Ar-Rahman (; the Merciful; Most Gracious; Most Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (Surah) of the Qur'an, with 78 verses; (āyāt). The Surah was revealed in Mecca and emphasizes themes of mercy, creation, and the relationship between Allah and humanity, making it a significant chapter in Islamic teachings.

The title of the surah, Ar-Rahman, appears in verse 1 and means "The Most Beneficent". The divine appellation "ar-Rahman" also appears in the opening formula which precedes every surah except Sura 9 ("In the Name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy"). English translations of the surah's title include "The Most Gracious", "The All Merciful", "The Lord of Mercy", "The Beneficent", and "The Mercy-Giving". In the fourth century CE south Arabian pagan inscriptions started to be replaced by monotheistic expressions, using the term rahmān.

There is disagreement over whether Ar-Rahman ought to be categorized as a surah of the Meccan or Medinan period. Theodor Nöldeke and Carl Ernst have categorized it among the surahs of the early Meccan period (in accordance with its short ayah length), but Abdel Haleem has categorized it in his translation as Medinan, although most Muslim scholars place Sūrat ar-Rahman in the Meccan period. According to traditional Egyptian chronology, Ar-Rahman was the 97th surah revealed. Nöldeke places it earlier, at 43, while Ernst suggests that it was the fifth surah revealed.

• ۞ 1-4 God taught the Quran to the human.

• 5-16 God the creator of all things.

• 17-25 God controlled the seas and all that is therein

• 26-30 God ever liveth, though all else decay and die

• 31-40 God will certainly judge both men and jinn

• 41-45 God will consign the wicked to hell-fire

• 46-78 The joys of Paradise described

Structure

Ar-Rahman is composed entirely in saj’, the rhymed, accent-based prose characteristic of early Arabic poetry.

The most notable structural feature of Ar-Rahman is the refrain "Which, then, of your Lord’s blessings do you both deny?" (or, in Arberry’s rendering, "O which of your Lord's bounties will you and you deny?"), which is repeated 31 times in the 78 verses.

Chapter 55 (Surah Rahman) is composed of 26 couplets, 4 tercets, and an introductory stanza of 13 verses all ending with this refrain. The final couplet is followed by a blessing of God's name.

Thematically, Ar-Rahman can be divided into roughly three units.

• Verses 1-30 expound upon natural displays of Allah's creative power and mercy in showering those who inhabit the earth with blessings.

• Verses 31-45 describe the final judgment and the terrible punishment that will be inflicted upon sinners.

• Verses 46–78, by contrast, detail the delights that await the pious in paradise.

Surah Raḥman is also considered among the earliest surahs revealed. Aḥmad relates in his Musnad a narration from Asma bint Abi Bakr: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting 'So which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?' [Raḥman: 13] while praying near the Kaʿbah, before he had openly declared his mission, and the polytheists were listening.” This narration suggests that the surah’s revelation dates to the early Makkan period.

Surat Raḥman was revealed after Surat ar-Raʿd in the chronological sequence of revelation. In the arrangement of the Muṣḥaf, it is the 55th surah, placed after Surat al-Qamar and before Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah. The placement after al-Qamar carries thematic significance. Al-Qamar concludes with: “But the Hour is their appointed time, and the Hour will be more grievous and bitter.” [al-Qamar: 46] It then describes the fate of criminals in hellfire and the righteous in Gardens and rivers in the paradise. Surat Raḥman elaborates on this in detailed fashion, following the sequence implied by the preceding surah, making it a comprehensive exposition of al-Qamar’s closing verses.

Ayat (Verses)

Q55:70-77 Houri

Muhammad Asad asserts that the "noun hur – rendered as 'companions pure' – is a plural of both ahwar (masculine) and hawra’ (feminine), each describing a person distinguished by hawar, a term that denotes 'intense whiteness of the eyeballs and lustrous black of the iris.' Asad, along with Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall, translates this verse as:

According to Ibn Kathir, the believer will be given a tent 60 miles wide, made of pearl, such that his wives will not see each other. The believer will visit them all. The Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an says that they (the Houri) are good and righteous virgins and are intended to have intercourse only with their husbands.

Hadith

Owing to the sura’s poetic beauty, it is often regarded as the 'beauty of the Quran', in accordance with a hadith: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that Muhammad said, "Everything has an adornment, and the adornment of the Qur'an is Surah Ar-Rahman"

References

External links

• , 1930 translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

• Q55:1, a verse-by-verse comparison of various translations

• Surah Rehman