The Profound Meanings of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Miftaah Seminar

The Meanings of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim

What does Ar-Rahman mean? And of course many of you speak Arabic far better than me, so we're not going to go into the actual setup of the meaning of Ar-Rahman in colloquial Arabic, but in the understanding of, in the comparison of the other words that have a similar root word, which is coming from the root letters of Rahim — the womb of a mother — Rahamim, which includes the meanings of love, care, concern, and affection. It includes all these meanings. But you also have Ar-Rahim. What's the difference between Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim?

And this is the famous statement of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), where he says:

(Reported by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud — see Tafsir al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir under Surah al-Fatihah)

Ar-Rahman is Allah's mercy that is being exposed to all of creation in this dunya. And Ar-Rahim is uniquely exclusive for the akhirah.

Another opinion of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is:

(Reported by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud — see Tafsir al-Tabari under Surah al-Fatihah)

Rahim is specific to the believers. Both of these opinions match and corroborate one another, because on the Day of Judgment, the only people who will have access to Allah's mercy are the believers — whereas in the dunya, everyone has access to the mercy of Allah.

Which is More Extreme: Ar-Rahman or Ar-Rahim?

On the pattern of hyperbole, which of these two words is more extreme — Ar-Rahman or Ar-Rahim? And the answer is Ar-Rahim is more extreme. Ar-Rahman, yes, is hyperbolized, but the more extreme version of it is always going to be with the ya' — Ar-Rahim, Al-Alim, Al-Aziz.

This is also an indication towards a hadith that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned — that for Allah are a hundred portions of mercy. How many of them are utilized for the mercy of this world? One. Just one.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6000; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2752)

All the mercy that we see from animals treating their children, or from us being careful when we treat the world around us, and on top of that from us having the mercy that we have for one another — all of that is 1% of the mercy that Allah has held for us. 1% is a mother losing sleep for her child. 1% is a father doing what he does for his children. That's 1%.

And where do we need more mercy — dunya or akhirah? The akhirah. So we have 99% that's still left for us in the akhirah.

Three Discussions on Ar-Rahman

That is the third discussion on Ar-Rahman. The first discussion was: why is this name coming as a standalone? And the answer to that is because the mushrikun of Mecca questioned the name of Ar-Rahman, so Allah answered by using the word Ar-Rahman as a standalone. The second discussion was the actual structure of the word, which incorporates three different surahs within it — الم, حم, and ن. And the third discussion was the difference between Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim.

Why Does Surah Ar-Rahman Begin With This Name?

Now moving forward, Allah begins the surah, and it begs the question: why would you start the surah with Ar-Rahman? And the answer given by Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) is fairly simple, and it's something to reflect upon. Even if we just take this point from the entire class, it will be enough benefit for me and for all of you as well.

He mentions that in this surah, Allah speaks about all of His undeniable blessings — all of His ala', and we'll speak about the word ala' when we get to the verse — all of His blessings that cannot be denied, that nobody who has any level of intellect, ذُو الْعَقْلِ, will be able to deny. Because they are forefront, they are apparent, and we rely upon them. No one can deny them.

He highlights that each and every one of Allah's blessings is simply an extension of His mercy to us. Every blessing of Allah in our life — it's not because we are deserving of it, nor are we entitled to it. The blessings that Allah gives us and endows us with are simply because He loves us.

Ar-Rahman — I love you. Hence, I gave you the Qur'an. Hence, I created you. Hence, I gave you a solar system. Hence, I gave you animals. Hence, I gave you adl — justice. Hence, I gave you water. Hence, I gave you Jahannam. Even Jahannam and the hellfire is an extension of His mercy. Because if mercy was not there, if Jahannam was not there, then there would be no adl in this world.

Setting up the correct outcome is not possible without setting the correct journey for it. There can be no adl where there is no deterrent.

Rahmah in the Qur'an — The Analysis of Imam al-Suyuti

Then Ma'a Hassan Abbasi (may Allah have mercy on him) presents a beautiful analysis of the words of rahma in the Qur'an and how they always come attached to the most beautiful blessings of life.

In the story of Zakariya (peace be upon him), Allah says:

This prophet of Allah cried and asked and begged Allah for a child for more than 40 years, and he continued asking. And when Allah finally answers his du'a, He doesn't say "remember the du'a of Zakariya." He says: remember the love of Allah upon His slave Zakariya. That just because you ask for 40 years doesn't make you entitled to my response in the way you expect it to be. The response will be there, but the expectation cannot be that I am entitled to anything.

Entitlement is the quickest cancer to remove gratitude. The more entitled a person becomes, the less grateful they become to Allah. Hence, it is so difficult for you and I to be grateful for the mundane blessings of life — because waking up in the morning is what we're "entitled to." What the Prophet of Allah taught us: the first thing we say in the morning is:

So we are being grateful for something so simple.

Rahmah and the Blessings of Ibrahim and Musa (Peace Be Upon Them)

When we speak about the blessing of children, Allah says about the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him):

Through our love and mercy, we gifted him Ya'qub ibn Ishaq.

And when He speaks about mercy even in siblings:

That through our love — rahma — through our love and care and affection for the slave Musa (peace be upon him), we answered his du'a and we gave him a brother in Harun to be a prophet.

We understand from this, as Imam al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) highlights, that the rahmah of Allah and His love for us — though it is the same source — it will manifest in different ways. For some people that rahmah will be given through children. And for others it will be through a sibling. And for others it will be through finance. For others it will be through sabr. Because rahmah is all-encompassing.

The love of Allah is not confined to a unique blessing. Rather, rahmah refers to every blessing that a person has. So for Ibrahim, that blessing was his children — Ishaq and Ismail. But for Musa, Allah uses the same word and says that your blessing was your brother Harun. The source was the same, but the application changed.

Rahmah and Hidayah

When we make du'a for hidayah, what do we say? What's the du'a for hidayah?

The greatest sign of Allah's love for an individual, as mentioned by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) under this verse, is that He allows us to have tawfiq towards good. Having the ability to do an act of goodness is a sign of Allah's love for me. That since Allah loves me, He allows me to obey Him. It's a sign of Allah's rida with me that He allows me to bring His obedience into my life. All of this is associated with rahmah.

The Opening of Surah Ar-Rahman — Setting the Mindset

So the start of Surah Ar-Rahman is not a coincidence. Allah begins the surah to simply set something straight with all of us. That the mindset and mentality of His slaves is to understand that we — all of us, all of creation — are not necessarily entitled to anything. Every blessing that He will mention is an extension of His love for us.

And because Ar-Rahman includes Muslims and non-Muslims, every one of us is able to benefit from these blessings equally and have equal access.

(Reported in Musnad Ahmad and other collections)

Everyone has access to these blessings. So Allah begins by mentioning Ar-Rahman, and then He turns towards the first of these blessings:

The first of these blessings He says is: He taught the Qur'an.