Ar Raheem
The Merciful
He who acts with extreme kindness.
Ar-Raheem comes from the same root as Ar-Rahmaan but carries a distinct shade. Ar-Rahmaan refers to Allah as the origin and source of all mercy; Ar-Raheem refers to its sustaining, continuous, intimate quality — particularly the mercy directed toward His believing servants in this life and the next.
Mentions of Ar Raheem
From the Quran & Hadith
From the same root as Ar-Rahmaan, ra-ha-mim (ر ح م): tenderness, gentleness, kindness, love, mercy, favour, the qualities of beneficence. Where Ar-Rahmaan denotes the breadth and origin of mercy, Ar-Raheem describes its depth and continuity.
This Name of Allah is mentioned in the Quran 114 times, twice as often as Ar-Rahmaan.
Is Ar-Raheem only for the believers?
A verse often cited in support of the view that Ar-Raheem is reserved for the believers is Surah Al-Ahzab 33:43: 'He it is who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so], that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful.' Ibn Arabi, in *Unveiling the Secret of the Most Beautiful Names*, notes that this mercy 'was limited and restrained, after having manifested unconditional, absolute, and universal general mercy. Also, its relation to the servant depends on his limitations.' There is some disagreement among scholars on this point. A counter-position is found in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:143, where Allah is described as 'Ra'ūfun Raḥīm' — kind and merciful — toward the people in general, not the believers alone. The fuller reading is that Ar-Raheem's mercy reaches beyond Muslims to all who are open to it.
Huwa-lladhī yuṣallī ʿalaykum wa malā'ikatuhu liyukhrijakum mina-ẓ-ẓulumāti ilā-n-nūr. Wa kāna bi-l-mu'minīna Raḥīmā.
“It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so], that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful.”
Wa kadhālika jaʿalnākum ummatan wasaṭan litakūnū shuhadā'a ʿalā-n-nāsi wa yakūna-r-rasūlu ʿalaykum shahīdā. … Inna-llāha bi-n-nāsi la-ra'ūfun Raḥīm.
“And thus We have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. … Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.”
Qul yā ʿibādī-lladhīna asrafū ʿalā anfusihim lā taqnaṭū min raḥmati-llāh. Inna-llāha yaghfiru-dh-dhunūba jamīʿā. Innahu huwa-l-Ghafūru-r-Raḥīm.
“Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'”
Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) reported the famous narration of the woman searching for her child among captives. When she found her baby and clasped it to her breast, the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Do you think this woman could throw her child into the fire?' We said, 'No, not if she could prevent it.' He ﷺ said, 'Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.'
Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Allah has written down the good and evil deeds and explained it. Whoever intended to perform a good deed but did not do it, Allah writes it down as a completed good deed. If he did it, Allah writes it down as ten good deeds, up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. If he intended an evil deed but did not do it, Allah writes it down as a completed good deed; if he did it, He writes it down as one evil deed.'
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'When Allah created creation, He wrote in His book that is with Him above the Throne: My mercy predominates over My wrath.'
Believing in Allah's mercy as Ar-Raheem moves a believer to extend mercy as well. The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to mankind' (Sahih al-Bukhari 7376). And it inspires confidence: never despair of His forgiveness, even after the gravest sin, because His mercy outweighs His wrath. Call upon Him as Ar-Raheem when you feel furthest from Him — that is precisely the moment His mercy is closest.
Yā Raḥīm, irḥamnī
O Ar-Raheem, have mercy on me.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5999
- Sahih al-Bukhari 6491 & Sahih Muslim 131a
- Sahih Muslim 2751a
- Sahih al-Bukhari 7376
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