Ad-Darr
Ad-Darr is the Distresser — the One by whose decree harm may reach whom He wills, never outside His wisdom.
Name 91 of 99
الضَّارُّ
Ad-Darr
The Distresser
- In Arabic
- الضَّارُّ
- Transliteration
- Ad-Darr
- Position in the list
- Name 91 of 99
Ad-Darr — The Distresser
What the name means
Darr is harm. Scholars are careful here: the name is never used alone, because Allah's acts are wholly good even when their effect on a servant is painful, and evil is not attributed to Him as a description.
It is not in the Quran as a noun; it enters the ninety-nine through at-Tirmidhi, always paired with An-Nafi'.
Where Ad-Darr comes from
Ad-Darr does not appear in the Quran as a standalone name. It reaches the famous list of ninety-nine through the narration of at-Tirmidhi, and its meaning is established by the Quran in other words — through verbs and related forms rather than the name itself. Scholars accepted such names on that basis; this page marks the distinction rather than hiding it.
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and both are agreed upon. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about Ad-Darr
Ad-Darr (الضَّارُّ) means "The Distresser". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Not as a standalone name. Ad-Darr reaches the list of ninety-nine through at-Tirmidhi's narration, while its meaning is established in the Quran through verbs and related forms. This page says so plainly rather than attaching a verse that does not contain it.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Darr" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 91 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.