Ar-Rahim (الرَّحِيْمُ) means The Most Merciful. It is name 2 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Ar-Raḥīm is mercy that is shown and given, and scholars note it is mercy that reaches the believers in particular and carries on into the Hereafter. Together with Ar-Raḥmān it is in the Basmalah and in Al-Fatiha.
The root and its meaning
Ar-Rahim comes from the Arabic root ر ح م (r-ḥ-m), which carries the sense of mercy and tenderness.
Where it is in the Quran
Ar-Raḥīm is one of the names most often repeated in the Quran, frequently paired with Al-Ghafūr, At-Tawwāb or Ar-Raʾūf.
Surah Al-Ahzaab 33:43
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتُهُۥ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًۭا
Huwal lazee yusallee 'alaikum wa malaaa'ikatuhoo liyukhrijakum minazzulumaati ilan-noor wa kaana bilmu'mineena Raheemaa
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.
Quran 33:43. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Surah Al-Baqara 2:163
وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۖ لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Wa ilaahukum illaahunw waahid, laaa ilaaha illaa Huwar Rahmaanur Raheem
And your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Quran 2:163. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Calling on Allah by this Name
Allah says: "And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them" (7:180). Begin your dua with يَا رَحِيْمُ (Yā Raḥīm) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā Raḥīm, have mercy on me in this life and when I meet You."
A dua from the Quran
۞ وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَسَّنِىَ ٱلضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
Wa Ayyooba iz naadaa Rabbahooo annee massaniyad durru wa Anta arhamur raahimeen
And [mention] Job, when he called to his Lord, "Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful."
Quran 21:83. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
- Quran 33:43, translation by Sahih International.
- Quran 2:163, translation by Sahih International.
- Quran 21:83, translation by Sahih International.
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The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.