A Warning in the Name of Mercy
﴿يَـٰٓأَبَتِ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَـٰنِ وَلِيًّا﴾O dear father! I truly fear that you will be touched by a torment from the Most Compassionate, and become Satan’s companion ˹in Hell˺.”
Mercy this wide is not a reason to feel safe while persisting. Ibrahim, pleading gently with his father, warned him of a torment from the Most Compassionate (19:45), and al-Sa'di explains: because of his insistence on disbelief and his going on in transgression. Al-Fatihah holds the balance too. Al-Qurtubi notes that after Lord of the worlds, which carries awe, Allah described Himself as the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, which carries hope, so that His attributes join fear of Him and longing for Him.
Arabic: عذاب من الرحمن
وسعة هذه الرحمة لا تبيح الأمن مع الإصرار. حذر إبراهيم عليه السلام أباه برفق: ﴿إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ﴾ (مريم 19: 45)، قال السعدي: «أي: بسبب إصرارك على الكفر، وتماديك في الطغيان». وفي الفاتحة التوازن نفسه، قال القرطبي: «وصف نفسه تعالى بعد رب العالمين، بأنه الرحمن الرحيم؛ لأنه لما كان في اتصافه برب العالمين ترهيب قرنه بالرحمن الرحيم، لما تضمن من الترغيب؛ ليجمع في صفاته بين الرهبة منه، والرغبة إليه».
From the Sunnah
The merciful are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman. Be merciful on the earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens. The womb is named after Ar-Rahman, so whoever connects it, Allah connects him, and whoever severs it, Allah severs him
الرَّاحِمُونَ يَرْحَمُهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ ارْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ الرَّحِمُ شُجْنَةٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ فَمَنْ وَصَلَهَا وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَهَا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ
There are one hundred (parts of) mercy for Allah and He has sent down out of these one part of mercy upon the jinn and human beings and animals and the insects, and it is because of this (one part) that they love one another, show kindness to one another and even the beast treats its young one with affection, and Allah has reserved ninety nine parts of mercy with which He would treat His servants on the Day of Resurrection
إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مِائَةَ رَحْمَةٍ أَنْزَلَ مِنْهَا رَحْمَةً وَاحِدَةً بَيْنَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ وَالْبَهَائِمِ وَالْهَوَامِّ فَبِهَا يَتَعَاطَفُونَ وَبِهَا يَتَرَاحَمُونَ وَبِهَا تَعْطِفُ الْوَحْشُ عَلَى وَلَدِهَا وَأَخَّرَ اللَّهُ تِسْعًا وَتِسْعِينَ رَحْمَةً يَرْحَمُ بِهَا عِبَادَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلاَ تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
O Allah! Thy mercy is what I hope for. Do not abandon me to myself for an instant, but put all my affairs in good order for me. There is no god but Thou
Sunan Abi Dawud 5090, its chain graded hasan by al-Albani: the du'a of the one in distress
Related Names
Questions about Ar-Rahman
What does Ar-Rahman mean?
Ar-Rahman wants good and mercy for every one of His creatures. The Clear Quran renders it the Most Compassionate, and al-Sa'di says it points to a mercy so vast that it takes in everything.
What is the difference between Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem?
Al-Baghawi reports that Ar-Rahman is mercy for all creation, providing for everyone in this world, and Ar-Raheem is the mercy reserved for believers in the Hereafter. Ar-Rahman is His alone as a name; a person may be described as rahim.
Can a person be named Rahman?
No one but Allah is called Rahman, al-Baghawi says. A person may be named Abd ar-Rahman, servant of the Most Compassionate, and the Prophet ﷺ said: “The names dearest to Allah are 'Abdullah and 'Abd al-Rahman” (Sahih Muslim 2132).
How many times is Ar-Rahman mentioned in the Quran?
Ar-Rahman is mentioned 57 times in the Quran. Surah Ar-Rahman is named after it and opens with it.
Does such wide mercy mean no one will be punished?
No. Ibrahim feared his father would be touched by punishment from Ar-Rahman (19:45), because he insisted on disbelief, al-Sa'di says, and al-Sa'di on 1:3 says the mercy in full is for the God-fearing who follow the prophets.