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by Adnan Majid -
Bismillah'l-Raḥmān'l-Raḥīm
As the Qurʾān's first verse, the invocation above (known as the basmallah) is our gateway to divine revelation and our companion when beginning any activity. Its first part defines an essential element of Muslim identity – to approach all matters “in the name of Allāh.” Its ending, listing two of Allāh's names, beautifully repeats the sounds r-ḩ-m in a way striking even to non-Arabic speakers.
Both these names of
Allāh center on the Arabic quality of
rahmah: (a)
al-Raḥmān,
the One who is defined by complete and universal
rahmah[1] and (b)
al-Raḥīm, the One who continuously shows much
rahmah. It is thus by His
rahmah that
Allāh introduces Himself repeatedly throughout the Qurʾān, so much so that after His
tawhid (Oneness), the Qurʾān uses no other quality to describe
Allāh more than
rahmah.[2] This only underscores how central
rahmah is to Islamic theology and our relationship with
Allāh.
So what is rahmah?
Our first answer may be that rahmah should be rendered as “mercy,” a word preferred in many Qurʾān translations. This, however, may be problematic. Although “mercy” is included in the meanings of rahmah, the modern English usage of “mercy” fails to do justice to the Arabic word in my opinion. Rather, I will argue that we speakers of modern English must understand rahmah as Allāh's Messenger understood the term – not simply as “mercy” but something deeper – an emotion closely tied with motherhood.
“Mercy” in modern English
Ask a native English speaker to describe his or her mother, and one often will hear adjectives like “loving” or “caring.” By contrast, native English speakers would rarely describe their mothers as “merciful.” Doing so sounds a bit odd to many of us, but why? The answer lies in the fact that “mercy” in modern English is associated with the negative connotation of the “power to harm,” something we do not associate with motherhood. Let's look at the following definition from the
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary[3]:
- A kind and forgiving attitude towards somebody that you have the power to harm or right to punish.
a) to ask/beg/plead for mercy
b) They showed no mercy to their hostages.
c) God have mercy on us.
d) The troops are on a mercy mission (a journey to help people) in the war zone.
- An event or a situation to be grateful for, usually because it stops something unpleasant.
a) It's a mercy she wasn't seriously hurt.
b) His death was a mercy (because he was in great pain).
From an Islamic standpoint, Allāh is indeed merciful. Allāh is kind and forgiving towards us while having the power to harm us and the right to punish us for our sins. But the Arabic term rahmah is not limited to “mercy” in the encompassing manner by which the Prophet used the term.
Let's consider instances where we use “mercy” in modern English. For instance, if a ruthless dictator decides to stop killing innocent people temporarily, he would have shown them “mercy,” even if his primary motivation is political and not based on a sincere emotional desire to alleviate suffering. And if a cold-hearted murderer decides against killing a terrified victim, he too would have shown “mercy.” As we shall see, neither case would necessarily constitute rahmah.
We plead for “mercy” from police who can fine us, judges who can punish us, rulers who can overpower us, and murderers who can kill us. But the Messenger never spoke of such fearful people when describing Allāh's rahmah. Instead he reminded us of our mothers and the familiar emotions they show us – emotions we call “compassion” or “nurturing love.”
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