The Name Al-Rahman and Its Significance in the Quran

The name Al-Rahman as explained here is most meaningful when interpreted as the Almighty, forming a clear Yang/Yin relationship with the name Al-Raheem, the All-Merciful. It is mentioned 57 times in Quran, in 56 ayat (because one aya contains 2 mentions) in 18 suras. This subject is so vast it needs multiple posts, but here I will try to convey the Quranic significance of the name to begin with.

Everything in the Basmalah is important, far more than most of those who analyze Quranic structure think. But the name Al-Rahman is particularly so, and also not well-understood, or at least the translations and a number of presumptions do not take into account all the indicators of its depth of meaning. Here we list some important indicators of that meaning.

The Basmalah as Gateway to the Quran and, Symbolically, Paradise

There is no dispute that the Basmalah contains the first words one reads in the Quran, and in that sense one could consider it the gateway into the Quran. Similarly, as the “opening” to the Quran, most graphically illustrated in the “nautilus shell” architecture discussed on this site, Al-Fatiha (the first sura whose name literally means “opening”) is our point of entry into the Quran, establishing its perimeters, in particular the primacy of salat, of connecting to Allah the Exalted. But it also symbolizes the gate to paradise as is mentioned in three ayat discussed below. Because of course, the Quran is our guide to how to get through the coming catastrophe of Al-Akhira to the ultimate success that transcends the tests and suffering of our brief mortal existence. 

Why Is There No Basmalah on Surah 9 Al-Tawba (Repentance)?

The Basmalah precedes every surah except Al-Tawba, “Repentance,” for a profound reason, not just as a “fluke” confusing the two adjacent suras, Al-Tawba (9) with Al-Anfaal (8). In fact, we can understand the reason for the missing Basmalah from the surah that follows it, Yunus (Jonah). First, note that the Basmalah is the featured dhikr in the Quran, highlighting that the Quran is directly from Allah the Most High, and it shows the dynamic nature of our Creator as Almighty, All-Merciful, the ultimate authority and ultimate source of comfort, meaning, and security. Without knowledge of and faith in Him, our lives would be random and meaningless. Are we seriously satisfied to think that after we die, all that’s left is our bodies which disintegrate and everything we thought or believed or did or felt is for no reason? Do we seriously see truth and beauty in the concept, tossed around these days to “make sense of it all,” that we “become stardust?” So the Basmalah encapsules that which gives meaning and value to existence: Allah the Almighty All-Merciful. Rejecting this in effect dissociates us from Him. And the first word in Al-Tawba is “dissociated.” From which the only way out is tawba, repentance.