The Most Beautiful Names of Our Lord

The name All-Merciful and Most Merciful has a broad and deep meaning which subsumes numerous names of our Lord mentioned in the Qur'an. For example, He is protective and forgiving in His endless mercy toward human beings and grants them incomparable blessings throughout their lives. Through His abundant grace, He provides physical and spiritual blessings; forgives their errors, accepts their repentance, protects them, covers their sin, and guides them on the straight path.

Due to His creation's perfection and superior nature, Allah sustains the life of all creatures, every one of which submits to His supreme intelligence, endless compassion, and mercy. He has given them everything they need to survive in their close proximity, as another indication of His mercy. The Lord is "All-Gentle, Most Merciful" (Surat al-Baqara, 143) towards His creatures:

Do you not see that Allah has made everything on Earth subservient to you, and the ships running upon the sea, by His command? He holds back the heaven, preventing it from falling to Earth – except by His permission. Allah is All-Compassionate to humanity, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Hajj, 65)

He sends down Clear Signs to His servant to bring you out of the darkness to the light. Allah is All-Gentle with you, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Hadid, 9)

Say: "Call on Allah or call on the All-Merciful. Whichever you call upon, the Most Beautiful Names are His." (Surat al-Isra, 110)

From the moment of birth, each person can survive only with Allah's mercy, protection, and help. For example, disasters such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions happen all over the world every single minute. In fact such events can happen anywhere at any chosen time. And anyone can fall sick or experience material hardship. And there is a very basic fact that should never be forgotten in the face of such events; no matter how hard people may try, they cannot avoid any of these calamities, and no one can help them for they are all sent by Allah, and only Allah can remove them, for He, as the All-Merciful, is a person's sole protector and helper. Allah, if He wishes so, rescues people from every kind of trouble and calamity and also if He wishes so makes them face all kinds of difficulties.

Say: "Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and sea? You call on Him humbly and secretly: ‘If You rescue us from this, we will truly be among the thankful.' " Say: "Allah rescues you from it, and from every plight. Then you associate others with Him." (Surat al-An'am, 63-64)

He [Noah's son] said: "I will take refuge on a mountain; It will protect me from the flood." He [Noah] said: "There is no protection from Allah's command today, except for those upon whom He has mercy." (Surah Hud, 43)

As for those who show disdain and grow arrogant, He will punish them with a painful punishment. They will not find any protector or helper for themselves besides Allah. (Surat an-Nisa, 173)

We can see from these verses that only Allah, out of His endless compassion, removes people's anxieties and protects them from disaster. Knowing this, believers take refuge in His endless mercy when confronted with sickness, anxiety, and difficulty, for He provides material and spiritual abundance in this world to those who sincerely believe in and obey Him. He makes a way for them out of their difficulties and removes their anxiety:

Is there anyone who will make Allah a generous loan so that He can multiply it for him [or her] many times over? Allah both restricts and expands. And you will be returned to Him. (Surat al-Baqara, 245)

Your Lord expands and restricts the provision of anyone He wills. He is aware of and sees His servants. (Surat al-Isra, 30)

Being eternal goodness, Allah is good to human beings throughout their lives and gives them things of incomparable goodness and beauty: "Beforehand we certainly used to call on Him because He is the All-Good, the Most Merciful" (Surat at-Tur, 28). Everything that exists comes from Him; all beauty and every fine blessing manifest His intelligence. Like all other beings, each person comes into this world, through His will, as a piece of flesh in its mother's womb, grows and gradually develops a beautiful face, and reflects His wondrous artistry in every detail:

O humanity! What has deu in respect of your Lord Most Beneficent? He Who created you, formed you, proportioned you, and assembled you in whatever way He willed? (Surat al-Infitar, 2)

Recite: In the Name of your Lord Who created, created humanity from clots of blood. Recite: And your Lord is the Most Generous, He Who taught by the pen, taught humanity what it did not know. No indeed! Truly humanity is unbridled, seeing itself as self-sufficient. Truly it is to your Lord that you will return. (Surat al-Alaq, 1-8)

In His endless grace, He has given countless blessings to humanity and, in return, expects them to serve Him. Those who turn to Him have sincere belief, serve Him with all their heart in submission, and worship Him with full sincerity. They will receive a great reward in the Afterlife in return for this virtuous behavior, for His kindness is everlasting:

He has given you everything for which you have asked Him. If you tried to number Allah's blessings, you could never count them. Humanity is indeed wrongdoing, ungrateful. (Surah Ibrahim, 34)

Allah has shown His endless compassion in making Islam very easy for people to follow. In His mercy, Allah does not hold people responsible for what they have forgotten or for their lapses. Nor does He saddle the blind, the lame, or the sick with responsibility. He teaches people to be patient and trusting, and removes the load from their shoulders. These examples are given to help those who reject His endless mercy and compassion realize their ungratefulness. In this context, the Qur'an reveals His name Al-Haleem (The All-Clement, The Lenient):

Those of you who turned their backs on the day the two armies clashed – satan made them slip for what they had done. But Allah has pardoned them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Lenient. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 155)

Allah will not take you to task for inadvertent statements in your oaths, but He will take you to task for the intention your hearts have made. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Lenient. (Surat al-Baqara, 225)

The seven heavens and Earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Lenient, Ever-Forgiving. (Surat al-Isra, 44)

Allah keeps a firm hold on the heavens and Earth, preventing them from vanishing. And if they vanished, no one could then keep hold of them. Certainly He is Lenient, Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir, 41)

Allah is very gentle with His servants. He provides for anyone He wills. He is the Most Strong, the Almighty. (Surat ash-Shura, 19)

Allah is eternal Justice and, in the world to come, will be perfectly just in rewarding or punishing people for what they have done. All anxiety, deprivation, and oppression in this world are each a test from Him.  His forgiveness is without end, and He will reveal what every person has done and manifest His justice in sensitive scales. Allah reveals in the Qur'an that all oppressors will suffer the consequences of their oppression and that every good deed done here will be rewarded in the Hereafter:

On the Day We summon all people with their records, those who are given their Book in their right hand will read it and will not be wronged by even the smallest speck. (Surat al-Isra, 71)

Say: "Our Lord will bring us all together and then will judge between us with the truth. He is the Just Decider, the All-Knowing." (Surah Saba, 26)

Those who submit to Allah and strive to earn His favor are content in this world and the Hereafter, a manifestation of His name Al-Lateef (The Gentle, the Subtle). Allah bestows His grace upon His faithful servants to help them in all sorts of difficulties:

Allah is very gentle with His servants. He provides for anyone He wills. He is the Most Strong, the Almighty. (Surat ash-Shura, 19)

Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky and then, in the morning, the land is covered in green? Allah is All-Subtle, All-Aware. (Surat al-Hajj, 63)

Just as Allah is the believers' only friend and guardian in this world, He will also be their helper in the Hereafter, for in His gentleness He will turn their sins into goodness. Thus, as for the believers in Paradise:

They will say: "Beforehand we used to live in fear among our families. But Allah was gracious to us and safeguarded us from the punishment of the searing wind. Beforehand we certainly used to call on Him, because He is the All-Good, the Most Merciful." (Surat al-Infitar, 26-28)

Allah's gifts are many, and He gives them without expecting a return (Surah Sad, 9). Through His gentle kindness, He gives His sincere servants blessings and goodness in this world as a source of delightful rewards and a sign of His grace and generosity:

Say: "All favor is in Allah's Hand, and He gives it to whoever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. He picks out for His mercy whoever He wills. Allah's favor is indeed immense." (Surah Al ‘Imran, 73-74)

If anyone spontaneously does good, Allah recognizes it and knows it. (Surat al-Baqara, 158)

Riches, splendor, and goodness are basic characteristics of Paradise. For this reason, Allah creates similar blessings in this world to remind His beloved servants of Paradise and increase their desire and ardor to attain it. Just as unbelievers begin to suffer their eternal torment here, sincere believers are shown here the eternal beauty that has been promised to them. The Qur'an tells us that those who repent and desire something from Allah will be allowed to enjoy both worlds and His generosity:

Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then repent to Him. He will let you enjoy a good life until a specified time and will give His favor to all who merit it. But if you turn your backs, I fear for you the punishment of a Mighty Day. (Surah Hud, 3)

Believers are aware of Almighty Allah's eternal power, and therefore they obey His commands and prohibitions, live according to the religion that He has chosen for humanity (Islam), and have hope as regards the Hereafter. In this world, Allah either rewards them with His assistance and generosity or can test them through distress and hardship.

Believers see the good in this and always put their trust in Allah, knowing that He will reward the Muslims because of their goodness in the Hereafter, out of His endless generosity:

Will the reward for doing good be anything other than good? (Surat ar-Rahman, 60)
What will those who invent lies against Allah think on the Day of Rising? Allah shows favor to humanity, but most of them are not thankful. (Surah Yunus, 60)
Nor will they give away any amount, whether large or small. Nor will they cross any valley without it being written down for them, so that Allah can recompense them for the best of what they did. (Surat at-Tawba, 121)
The metaphor of those who spend their wealth in His Way is that of a grain that produces seven ears; in every ear there are a hundred grains. Allah gives such a multiplied increase to whoever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Baqara, 261)
Satan promises you poverty and commands you to greed. Allah promises you forgiveness and abundance. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Baqara, 268)