The Ninety-Nine Names · the 81st name
الْمُنْتَقِم
Al-Muntaqim
The Avenger of wrong
- The rootن ق م
- From the rootnaqama: to take retribution, to exact what is due for a wrong
The essay
This Name never appears in the Qur'an detached from a cause. It is always retribution from the criminals, after the signs, after the reminder, after the deferral. The Book does not present a God who is angry by temperament; it presents one who is slow, who defers to an appointed term, and who does not let the account be closed unpaid. Justice without this is sentiment, and every victim knows the difference.
In the Qur'an
وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ ثُمَّ أَعۡرَضَ عَنۡهَآۚ إِنَّا مِنَ ٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ مُنتَقِمُونَ
And who does greater wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of his Lord and then turns away from them? We will exact retribution from the criminals.
this Name is in the Qur’an
What it asks of you
If you were wronged and nothing happened, nothing has happened yet. That is not an invitation to take it up yourself.
Read beside it
The words