Al-Rahim (الرحيم) - the Painting and the Name
The story of a painting called Compassion
Two of Allah's Beautiful Names are the Qur'an's first words.
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim - in the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate is the opening phrase to nearly every Surah or chapter in the Noble Qur’an and stands in the Fatiha itself as the first Aya or verse in that Surah. Al-Rahman, the first of that pair, was one of the two paintings that began this collection in 2019; a story I told in the post on the word Hu itself. This is its companion.
Al-Rahim shares its root with Al-Rahman - ر ح م, the same root as rahm, the womb, the oldest image of mercy in the Arabic language. I love how Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi describes the difference between these two Names:
“The name Rahman is like the wide open sky, and Rahim like a sun ray whose warmth brings us life.”
Where It Appears
Al-Rahim rarely stands alone. It opens the Basmala at the head of every surah but one - Surah Al-Tawba - and closes the third verse of Al-Fatiha. It appears again and again in the Qur’an, paired often with Al-Ghafur, the Oft-Forgiving, and Al-Tawwab, the Ever-Returning - in verses about returning and repenting. In Surah Al-Ahzab we find:
“It is He who blesses you, and His angels, to bring you forth from the shadows into the light. He is All-compassionate to the believers.”
Sitting With the Name
I don't always choose which of the Beautiful Names of Allah I paint next. Perhaps the Name chooses me. My process is very intuitive and the marks, motifs and colours are guided from within. It is a quiet response to what feel rights in the moment and trusting that impulse.
The Painting
Compassion is mixed media on panel, painted in 2020. Al-Rahim's calligraphy sits bold and black across the lower half, framed in olive green, over a built-up field of magenta and rose pink. A cream floral-like pattern spirals near the top, and a small pink medallion, edged in dots, holds its own quiet geometry. Three fossils are worked into the surface, layer upon layer - details that prompt you to look deeper.
Compassion, 2020 - mixed media on panel
Compassion is available. If it resonates with you, have a look. You can see it as well as the rest of the Beautiful Names of Allah paintings it keeps company with in the Hu Collection.
This is the second in a series on the Names and the words inside the paintings. The first, on the word Hu itself, is here.
From my studio in Amman - thank you for reading.
