الرَّحِيمُ
Ar-Raheem
The Most Merciful
What Ar-Raheem Means
Ar-Raheem is built on the same root as Ar-Rahman, ra-h-m, and the two names stand side by side in the Basmalah and in Surah Al-Fatihah. Scholars explain the shade of difference like this: Ar-Rahman describes mercy in its vastness, while Ar-Raheem describes mercy in its action — the mercy that actually reaches people, covers them and continues with them. The Quran points it especially towards the believers: ‘and He is ever Merciful to the believers’ (33:43). When Allah tells His Prophet ﷺ to give His servants glad news, He says, ‘I am the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful’ (15:49), and the refrain of Surah Ash-Shu’ara repeats, ‘your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful’ (26:9). For a believer this name means mercy is not only wide, it is personal and repeated: every return to Allah is met by Ar-Raheem.
Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem — what is the difference?
Scholars commonly explain the pair like this: Ar-Rahman points to the mercy that encompasses all of creation in this world — believer and disbeliever alike — while Ar-Raheem points to His special, continuing mercy for the believers, above all in the Hereafter. This is why the Quran says ‘He is ever Merciful to the believers’ (33:43), and why the two names are joined together in the Basmalah and in Surah Al-Fatihah (1:3).
Ar-Raheem in the Quran
وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ ۖ لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“Your god is one God: There is no god but He, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.”
۞ نَبِّئْ عِبَادِىٓ أَنِّىٓ أَنَا ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“Tell My servants that I am the Most-Forgiving, the Very-Merciful”
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“and indeed your Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful.”
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتُهُۥ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
“He is such that He and His angels send blessings to you, so that He brings you out from all sorts of darkness into Light; and He is Very-Merciful to the believers.”
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.”
“Narrated `Umar bin Al-Khattab: Some Sabi (i.e. war prisoners, children and woman only) were brought before the Prophet (ﷺ) and behold, a woman amongst them was milking her breasts to feed and whenever she found a child amongst the captives, she took it over her chest and nursed it (she had lost her…”
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.”
Allah commands us to call upon Him by His names (7:180), so you may begin your dua with this name — for example, in your own words: ‘Ya Raheem — O Most Merciful — cover my faults and keep my heart firm in faith.’ The lesson of the name is hope for the believer: because He is ‘ever Merciful to the believers’ (33:43), no one who believes should despair of turning back to Him, however many times they have slipped.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the Glory of Iman hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.