Al-Karim
Al-Karim is the Most Generous — the One who gives before being asked, and who does not reproach the one who asks.
Name 42 of 99
الْكَرِيمُ
Al-Karim
The Most Generous
- In Arabic
- الْكَرِيمُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Karim
- Position in the list
- Name 42 of 99
Al-Karim — The Most Generous
What the name means
Karam in Arabic joins two things: abundance in giving and nobility in the manner of it. A karim gives much, gives without being begged, and does not remind you afterwards that he gave.
The Quran uses the name at the moment of confronting human ingratitude: O man, what has deceived you concerning your Lord, the Karim? The choice of name is the argument.
Al-Karim in the Quran
The 2 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Karim really is in each verse it is cited from.
قَالَ ٱلَّذِى عِندَهُۥ عِلْمٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ أَنَا۠ ءَاتِيكَ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ ۚ فَلَمَّا رَءَاهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُۥ قَالَ هَٰذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّى لِيَبْلُوَنِىٓ ءَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ ۖ وَمَن شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّى غَنِىٌّۭ كَرِيمٌۭ
The one who had knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ So when he saw it set near him, he said, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me if I will give thanks or be ungrateful. Whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful [should know that] my Lord is indeed all-sufficient, all-generous.’
Surah An-Naml 27:40Read the full surah →يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ ٱلْكَرِيمِ
O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord,
Surah Al-Infitar 82:6Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. 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 Al-Karim
Al-Karim (الْكَرِيمُ) means "The Most Generous". 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.
Yes. This page cites 2 verses containing Al-Karim, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Karim" — 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 42 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.