Mercy fuels compassion, providing promising glints of light in a darkened world. It's kindness, forward forgiveness, and empathy. Mercy chooses not to be offended, and compassionately sees a hurting heart behind hurtful words.
But do we show mercy to someone who has wronged us and do we forgive him? If we cannot, how can we ask for mercy from Allah for we are never merciful ourselves? Once a person told Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that he had ten children, but had never kissed any of them. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ looked at him and said, “He who does not have mercy will not have mercy upon him.”
This is same very theme of the Hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as mentioned Jami` at-Tirmidhi (Book # 27 Chapters on Righteousness and Maintaining Good Relations with Relatives كتاب البر والصلة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم/ Chapter # 16 What Has Been Related About Being Merciful with People باب مَا جَاءَ فِي رَحْمَةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ) as Hadith number # 1924
Abdullah bin 'Amr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عُمَرَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي قَابُوسَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الرَّاحِمُونَ يَرْحَمُهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ ارْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ الرَّحِمُ شُجْنَةٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ فَمَنْ وَصَلَهَا وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَهَا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ ". قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
"The merciful are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman. Be merciful on the earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens. The womb is named after Ar-Rahman, so whoever connects it, Allah connects him, and whoever severs it, Allah severs him."
That is unless we show mercy to others, Allah will never be merciful to us. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always exhibited mercy and showed restraint when he could have punished someone who wronged him. On the capture of Makkah, he forgave all polytheists who left no stone unturned to harm him morally, physically and mentally when he proclaimed to be a prophet and invited them to Islam. When people of Taif stoned him and he was bleeding profusely, Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) came and asked his permission to uproot the mountain and throw on the cruel people of Taif. But the mercifulness of the Prophet of Allah did not allow revenge. That is why it is mentioned in Quran that:
“And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds.” (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:107)
In the Hadith quoted above, one of the leading attributes of Allah Ar Rahman (الرحمن) - The Beneficent, Most Kind and Gracious has been used. This attribute coupled with another attribute Ar Rahim (الرحيم) - The Most Merciful, show infinite mercy and graciousness of Allah. And Allah promises to be merciful to those who show mercy to His creation, especially all the living beings including humans, animals and birds. So let us show mercy to others so that Allah showers His blessings and mercy on us.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
This post is part of series of posts on the subject of: Are you among the best Muslims, as mentioned by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Please refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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