ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ
Ar-Rahman
The Most Merciful — whose mercy embraces all of creation
What Ar-Rahman Means
Ar-Rahman is built on the Arabic root ra-h-m — the same root as rahim, the womb that shelters and nourishes a child. It is the name of Allah’s mercy at its widest: a mercy that reaches every created thing in this world — the believer and the disbeliever, human beings, animals and all that exists — given freely by His grace before anyone has earned anything. An entire surah of the Quran is named after this name, and it opens with this one word alone: “Ar-Rahman” (55:1).
Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim — what is the difference?
Scholars commonly explain the two names together like this: Ar-Rahman points to the mercy that encompasses all of creation in this world, while Ar-Rahim points to His special, continuing mercy for the believers, above all in the Hereafter. This is why Surah Al-Fatihah joins the two names side by side, and why we begin nearly every action with both of them.
Ar-Rahman in the Quran
ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
“the All-Merciful, the Very Merciful.”
وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ ۖ لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“Your god is one God: There is no god but He, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.”
ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱسْتَوَىٰ
“The RaHman (Allah, the All-Merciful) has positioned Himself on the Throne.”
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَيَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ وُدًّا
“Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them the All-Merciful (Allah) will create love.”
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.”
“The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful. If you show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show mercy to you.”
“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.”
“Allah created mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nine parts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this one part that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal lifts up its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might harm it.”
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them…”
So when you raise your hands, you may begin by calling Him with this name — for example, in your own words: “Ya Rahman — O Most Merciful — have mercy on me, forgive me, and provide for me from Your vast mercy.” And the hadith above teaches the way to draw that mercy near: show mercy to the people and creatures around you, and Ar-Rahman will show mercy to you.
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.