Ra-Ha-Mim
4 words from this root family
Ra-Ha-Mim (ر-ح-م) has 4 words in the Fahm dictionary: raḥmah (mercy / compassion), raḥīm (merciful / especially merciful), ar-Raḥmān (The Most Merciful (divine name)), raḥima (he had mercy / he showed compassion).
In the Quran, words built on this root occur 339 times in 313 verses, across 62 of the 114 suras. The first is in 1:1. The form رَحِيمٌ (merciful / especially merciful) accounts for 116 of them.
Themes: Quranic
| Word | Meaning | Type | In the Quran | Taught in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
رَحْمَةٌ raḥmah | mercy / compassion | noun, A1 | 114× | The Most Frequent Words (Part 4) |
رَحِيمٌ raḥīm | merciful / especially merciful | adjective, A2 | 116× | Creation and Nature |
الرَّحْمٰنُ ar-Raḥmān | The Most Merciful (divine name) | noun, A1 | Divine Names and Attributes | |
رَحِمَ raḥima | he had mercy / he showed compassion | verb, A1 | 28× | Divine Names and Attributes |
“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.
فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَـٰتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُThen Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful.
ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ ۖ فَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ لَكُنتُم مِّنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَThen, even after that, ye turned away, and if it had not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy ye had been among the losers.
وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَAnd obey Allah and the messenger, that ye may find mercy.
Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani 1.1), CC BY 3.0, tanzil.net. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via Project Gutenberg. Counts and verse choice: Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology data (corpus.quran.com).
Feminine noun. From the same root as رَحِيمٌ (merciful), رَحْمَانٌ (most merciful), and رَحِمٌ (womb). The connection between 'womb' and 'mercy' is significant.
God's mercy is a dominant theme in the Quran. Every surah except one begins with 'In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.'
Intensive adjective (فَعِيل pattern). Ar-Raḥīm indicates specific, focused mercy. Distinguished from ar-Raḥmān (general, all-encompassing mercy). Both are from the root ر-ح-م.
The Basmalah (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ) opens every surah except one. Scholars say ar-Raḥmān is mercy for all creation while ar-Raḥīm is special mercy for believers.
Intensive form (faʿlān) indicating all-encompassing mercy. One of the most frequent divine names. Always definite with al-.
Appears at the start of every surah (except at-Tawbah) in the Basmalah. Denotes God's universal mercy to all creation.
Form I verb. Present: يَرْحَمُ. Imperative: اِرْحَمْ. This root generates more divine names than any other: الرَّحْمٰنُ, الرَّحِيمُ, and the noun رَحْمَةٌ (q038).
God's mercy encompasses everything - this is the foundational principle. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'God divided mercy into 100 parts; 99 He reserved for the Day of Judgment.'