Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Difference between Rahman & Raheem |
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| mispk |
| 07/13/01 at 18:24:10 |
| Assalam alaikum Two of ALLAH's 99 attribures are RAHMAN and RAHEEM. I want to know what is the difference in meaning between the two. Wassalam alaikum |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| se7en |
| 12/11/00 at 13:26:24 |
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllahi wa barakatuh, Hmm I remember from back in my islam-weekend-school days, one of my teachers telling us that ar-Rahman refers to Allah's mercy for all His creatures, while ar-Raheem refers to Allah's mercy specifically for the believers. wAllahu 'alam. |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| se7en |
| 12/11/00 at 13:33:01 |
salaam, hey I just checked out Yusuf Ali's translation of the Quran, and in a footnote he says: "The Arabic words Rahman and Rahim translated as 'Most Gracious' and 'Most Merciful' are both intensive forms referring to different aspects of Allah's attribute of mercy. The Arabic intensive is more suited to express Allah's attributes than the superlative degree in English. The latter implies a comparison with other beings, or with other times or places, while there is no being like unto Allah, and He is independent of time and place. Mercy may imply pity, long suffering, patience, and forgiveness, all of which the sinner needs and Allah Most Merciful bestows in abundant measure. But there is a mercy that goes before even the need arises, the grace which is ever watchful, and flows from Allah Most Gracious to all His creatures, protecting them, preserving them, guiding them, and leading them to a clearer light and a higher life. For this reason the attribute Rahman is not applied to any but Allah, but the attribute Raheem is a general term and may also be applied to men." |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| Arsalan |
| 12/11/00 at 13:35:29 |
| Assalamu alaikum, I don't think I have the answer to your question, but your question reminds me of some interesting things I learned about these two names some time ago. Ar-Raheem is a proper Arabic word. It means the Merciful. The trait of mercy is not something that is restricted to Allah. Human beings can also be merciful, and so can animals, jinn, etc. However, the name Al-Raheem which belongs to Allah denotes the ultimate Mercy of Allah. That is, he is the Most Merciful of all the merciful ones. Al-Rahman, on the other hand, is NOT a proper Arabic word. It was something new to the ear of the Quraish, and they often made fun of the name Al-Rahman. Interestingly enough, they used to say that Muhammad (pbuh) was learning the Quran from a man named Rahman in northern Arabia and that's why he would always say "bsm" before every Surah! Al-Rahman is actually derived from the same root as Al-Raheem, i.e. Rahm, which means Mercy. Then why have a different name? Apparently, Al-Rahman denotes a quality of Allah (swt) that nobody else possesses except Him (unlike Al-Raheem). It is a degree higher than Al-Raheem. This is why Muslims are not allowed to name their children Rahmaan, although they can name their children Raheem - because only Allah is Rahmaan, and Al-Rahmaan. Wassalamu alaikum. |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| humble_muslim |
| 12/13/00 at 16:42:19 |
| Allah knows best, but I once heard a knowedgable brother say that Ar Rahman refers to Allah SWT's mercy in this world, and Ar Raheem to his mercy in the hereafter. |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| widad |
| 12/15/00 at 15:37:08 |
| slm I am with se7en: in the primary school book of salat it says the same thing. |
| Re: Rahman & Raheem |
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| Anonymous |
| 12/16/00 at 01:40:26 |
| The saying of the Exalted, ‘The Most Beneficent (ar-Rahmaan), The Most Merciful (ar-Raheem)’: these are two descriptions of Allaah the Exalted, and two of the Names from amongst His Beautiful Names, derived from ar-Rahma (Mercy) in a way to express intense and exaggerated meanings. And ar-Rahmaan is more intense than ar-Raheem because ar-Rahmaan is the one endowed with Mercy which extends to all of the creations in this world and to the believers in the Hereafter, and ar-Raheem is the One endowed with Mercy which extends to only the believers on the Day of Judgement - this being the understanding of the majority of the scholars. The narration reported from Eesa, as mentioned by ibn Katheer and others, also indicates this - that he (upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings) said, ‘ar-Rahmaan: the One Who shows Mercy in this world and the Hereafter. Ar-Raheem: the One Who shows Mercy in the Hereafter.’{1} |
| Re: [MADRASA] Difference between Rahman & Raheem |
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| haaris |
| 07/13/01 at 12:18:41 |
| [slm] A belated contribution perhaps but I remembered this [quote]Al-Rahman, on the other hand, is NOT a proper Arabic word. It was something new to the ear of the Quraish, and they often made fun of the name Al-Rahman. Interestingly enough, they used to say that Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him ) was learning the Quran from a man named Rahman in northern Arabia and that's why he would always say "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem " before every Surah![/quote] When I read this: "Abu Bakr shouted at his son 'Abdur-Rahman still a polytheist ..." in Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum. Any comments? Salaam |
| Re: [MADRASA] Difference between Rahman & Raheem |
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| Arsalan |
| 07/13/01 at 16:46:57 |
| [slm] Didn't Abu Bakr name his son Abdul Rahman *after* the Prophethood of Rasulullah (pbuh)? |
| Re: Difference between Rahman & Raheem |
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| jannah |
| 07/13/01 at 18:25:59 |
| slm, hey peeps the ARK is an archive.. it's already sailed!!!! don't continue a discussion in there... I moved this one back up here..but next time start a new thread or just let me know and i'll move it out. the ark threads will be locked soon hopefully to prevent this but i'm still working on it... |
| Re: Difference between Rahman & Raheem |
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| Seeker |
| 07/14/01 at 00:30:38 |
| [slm] I found the difference between these two beatiful attributes of Allah in this awsome book I have: Al-Ghazaali on the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God. In it, he said, like Se7en, that the two names are both derived from mercy or rahma. He said, "the meaning of Rahman should be a kind of mercy beyond the powers of people, and related to happiness in the next life. The Infinitely Good is He who loves men, first by creating them; second, by guiding them to faith and to the means of salvation; third, by making them happy in the next world; and fourth, by granting them the contemplation of His noble face." It sounds precisely like Allah's mercy upon man, in general. Rather than with Al-Rahim, the Most Merciful, which might mean Allah is the Most Merciful in terms of our weaknesses. Allah has created human not perfect, but with flaws and a natural weakness with out Him, there for we have a need for Him, so Allah has mercy on his creation. Or, I could be really off on what I got from this book. Someone else might find something else in this. Allahualam Salaam ~Tauhirah |
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