Al-Barr
Allah is Al-Barr, The One who is the great benefactor, the most righteous and the source of goodness. He is ample in kindness and desires good to people bestowing them with health, wealth, and happiness. He is ever merciful and compassionate. He is The One who covered them with His sustenance and specified whoever He willed among them by His support, protection, and special mercy.
From the root b-r-r which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to be devoted, affectionate, gentle to be just and proper, honest, truthful to have regard for the circumstances of another to be beneficent, to bestow bountiful gifts to reward for service, recompense to behave courteously, to do good to be benign, gracious, kindly to be pious, virtuous, righteous to be ample, extensive
Indeed, we used to supplicate Him before. Indeed, it is He who is the Beneficent, the Merciful.” (Quran 52:28)
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you;
and perhaps you will be grateful. (Quran 2:185)
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Name: |
Al-Barr |
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Al-Barr in Arabic: |
ٱلْبَرُّ |
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Arabic root: |
(ب ر ر) |
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Al-Barr meaning in English: |
The Kind, The Source of All Goodness, The kind Benefactor |
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Al-Barr meaning in Urdu: |
بڑا نیک، بڑا مہربان |
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Appearance in the Quran: |
1 time |
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Tasbeeh: |
Recite Al-Barr 100 times to attract blessings and goodness, especially after performing good deeds. |
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Asma ul Husna with similar meaning: |
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One great name for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Barr (in Arabic: ٱلْبَرُّ). Al-Barr’s meaning in English is the greatest benefactor, the most righteous, and the wellspring of goodness. He is the most generous and wishes the best for everyone, granting health to mankind. He provides humanity wealth, happiness and pleasure. The Al-Barr pronunciation is ba-ra-ra (ب ر ر), which means to be gentle, affectionate, truthful, honest and many more.
Al-Barr's meaning in Urdu is (بڑا نیک، بڑا مہربان ), which means He is consistently merciful and sympathetic. He is the One who provided them with nutrition and chose anyone He wanted among them via His assistance, protection, and extraordinary kindness. This name perfectly describes the kindness and mercy of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ, and it is not confined to mercy and forgiveness but benevolence and grace.
This name emphasizes that Allah’s سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ loving character and compassion are essential parts of his connection with mankind. Al-Barr's kindness is pure and unspoiled from all the negativities of this world. There are so many layers to His mercy and kindness, independent of who appreciates his blessings and who doesn’t. The name of Allah Al-Barr is mentioned once in the Qur’an and that is in Surat at-Tur (52:28): “Verily, We used to invoke Him (Alone and none else) before. Verily, He is Al-Barr, the Most Merciful.”
Even if this name appears only once, its essence can be seen in the Quran. Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ called himself kind, generous, and merciful a lot of times in the Quran. Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ says in Surah Ibraheem (14:34): “And if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them.”
Another verse in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:163) declares: "And your God is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful." Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ teaches us that He values kindness and rewards His servants who serve others. He has been compassionate to everyone who looks for His mercy by guiding them to the right path. Al-Barr is righteous and helpful to all regardless of their caste, color or creed.
Al-Barr is one of the most beautiful names of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ and has a strong significance in Islamic ideology and practice. This name expresses His unending mercy and generosity as the ultimate provider of all the creation. The importance of Al-Barr extends into the lives of Muslims, who are warned to demonstrate these divine characteristics in their daily doings.
Muslims are encouraged to be kind, generous, and sympathetic and should spend for the sake of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. When believers follow their maker's characteristics, they enhance their bond with Him. Reciting Al-Barr and reflecting upon it also teaches Muslims to be thankful for accepting Allah's kindness towards them. They Thank Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ for the endless flow of blessings and appreciate the slight goodness that somebody does for them.
Reciting Allah’s names at the end of the daily prayers is recommended by many messengers of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. Dikhr is the form of worship that every good Muslim habitually incorporates into their daily practice. Reciting the name Al-Barr and all the other 99 names of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ can help believers get closer to Him and recognize how His kindness reflects all over mankind.
Abu Hurayrah narrates the importance of Dikhr: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “If anyone sits at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah; and if he lies at a place where he does not remember Allah, deprivation will descend on him from Allah.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4856)
As the name Al-Barr represents Allah’s kindness and generosity, there are so many names in the Quran that call Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ kind, generous and merciful. As this is the greatest quality of Allah it has been repeated in the following names:
Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent)
Ar-Rahim (The Most Merciful)
Ar-Ra'uf (The Benign One)
Al-Kareem (The Generous)
Al-Latif (The Subtle One)
Al-Wadud (The All-Loving)
AN-Nafi’ (The Propitious)
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ١ عَلَّمَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ ٢ خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ ٣
The Most Compassionate taught the Quran, created humanity. (Al-Quran, Surah Ar-Rahman, 27:1 - 27:3)
While Al-Barr is only present in Quranonce, these names highlight the quality that Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is the provider of health and wealth. He is generous to everyone, independent of their deeds. He is forgiving and loves to do so. May Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ forgive all of us. Ameen.
Al-Barr has been mentioned in the Quran only once. Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ says in Surat at-Tur (52:28): “Verily, We used to invoke Him (Alone and none else) before. Verily, He is Al-Barr, the Most Merciful.”’
Our Propet (ﷺ) was kind and taught people about the kindness of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ on several occasions. 'A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: 'A'isha, verily Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it (kindness). (Sahih Muslim 2593)
We all should follow the great quality of kindness and generosity of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. As Quran says:
۞وَٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَلَا تُشۡرِكُواْ بِهِۦ شَيۡـٔٗاۖ وَبِٱلۡوَٰلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَٰنٗا وَبِذِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱلۡجَارِ ذِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡجَارِ ٱلۡجُنُبِ وَٱلصَّاحِبِ بِٱلۡجَنۢبِ وَٱبۡنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَٰنُكُمۡۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخۡتَالٗا فَخُورًا
“Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveller, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.” (Surah An-Nisa:36)
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful. If you show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show mercy to you.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4941)