Al-Khafid

The root. Al-Khafid comes from kh-f-d, the root behind khafḍ, lowering something, bringing it down from a higher position. The root is used both physically, for lowering an object, and, in a well-known idiom, for lowering one's wing in gentleness toward one's parents — so the same root spans harsh abasement and gentle deference, depending entirely on context.

What it means here. Al-Khafid is understood as the one who lowers and humbles — bringing down the arrogant, the unjust, and the falsely exalted, regardless of the standing they claimed for themselves. It is paired, as a matter of course, with its direct opposite, Ar-Rafi, the Exalter: together they describe Allah's control over every rank and status in creation, raising some and lowering others by a measure no worldly power decides.

Where it is met. The exact word Al-Khafid does not appear as a name in the Quran. A related word from the same root does: Surah al-Waqi'ah opens by describing the coming Day as khāfiḍatun rāfiʿah — abasing, exalting — pairing the same two roots to describe that event, though the verse names an occurrence rather than titling Allah with either word directly.