“the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.” Chapter 1, Al Fatihah, verse 3.
Allah, the Exalted, has countless divine qualities but only two of them have been mentioned in this verse. The first is the Most Affectionate. The other is that Allah, the Exalted, is the Most Merciful. There are many possible interpretations of these two divine qualities. One is that Allah, the Exalted, is the Most Affectionate towards all of creation in this world but He is the Most Merciful to the muslims in both this world and in the hereafter. This is supported by chapter 33 Al Ahzab, verse 43:
“…Allah is All-merciful to the believers….”
The divine name Most Affectionate is exclusive to Allah, the Exalted. Therefore, no one else should be named this. This is because the Most Affectionate means, the being whose mercy encompasses all. Such a characteristic can only be possessed by Allah, the Exalted. A person can only have the Most Affectionate in their name if their full name is “the servant of the Most Affectionate.” On the other hand, the merciful has been attributed to others such as the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Chapter 9 At Tawbah, verse 128:
“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.”
The Most Merciful in respect to Allah, the Exalted, means the One who does countless favours and is benevolent towards others. When used in reference to the creation it means soft-hearted, and compassionate. This is a quality all muslims must strive to achieve if they desire to be treated with mercy by Allah, the Exalted, the Most Merciful. This has been advised in a Hadith found in Sunan Abu Dawud, number 4941.
It is believed that these two divine qualities of Allah, the Exalted, have been mentioned straight after the previous verse, which declares the Lordship of Allah, the Exalted, in order to create a balance between fear and hope. Chapter 1 Al Fatihah, verse 2:
“[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds.”
When one truly believes that Allah, the Exalted, is the Lord of the worlds it will push them towards fear of Him. If a person is inviting punishment when they cross the limits of a worldly king, can one imagine the seriousness of crossing the limits set by the Lord of the worlds? So in order to balance this fear, Allah, the Exalted, mentioned these two divine qualities of hope so that people understand that even though the punishment of Allah, the Exalted, is severe, He is also Most Merciful, and Most Affectionate.
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