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الرَّحِيمُ

Ar-Raheem · The Merciful

Ar-Raheem (الرَّحِيمُ) means the Especially Merciful, the One whose mercy is constant and reaches His believing servants personally: guiding them in this life and bringing them into Paradise in the next. It tells you that His mercy is not a passing mood but a permanent way He deals with you.

Rootر ح مFrom rahma, the tender care pictured in the womb. The form Raheem describes a quality that is steady and lasting, like a craftsman who is skilled every day, not once. So Ar-Raheem is mercy that does not come and go but keeps arriving.

Ar-Raheem in the Quran

  1. وَإِلَٰهُكُمۡ إِلَٰهٞ وَٰحِدٞۖ لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

    And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

    Al-Baqarah 2:163 →

  2. قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِي يُحۡبِبۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ

    Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

    Ali 'Imran 3:31 →

  3. ۞وَمَن يُهَاجِرۡ فِي سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ يَجِدۡ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُرَٰغَمٗا كَثِيرٗا وَسَعَةٗۚ وَمَن يَخۡرُجۡ مِنۢ بَيۡتِهِۦ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ثُمَّ يُدۡرِكۡهُ ٱلۡمَوۡتُ فَقَدۡ وَقَعَ أَجۡرُهُۥ عَلَى ٱللَّهِۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورٗا رَّحِيمٗا

    And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance. And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him - his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.

    An-Nisa 4:100 →

  4. حُرِّمَتۡ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡمَيۡتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحۡمُ ٱلۡخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ وَٱلۡمَوۡقُوذَةُ وَٱلۡمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيۡتُمۡ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسۡتَقۡسِمُواْ بِٱلۡأَزۡلَٰمِۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ فِسۡقٌۗ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن دِينِكُمۡ فَلَا تَخۡشَوۡهُمۡ وَٱخۡشَوۡنِۚ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمَ دِينٗاۚ فَمَنِ ٱضۡطُرَّ فِي مَخۡمَصَةٍ غَيۡرَ مُتَجَانِفٖ لِّإِثۡمٖ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ

    Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

    Al-Ma'idah 5:3 →
Ar-Raheem · الرَّحِيمُName 2

The mercy that stays, and walks you all the way home

His constant, personal mercy for those who turn to Him

What Ar-Raheem shows about Him
Mercy that never switches offSteady, not seasonalA permanent trait
flowing into
Those who turn to HimGuidance in this lifeParadise in the next
behind
Forgiveness and acceptanceHe forgives because He is Raheem
The turning point
His mercy is for better peopleI am too far gone
Ar-Raheem answers
His mercy outruns His angerIt waits for anyone who turns

Who He is as Ar-Raheem

Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem share one root, but they show two sides of mercy. Ar-Rahman is mercy at its most vast, embracing every creature. Ar-Raheem is mercy as a constant trait, steady and personal. Many scholars say Ar-Rahman is His mercy for all, and Ar-Raheem His mercy carried especially to the believers. The Quran says plainly that He is, to the believers, Raheem (33:43).

Notice how often this name comes last. He is Ghafur and Raheem, Tawwab and Raheem, Ra'uf and Raheem. The order teaches something: His forgiveness, His acceptance of repentance and His gentleness all grow out of His mercy. He forgives because He is Raheem, the way a strong person can lift and run because he is strong. The Prophet ﷺ conveyed that Allah said, My mercy prevails over My anger (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

His mercy is unlike ours. Human mercy tires, runs out, or turns into resentment when it is not repaid. His mercy is not a reaction to anything in us; it is who He is. When the Prophet ﷺ saw a mother among the captives clutch her baby to her chest, he asked whether she would ever throw her child into a fire, and said that Allah is more merciful to His servants than she is to her child (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

Where you see Ar-Raheem at work

The greatest mercy Ar-Raheem gives in this world is guidance. The Quran calls itself a healing and a mercy for the believers (17:82). Food and shelter reach everyone; but the light that lets you understand your pain, make peace with loss and keep hoping is a special gift. With it, a believer can be tired, in debt and alone, and still find this life sweet.

Ar-Raheem is at work in every story of return. Adam slipped, was taught words of repentance, and was received by the One who is At-Tawwab Ar-Raheem (2:37). Yusuf, standing before the brothers who threw him in a well, told them there was no blame on them that day, and that Allah is the Most Merciful of the merciful (12:92). The Prophet ﷺ said the affair of the believer is amazing: in ease he gives thanks, in hardship he is patient, and both are good for him (Sahih Muslim).

Handing your affairs to Him

Because His mercy is constant, you do not have to earn it back from zero every time you fall. The voice that says you have used up your chances is not describing Allah. Ar-Raheem is the name that keeps the door open after the tenth failure, the hundredth relapse, the year you stopped praying.

Trusting Ar-Raheem also means trusting His mercy inside what He decrees for you. The test that slows you down, the plan that falls apart, the delay that frustrates you: for a believer, each of these is handled by a Lord who only deals with His servants through mercy. You can hand Him the outcome and rest, knowing His choice for you is softer than your own would be.

You are sitting in the car outside your house after a day where you lost your temper, skipped a prayer and said something you regret. You feel too dirty to talk to Him. Ar-Raheem is exactly the name for this moment: His mercy did not leave when you did badly, and it is waiting for you before you even turn off the engine.

I feel I have to become a better person before Allah will show me mercy again.

Ar-Raheem's mercy is steady and already reaching for me; turning back is how I step into it.

Why the heart loves Him for it

A mother's love is the most tender thing we know, and the Prophet ﷺ used it as the smallest measure of Allah's mercy. When you realise that the One who made you is gentler with you than the one who carried you, love for Him is no longer a duty; it is a homecoming.

Call on Him

Ya Raheem, Your mercy has never left me. Keep it with me when I am weak, guide me with it when I am lost, and bring me by it into Your Paradise.

Call on Him as Ar-Raheem whenever shame makes you want to hide; it is the name that brings forgiveness and acceptance with it.
Try this today

Read the opening of Surah Al-Fatiha slowly today and pause at Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, letting each name sink in on its own.

Read it with
Drawn from the book Asma al Husna and Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf’s lessons: The Most Merciful, The Forgivingdraft

Questions about Ar-Raheem

What does Ar-Raheem mean?

Ar-Raheem means the Especially Merciful, the One whose mercy is constant and lasting. Scholars commonly explain it as His mercy that reaches the believers in particular: guidance, the Quran and forgiveness in this life, and Paradise in the next.

Can a person be called raheem?

Yes. Unlike Ar-Rahman, which is for Allah alone, the word raheem can describe people. The Quran itself describes the Prophet ﷺ as kind and merciful to the believers (9:128). Allah's mercy, however, is perfect and unlike any created mercy.

Why does Ar-Raheem so often come after other names in the Quran?

Ar-Raheem frequently closes a pair, as in Ghafur Raheem and Tawwab Raheem. Many teachers point out that this shows forgiveness, acceptance of repentance and gentleness all flow from His mercy, which the Prophet ﷺ said prevails over His anger.

Explanation in Arabic

الذي يوصل رحمته إلى عباده المؤمنين خاصة في الدنيا بالهداية وفي الآخرة بالجنة، فهو اسم يدل على الفعل والإنعام الموجه للمخلصين.