Divine Name Rahman

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

نحمده ونصلى ونسلم على رسوله الكريم

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

قُلِ ادۡعُوا اللّٰہَ اَوِ ادۡعُوا الرَّحۡمٰنَ ؕ اَیًّا مَّا تَدۡعُوۡا فَلَہُ الۡاَسۡمَآءُ الۡحُسۡنٰی

Say, ‘Call upon Allah or call upon the Rahman; whichever Name you call, His are the most beautiful Names.’

(Surah 17, Ayah 110)

Like the name Allah, Rahman is a personal name of God. It should therefore be left untranslated. Some ignorant Muslims, especially from Pakistan, name their boys Rahman. This is incorrect, and essentially no different than naming a boy Allah, since it is an exclusive, personal name of God. Rather, as the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

‌إِنَّ ‌أَحَبَّ ‌الأَسْمَاءِ ‌إِلَى ‌اللَّهِ ‌عَبْدُ ‌اللَّهِ ‌وَعَبْدُ ‌الرَّحْمَنِ

Verily, the most beloved names to Allah are Abdullah and Abd ur-Rahman

(Jami at-Tirmidhi)

The pagan Arabs were unfamiliar with the divine personal name Rahman:

وَاِذَا قِیۡلَ لَہُمُ اسۡجُدُوۡا لِلرَّحۡمٰنِ قَالُوۡا وَمَا الرَّحۡمٰنُ

And when it is said to them, ‘Prostrate to the Rahman,’ they say, ‘And who is the Rahman?’

(Surah 25, Ayah 60)

When the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم was dictating the wording of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, he began with the Basmalah بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم in the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful, but Suhail bin Amru رضى الله عنه who was still an unbeliever at that time objected, saying;

لَا أَعْرِفُ الرّحْمَنَ اُكْتُبْ كَمَا نَكْتُبُ بِاسْمِك اللهُمّ

I do not know the Rahman. Write as we write, ‘In your name, Allahumma.’

So while the pagan Arabs did not know the name Rahman, it was known to the South Arabian, Himyarite Jews and Christians, which was Rahmanan in their tongue.