الضَّارُّ
Ad-Darr
The Distressor
What Ad-Darr Means
Ad-Darr, the Distressor, must be introduced honestly: unlike most of the ninety-nine names, it does not occur as a name of Allah in the Quran. What the Quran teaches is the reality behind it — that harm reaches a person only within Allah’s decree, and that He alone removes it. ‘If Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it except Him’ (6:17); the idols people call on can neither cause harm nor lift it (compare 39:38). Scholars explain that this name is therefore understood together with its pair, An-Nafi: Allah alone permits harm and grants benefit, and nothing in creation harms or helps independently of Him. For the believer this is not a frightening name but a freeing one. The illness or enemy he fears has no independent power; it moves only inside the will of a Lord who is wise and merciful. Fear of people shrinks when harm itself is seen to have an Owner.
Ad-Darr and An-Nafi — a pair that is never separated
Scholars explain that these two names are always taken together: the One who alone permits harm is the One who alone grants benefit, and neither harm nor benefit reaches anyone except by His will (6:17; 10:107). They are not two rival powers, and harm is never injustice from Him. So the believer does not call on Ad-Darr in isolation as though Allah were a source of evil; he turns to the Lord of both harm and benefit, asking for the benefit and for rescue from the harm.
Ad-Darr in the Quran
وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ ٱللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُۥٓ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“If Allah causes you harm, there is no one to remove it except He Himself; and if He causes you good, then He is powerful over everything.”
وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ ٱللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُۥٓ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَآدَّ لِفَضْلِهِۦ ۚ يُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“If Allah brings some harm to you, there is none to remove it except He. And if He intends to bring some good to you, there is none to turn His grace back. He brings it to whomever He wills from among His servants. He is the Most-Forgiving, the Very Merciful.”
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught Us
THE FOUNDATION OF THE 99 NAMES
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they have been doing.”
When harm touches you, turn to Him. In your own words, pair the two names as the scholars advise: ‘Ya Darr, Ya Nafi’ — O You who alone permit harm and alone grant benefit — lift this harm from me, for none can remove it but You,’ Do not waste your fear on the means through which it came. The lesson of the name is calm courage: what He has not willed cannot reach you, and what He willed, He can remove in a moment.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the DeenHub hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.