The Difference Between al-Rahman and al-Rahim
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, father, the questioner says: It is well known that the meaning of al-Rahman is "Merciful to all people," and al-Rahim is "Merciful to the believers." Is there a response to the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:143]? So, is it said that the meaning of al-Rahman is "a mercy that is encompassing," and al-Rahim is "a mercy that reaches"?
Answer:
Al-Rahman is a general mercy for all created beings. Al-Rahim is a specific mercy for the believers, as in His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Ahzab 33:43]. So He specified the believers by saying He is Rahim with them. [Al-Baqarah 2:143] means He is Rahim with the believers. According to this interpretation, it is not [mercy] for all people, but for the believers among them. There is no contradiction between this and that.
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, father, the questioner says: It is well known that the meaning of al-Rahman is "Merciful to all people," and al-Rahim is "Merciful to the believers." Is there a response to the statement of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌAnswer:
Al-Rahman is a general mercy for all created beings. Al-Rahim is a specific mercy for the believers, as in His saying, the Exalted:
And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful.
وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًاIndeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [152] الفرق بين الرحمن والرحيم - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.