وَاللّٰهُ رَءُوۡفٌۢ بِالۡعِبَادِ
"... He is the most tender towards His servants" [3:30]
Allah is The One whose gentleness, kindness and mercy are beyond understanding as exhibited in Surah 9. At-Tauba: 117:
لَـقَدْ تَّابَ اللّٰهُ عَلَى النَّبِىِّ وَالۡمُهٰجِرِيۡنَ وَالۡاَنۡصَارِ الَّذِيۡنَ اتَّبَعُوۡهُ فِىۡ سَاعَةِ الۡعُسۡرَةِ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيۡغُ قُلُوۡبُ فَرِيۡقٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيۡهِمۡؕ اِنَّهٗ بِهِمۡ رَءُوۡفٌ رَّحِيۡمٌۙ
"Surely Allah has relented towards the Prophet, and towards the Muhajirun (Emigrants) and the Ansar (Helpers) who stood by him in the hour of hardship, although the hearts of a party of them had well-nigh swerved. (But when they gave up swerving from the Right Course and followed the Prophet), Allah relented towards them. Surely to them He is the Most Tender, the Most Merciful."
The above verse was revealed after the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions made some inadvertent lapses in connection with the Tabuk expedition and Allah forgave them in view of their excellent services. The inadvertent lapse made by the Prophet (peace be upon him) was that he had given leave to stay behind to those people who were able to take part in the Jihad. (Ayat 9:43).
This refers to those sincere companions who were at first somewhat unwilling to go to war on that critical occasion, but at last overcame their weakness, for they had true faith in their hearts and loved the right way.
That is, Allah will not take them to account for their wrong inclinations for He does not punish a man for that weakness which he himself has overcome and corrected.
Surah 22. Al-Hajj-65:
اَلَمۡ تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ سَخَّرَ لَـكُمۡ مَّا فِى الۡاَرۡضِ وَالۡـفُلۡكَ تَجۡرِىۡ فِى الۡبَحۡرِ بِاَمۡرِهٖ ؕ وَيُمۡسِكُ السَّمَآءَ اَنۡ تَقَعَ عَلَى الۡاَرۡضِ اِلَّا بِاِذۡنِهٖ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوۡفٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ
Have you not seen how Allah has subjected to you all that is in the earth, and the vessels that sail in the sea by His command, and it is He Who holds back the sky that it may not fall on earth except by His leave? Surely Allah is Most Gentle, Ever Compassionate to people.
Ra’oof comes from the root raa-hamza-faa, which points to three main meanings. The first main meaning is to be gentle, kind, and forgiving and the second is to be merciful and compassionate. The third main meaning is to show pity and tenderness.
This root appears 13 times in the Quran in two derived forms. Examples of these forms are rafatun (pity for them) and rafatan (compassion).
Linguistically, ra’fa refers to the tenderness, kindness, and affection with which Allah ‘azza wa jall bestows mercy on us. Al-Ghazali mentioned that Ar-Ra’oof has pity, and that pity is the intensification of mercy. It has the same meaning as Rahīm though in a more intense form. Ar-Ra’oof is the One who bestows pity and mercy on us in many different forms, including warnings and withholding, for us to be guided to success in this world and the next! [5]
Surah 57. Al-Hadid-9:
هُوَ الَّذِىۡ يُنَزِّلُ عَلٰى عَبۡدِهٖۤ اٰيٰتٍۭ بَيِّنٰتٍ لِّيُخۡرِجَكُمۡ مِّنَ الظُّلُمٰتِ اِلَى النُّوۡرِؕ وَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِكُمۡ لَرَءُوۡفٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ
"He it is Who sends down Clear Signs to His servant so as to bring you out from darkness into light. Surely Allah is Most Kind and Most Compassionate to you."
The word Ra'ūf indicates tender affection and is regarded as the utmost mercy and compassion, the ultimate limit of ar-Rahīm. The meaning is similar to ar-Rahīm, but focuses attention on the utmost tenderness, kindness and affection which accompanies the outpouring of mercy and compassion.
Thus Ar Ra'ūf is The One who bestows utmost tender mercy on the creation. He is the One whose compassion, affection, kindness and tenderness are beyond understanding.
we on our part must ensure that while we expect mercy and kindness from Allah, we too should exhibit this quality for being kind and merciful to others. For we cannot justify ourselves when on one hand we expect mercy and do not show mercy to others.
When one is in a position wherein people expect our tenderness and kindness, then we should handle people’s feelings with tenderness far beyond their imagination. In fact we should be proactive in showing kindness to others even when they may not be expecting it. Such acts can mould even the toughest of hearts and can bring harmony in society and inter relations.
You may refer to our post "99 Attributes of Allāh" for complete list of 99 attributes of Allah Almighty with meaning and explanation.
Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
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