The name of Arrahman
The divine attributes of the Compassionate, al-Raĥmān, and the Merciful, al-Raĥīm,
encompass all aspects and meaning of mercy, and can only be used together with
respect to God Almighty. It would be appropriate to use the attribute of al-Raĥīm in
reference to a human being, but the Islamic faith requires that use of al-Raĥmān is
exclusive to God. As for the debate over which of the two adjectives denotes the
wider meaning of mercy and compassion, it does not concern us here. We can
conclude, however, that when combined, they encompass all aspects and dimensions
of mercy.
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