Page 31 - The_Sun_Rises_in_the_West

THE SUN RISES IN THE WEST – SCIENCE FOR THE HOUR

Al-Raḥmân (نامحرلا) and Al-Raḥîm (ميحرلا) are two Attributes of
God. Their equivalent in English, as in any other language, differs
from one translation to another, with the most common being "The
Merciful, He who has Mercy"; "Most Gracious, Most Merciful";
"The Merciful, The Compassionate"; "The Beneficent, The
Merciful"; "The Most Merciful, Very Merciful". These translations
are only partly right. They do not indeed convey the etymological
notion of origin, which is present in both terms Al-Raḥmân and Al-
Raḥîm. I prefer the terms "The Origin" and "The Arranging" - a
choice confirmed by the etymological and linguistic analysis of
these two terms.

Etymology

The terms Al-Raḥmân (نامحرلا) and Al-Raḥîm (ميحرلا) are two agent
1
nouns derived from the same action noun, al- raḥmah (ةمحرلا) , "the
arrangement, the mercy, the clemency", itself derived from raḥim
(محر), which comes from the root R-Ḥ-M (م ح ر) and means
"matrix".

The action noun al-raḥmah (ةمحرلا) is therefore usually translated
by "the arrangement, the mercy, the clemency".

The agent nouns Al-Raḥmân (نامحرلا) and Al-Raḥîm (ميحرلا) express
the same notion, but intensified. This is common to both words, but
in a graduated way: Al-Raḥmân (نامحرلا) expresses this
2
intensification in an absolute manner, and Al-Raḥîm (ميحرلا) , in an

1
As an example, here is a simple illustration of the concept of an action noun and
an agent noun: the word "walk" is the action noun, from which the agent noun
"walker" is derived.
2 The agent noun Al-Raḥmân (نامحرلا) is obtained by adding, to the triliteral
(composed of three consonants) root R-Ḥ-M (م ح ر), the suffix ân (نا), which
confers to the agent noun a notion of intensification, abundance and exaggeration
(ةـغلابملاو ديكأتلاو ةرثكلا).
With regard to the agent noun Al-Raḥîm (ميحرلا), it is obtained through the
introduction of a long vowel, the î (ي), between the second and third letter of the
triliteral-rooted word, that is between the Ḥ (ح) and the M (م). This form of
derivation confers to the agent noun the notion of characterisation compared with

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