Surah 55
Ar-Rahman
The Most Merciful
الرحمن
78 ayat · Medinan · Juz 27
About this surah
Surah Ar-Raḥmān (The Most Merciful) is the 55th surah of the Qur’an — seventy-eight verses, mostly classified as Makkī by Ibn Kathīr and al-Qurṭubī, with a minority Madanī opinion for one or two passages. It is the only surah that opens with a single divine name — Ar-Raḥmān — standing alone as its first verse. That opening is itself the thesis: everything that follows is a catalogue of what the All-Merciful has given, taught, built, measured, suspended, split, and promised. The surah is distinguished by its refrain “Then which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?” (fa-bi-ayyi ālā’i Rabbikumā tukadhdhibān), repeated thirty-one times, interleaved between every category of blessing: the stars that make navigation possible, the balance that makes justice possible, the two seas that do not transgress each other, the paired paradises for the righteous. Ibn Kathīr frames the whole surah as Allah’s direct address to the two weighty creations — jinn and mankind — holding each one accountable for the same mercies.
The best-known virtue narration for Ar-Raḥmān is the Prophet’s ﷺ reported saying: “Everything has a bride, and the bride of the Qur’an is Surah Ar-Raḥmān.” This is recorded in al-Bayhaqī’s Shuʿab al-Īmān 2496 and in Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ 2178, narrated from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. The chain contains weaknesses — al-Albānī graded it daʿīf in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 4647, and al-Bayhaqī himself noted the chain is not strong. A separate stronger-looking chain was called ḥasan by some later muḥaddithūn, which is why the saying has circulated widely in works like al-Nawawī’s al-Tibyān and al-Suyūṭī’s al-Durr al-Manthūr. The honest position is to present it as weak but widely narrated: do not quote it as a hadith of the Prophet without the grading, but do not pretend the tradition does not exist. The authentic baseline for the surah’s virtue is the same as for any surah — Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2910 (ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ): ten rewards for every letter of the Qur’an. Reciting Ar-Raḥmān is virtuous because reciting Qur’an is virtuous; no special-case bonus is needed to justify making it a weekly companion.
What is firmly established is the Prophet’s practice of reciting Ar-Raḥmān publicly to the jinn. Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 3291 (ḥasan gharīb per Tirmidhī, strengthened by al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 4934) records Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out to his Companions and recited Surah Ar-Raḥmān to them from beginning to end, and they were silent. He said: ‘I recited it to the jinn on the Night of the Jinn, and their response was better than yours. Every time I came to the saying “Then which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?” they would say: “None of Your favours, our Lord, do we deny — all praise is to You.”’” This gives the refrain its liturgical weight. Classical reciters pause after each repetition precisely to leave space for the listener to repeat the jinn’s answer — lā bi-shay’in min niʿamika Rabbanā nukadhdhib fa-laka al-ḥamd — turning the surah into a responsive confession.
Ibn Kathīr’s structural reading divides the surah into four waves of blessing, each sealed by the refrain. First (verses 1-16): cosmic mercies — the teaching of the Qur’an, the creation of the human, the orbits of sun and moon, the submission of plants and trees, the raising of the sky and setting of the balance (mīzān), and the measured creation of jinn from smokeless fire and man from clay. Second (vv. 17-30): sustaining mercies — the two easts and two wests, the two seas that meet without mixing (an image classical mufassirūn connected to the Strait of Gibraltar or the Mandeb, modern commentators to the halocline), and the pearls and coral that come from them. Third (vv. 31-45): eschatological warning — the Day when neither jinn nor man will escape the courts of Allah, the two torments described in detail, the melting of the sky to crimson rose. Finally (vv. 46-77): the paired paradises — two Gardens for those who feared standing before their Lord, with running springs, pairs of every fruit, companions untouched before, built with their own pillars and shade. The refrain binds these four movements into a single argument: every mercy you accept is evidence you cannot afford to deny the Giver. That, more than any virtue narration, is why the Ṣaḥābah wept at this surah and why reciting it on a Friday night with family — some scholars, including al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, recommended this — is a long-standing practice built on the authentic recitation reward alone.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
الرَّحْمَٰنُ
Ar Rahmaan
The Most Merciful
عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ
'Allamal Quran
Taught the Qur'an,
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ
Khalaqal insaan
Created man,
عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ
'Allamalhul bayaan
[And] taught him eloquence.
الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ
Ashshamsu walqamaru bihusbaan
The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation,
وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ
Wannajmu washshajaru yasjudan
And the stars and trees prostrate.
وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ
Wassamaaa'a rafa'ahaa wa wada'al Meezan
And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance
أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ
Allaa tatghaw fil meezaan
That you not transgress within the balance.
وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ
Wa aqeemul wazna bilqisti wa laa tukhsirul meezaan
And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.
وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ
Wal arda wada'ahaa lilanaame
And the earth He laid [out] for the creatures.
فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَالنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ
Feehaa faakihatunw wan nakhlu zaatul akmaam
Therein is fruit and palm trees having sheaths [of dates]
وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ وَالرَّيْحَانُ
Walhabbu zul 'asfi war Raihaanu
And grain having husks and scented plants.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِن صَلْصَالٍ كَالْفَخَّارِ
Khalaqal insaana min salsaalin kalfakhkhaari
He created man from clay like [that of] pottery.
وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ
Wa khalaqal jaaan mim maarijim min naar
And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ وَرَبُّ الْمَغْرِبَيْنِ
Rabbul mashriqayni wa Rabbul maghribayni
[He is] Lord of the two sunrises and Lord of the two sunsets.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
مَرَجَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ يَلْتَقِيَانِ
Marajal bahrayni yalta qiyaani
He released the two seas, meeting [side by side];
بَيْنَهُمَا بَرْزَخٌ لَّا يَبْغِيَانِ
Bainahumaa barzakhul laa yabghiyaan
Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُمَا اللُّؤْلُؤُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ
Yakhruju minhumal lu 'lu u wal marjaanu
From both of them emerge pearl and coral.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
وَلَهُ الْجَوَارِ الْمُنشَآتُ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالْأَعْلَامِ
Wa lahul jawaaril mun sha'aatu fil bahri kal a'laam
And to Him belong the ships [with sails] elevated in the sea like mountains.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ
Kullu man 'alaihaa faan
Everyone upon the earth will perish,
وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
Wa yabqaa wajhu rabbika zul jalaali wal ikraam
And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ
Yas'aluhoo man fissamaawaati walard; kulla ywmin huwa fee shaan
Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
سَنَفْرُغُ لَكُمْ أَيُّهَ الثَّقَلَانِ
Sanafrughu lakum ayyuhas saqalaan
We will attend to you, O prominent beings.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ فَانفُذُوا ۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ
Yaa ma'sharal jinni wal insi inis tata'tum an tanfuzoo min aqtaaris samaawaati wal ardi fanfuzoo; laa tanfuzoona illaa bisultaan
O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
يُرْسَلُ عَلَيْكُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِّن نَّارٍ وَنُحَاسٌ فَلَا تَنتَصِرَانِ
Yursalu 'alaikumaa shuwaazum min naarifiw-wa nuhaasun falaa tantasiraan
There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فَإِذَا انشَقَّتِ السَّمَاءُ فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ
Fa-izan shaqqatis samaaa'u fakaanat wardatan kaddihaan
And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُسْأَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ
Fa-yawma'izil laa yus'alu 'an zambiheee insunw wa laa jaann
Then on that Day none will be asked about his sin among men or jinn.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَاهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِي وَالْأَقْدَامِ
Yu'raful mujrimoona biseemaahum fa'yu'khazu binna waasi wal aqdaam
The criminals will be known by their marks, and they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
هَٰذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِي يُكَذِّبُ بِهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ
Haazihee jahannamul latee yukazzibu bihal mujrimoon
This is Hell, which the criminals deny.
يَطُوفُونَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ آنٍ
Yatoofoona bainahaa wa baina hameemim aan
They will go around between it and scalding water, heated [to the utmost degree].
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ
Wa liman khaafa maqaama rabbihee jannataan
But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
ذَوَاتَا أَفْنَانٍ
Zawaataaa afnaan
Having [spreading] branches.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ تَجْرِيَانِ
Feehimaa 'aynaani tajriyaan
In both of them are two springs, flowing.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِمَا مِن كُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ زَوْجَانِ
Feehimaa min kulli faakihatin zawjaan
In both of them are of every fruit, two kinds.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ فُرُشٍ بَطَائِنُهَا مِنْ إِسْتَبْرَقٍ ۚ وَجَنَى الْجَنَّتَيْنِ دَانٍ
Muttaki'eena 'alaa furushim bataaa'inuhaa min istabraq; wajanal jannataini daan
[They are] reclining on beds whose linings are of silk brocade, and the fruit of the two gardens is hanging low.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِنَّ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّ
Feehinna qaasiratut tarfi lam yatmishunna insun qablahum wa laa jaaann
In them are women limiting [their] glances, untouched before them by man or jinni -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
كَأَنَّهُنَّ الْيَاقُوتُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ
ka annahunnal yaaqootu wal marjaan
As if they were rubies and coral.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ
Hal jazaaa'ul ihsaani illal ihsaan
Is the reward for good [anything] but good?
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
وَمِن دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ
Wa min doonihimaa jannataan
And below them both [in excellence] are two [other] gardens -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
مُدْهَامَّتَانِ
Mudhaaammataan
Dark green [in color].
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ نَضَّاخَتَانِ
Feehimaa 'aynaani nad daakhataan
In both of them are two springs, spouting.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِمَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ
Feehimaa faakihatunw wa nakhlunw wa rummaan
In both of them are fruit and palm trees and pomegranates.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فِيهِنَّ خَيْرَاتٌ حِسَانٌ
Feehinna khairaatun hisaan
In them are good and beautiful women -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
حُورٌ مَّقْصُورَاتٌ فِي الْخِيَامِ
Hoorum maqsooraatun fil khiyaam
Fair ones reserved in pavilions -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّ
Lam yatmis hunna insun qablahum wa laa jaaann
Untouched before them by man or jinni -
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ رَفْرَفٍ خُضْرٍ وَعَبْقَرِيٍّ حِسَانٍ
Muttaki'eena 'alaa rafratin khudrinw wa 'abqariyyin hisaan
Reclining on green cushions and beautiful fine carpets.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Fabi ayyi aalaaa'i Rabbikumaa tukazzibaan.
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
تَبَارَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ
Tabaarakasmu Rabbika Zil-Jalaali wal-Ikraam
Blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.