Asmaul Husna - 99 Names of Allah and their Meaning (1/99)

1. Ar Rahman (The Most or Entirely Merciful)

There are eight names that refer to His mercy and kindness: Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, Ar-Ra'uf, Al-Barr, Al-Wahhab, Al-Ghaffar, Al-Afuww, and At-Tawwab.

Each name, although related under the umbrella of mercy, is unique.

Ar-Rahman is understood to be all-encompassing mercy, so far-reaching that it touches everything and everyone. A kind of mercy that knows no bounds.

He is the One who blesses all His creation with prosperity and devoid of disparity.

He is most merciful, kind, and loving towards all creation. His Rahma is all-inclusive and embraces all.

Arabic roots: From the root ra-ha-mim (ر ح م), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to have tenderness, gentleness, kindness, to love, to have mercy, to have pity, to show favor and goodness, to have all that is required for beneficence.

Some benefits of reciting Ar Rahman

The one who recites this name 100 times after every prayer will find his memory more feasible. The person will also lose all the burden from his heart.

Ar-Rahman in the Quran

There are 57 mentions of the name Ar-Rahman spanning 16 different chapters of the Qur'an.

Your God is ˹only˺ One God. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. (2:163).

As for those who believe and do good, the Most Compassionate will ˹certainly˺ bless them with ˹genuine˺ love. (19:96).

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. (25:63).

Ar-Rahman in the Hadith

Chapter: The Vastness Of Allah's Mercy, Which Prevails Over His Wrath

حَدَّثَنِي الْحَكَمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذُ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ التَّيْمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عُثْمَانَ النَّهْدِيُّ عَنْ سَلْمَانَ الْفَارِسِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مِائَةَ رَحْمَةٍ فَمِنْهَا رَحْمَةٌ بِهَا يَتَرَاحَمُ الْخَلْقُ بَيْنَهُمْ وَتِسْعَةٌ وَتِسْعُونَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Salman Farisi reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Verily, there are one hundred (parts of) mercy for Allah, and it is one part of this mercy by virtue of which there is a mutual love between the people and ninety-nine reserved for the Day of Resurrection. (Sahih Muslim 2753a)

What we can learn from Allah's Name Ar-Rahman

The belief in Allah's mercy is beneficial to a believer because it causes an individual to reflect on their ability to be merciful.

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ، وَأَبِي، ظَبْيَانَ عَنْ جَرِيرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لاَ يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ مَنْ لاَ يَرْحَمُ النَّاسَ ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Jarir bin `Abdullah: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to mankind." (Sahih al-Bukhari 7376)

It also encourages a believer to do good, to act with virtue so that they can receive the mercy of their Lord,

"As for those who believe and do good, the Most Compassionate will certainly bless them with genuine love" (Surah Maryam ayah 96).

Allah's mercy is vast and is described by Prophet ﷺ to be greater than a mother's love for her child.

As Muslims, we should know that all things are only made possible with Allah's blessing. We, too, require His mercy and grace in all matters.

Therefore, never forget that even if there is no one who wants or loves you, always remember Allah's name Ar-Rahman that loves you more than anyone else on this Earth.

As a fellow Muslim, I encourage my brothers and sisters to stay in good health and iman. Increase our ibadah and Islamic practices in our daily lives so that we can enter the Jannah together. Ameen.

Resources:

1. Quran Al-Kareem (https://quran.com/)
2. Sunnah.com (https://sunnah.com/)
3. Beloved and respected scholars.

Disclaimers:

1. Some of the translations in this article are quite different from others because the author is not a native English speaker (the Author is Malaysian).
2. The author is practicing Mazhab As-Syafie (Fiqh), Asya'irah (Tauhid), and Imam Al-Ghazali (Tasawwuf), so there might be some differences in culture, fiqh, and practices.
3. The knowledge in this article is shared based on the author's understanding of Islam with reference to his teacher.
4. Islam is perfect while the author is not. Hence, there may be some mistakes in translation or writing style.
5. Knowledge in this article is 100% from other scholars and not from the author's know-it-all perspective.
6. The knowledge in this article is not complete. Therefore the author encourages brothers and sisters to learn more about these with their respective teachers or scholars such as Mufti Menk or Ustaz Nouman Ali Khan. Never learn Islam alone through books.