Ar-Ra'uf
الرَّؤُوف
The Most Kind, The Compassionate
What it means
Ar-Raʾūf is tender kindness — softer than raḥmah, closer to a mother's care than a king's leniency. He shields His servants from what would harm them, sometimes without them knowing they were shielded.
Qur'anic evidence
This name appears explicitly in the following ayahs:
Sources for this entry
The Arabic name and its enumeration follow the traditional list in Sunan al-Tirmidhī (§3507). The concise explanation reflects the consensus classical understanding taught in Al-Ghazālī's Al-Maqṣad al-Asnā and Ibn Kathīr's tafsīr. Qur'anic references are locations where the name appears in the Mushaf.
Contemplate Ar-Ra'uf with SABR
Learning the names of Allah alongside memorising His words is one of the highest forms of study. SABR pairs one name per day with your memorisation session.