Among the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, the two that we recite the most are "Al Rahman" and "Al Raheem". The two names are part of the opening verse of the Quran, "Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahmeem". Since "Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem" precedes every chapter of the Quran, except one, we recite it when we say the Surahs. In fact, we say these two Beautiful Names of Allah in every salah of ours. An entire Surah is titled "Al Rahman". "Al Rahman" in English is translated as "Most Gracious" and "Al Raheem" as "Most Merciful". Both "Al Rahman" and "Al Raheem" are derived from the root "Rahm", which means womb in Arabic.

A mother’s womb gives protection and nourishment to what it holds, and from it all creation is brought into being. As both Names are derived from the same root, what is the difference between the two?

According to some scholars, "Al Rahman" describes the Mercy of Allah as His Nature, while "Al Raheem" is the manifestation of that Nature in action. Sheikh Abdur Razzaq ibn Abdil Muhsin Al Abbad, Ar-Rahman is on a (certain) scale (in the Arabic language related to morphology) that indicates a permanent, inseparable, and perfect attribute. In other words; from His attributes is mercy. Whereas Ar-Raheem indicates the spreading of mercy to those whom it is bestowed upon. Meaning those who received mercy via (His) action. Some scholars say that Al-Rahman relates to the Mercy of Allah for all His creations, whereas Al-Raheem relates to His Mercy for the Believers. At Baradari, you will find a beautiful artwork where these two most commonly recited Names of Allah have been written in Diwani style and printed on canvas