By. Dr. Amir Parviz Parsa
Introduction:
It is the purpose of this brief article to show the Mercy of Allah (swt) from the Holy Quran and the Hadith. Every righteous believer already knows the magnificent Mercy of Allah (swt); yet, it is proper to once a while remind ourselves about this undeniable fact.
Verse 12 of Surah 6 reminds us, that Allah (swt) enjoined upon Himself to have Mercy upon His Creation. He did NOT have to do this; yet, he did.
| قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ قُل لِلّهِ كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ |
| Say: “To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?” Answer: “To Allah. He hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. That He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment, there is no doubt whatever. It is they who have lost their own souls, that will not believe. |
One hundred and thirteen chapters of the Holy Quran start with the phrase:
“In the Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful”, All Surahs but the ninth.
But Surah Nam’l (27) has two such phrases in it, one at the beginning, as usual, and the other in the chapter when Prophet Solomon writes a letter in His Holy Name.
Verse 156 of Surah 7 reads:
| وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَـذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَـا إِلَيْكَ قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاء وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَـاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونََ |
| … With my Punishment I visit whom I will; but My Mercy extends to all things; That mercy I shall ordain for those who do right, and practice regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs;- |
The phrase Kindest of Kinds (Arham al-Raahemeen أرحم الراحمين) is used in the Holy Quran in many different verses such as: Verse 151 of Surah 7,
| قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلأَخِي وَأَدْخِلْنَا فِي رَحْمَتِكَ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ |
| Moses prayed: “O my Lord! forgive me and my brother! admit us to Thy mercy! for Thou art the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!” |
and Ayah 118 of Surah 23:
| وَقُل رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ |
| So say: “O my Lord! grant Thou forgiveness and mercy for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy!” |
Verse 43 of Surah 33 indicates that Allah’s mercy is for all His creatures:
| هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا |
| He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers. |
But for those who believe and trust in Him, there are special mercies, a generous reward, as mentioned in the next verse 44 of the same Surah (33).
| تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَامٌ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَرِيمًاَ |
| Their salutation on the Day they meet Him will be “Peace!”; and He has prepared for them a generous Reward. |
Angels who celebrate the Praises of their Lord, pray, according to verse 5 of Surah 42: “for forgiveness for all beings on earth.”
| تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِن فَوْقِهِنَّ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ أَلَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ |
| The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them (by Him Glory): and the angels celebrate the Praises of their Lord, and pray for forgiveness for (all) beings on earth: Behold! Verily Allah is He, the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. |
Behold, then, when you hear that you CANNOT count all blessings of God Almighty! Had it occurred to you that Allah has commanded His Angels to pray for all of us who are on the planet earth, if you didn’t know that from the Holy Quran?
Verse 31 of Surah 4 tells us:
| إِن تَجْتَنِبُواْ كَبَآئِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُم مُّدْخَلاً كَرِيمًاَ |
| “If you but eschew the most heinous of the things which you are forbidden to do, We shall expel out of you all the evil in you, and admit you to a Gate of great honor”. |
Verse 87 of Surah 12 reminds us of not ever giving up our hopes for the Mercy of Allah and His Forgiveness, as has Prophet Jacob admonished his children. In fact, the latter part of the verse specifically and clearly indicates to us:
| يَا بَنِيَّ اذْهَبُواْ فَتَحَسَّسُواْ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلاَ تَيْأَسُواْ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ
إِنَّهُ لاَ يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ |
| “… Never give up hope of God’s Soothing mercy: truly No one despairs of God’s Soothing Mercy, except those who have no faith.” |
The very fact that God has sent the Books and Angels, plus Guidance for us in the form of various Holy Books and Messengers, is in itself indicative of the Mercy of God logically; otherwise, how could we all expect to have criteria with which we should be guided to the light?
Thus Allah’s everlasting blessings upon us all is with His Guidance into the realm of spiritual world, He has indeed helped us towards attainment of the blissful success (Falaah).
Throughout the Holy Quran, Allah reminds us of the fact also that He forgives all the sins of humanity except for those who believe in partners for Him. See verse 53 of Surah 39 in this regard:
| قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ |
| Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. |
Verse 48 of Surah 4, and 116 of the same Surah indicate that the only unforgivable sin is to believe in partners for God.
| إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا |
| Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. |
Verse 10 of Surah 14 tells us:
| قَالَتْ رُسُلُهُمْ أَفِي اللّهِ شَكٌّ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِيَغْفِرَ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرَكُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَـمًّى قَالُواْ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَصُدُّونَا عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَآؤُنَا فَأْتُونَا بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ |
| “…. It is He Who invites you, in order that He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a term appointed…” |
Throughout the Holy Quran we also note that Allah (swt) can and has punished many nations for their aggressions, atrocities, and arrogance. You have seen in the Holy Quran that Flood was sent to the rebellious people at the time of Prophet Noah, Tornado to the Nation of Aad, Sudden Punishment to the nation of Thamud; Earthquake upon people who were not listening to Prophet Lot, and drowning in the sea for followers of Pharaoh for their cruelty and not following the advice of Prophet Moses.
If one thinks carefully about such incidents of the past, as revealed in the Holy Quran, one can easily understand that allowing humanity to get rid off evil-doers is itself a blessing and Mercy of Allah upon the remaining ones.
A well known Hadith by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) admonishes us:
| إرحموا من في الأرض يرحمكم من في السماء |
| Be merciful to him who is on earth, so that He who is in Heaven will be merciful unto you |
A Qudsi Hadith quoted by al-Bukhari, Al-Nisaa’i, and Ibn Maajeh says:
“When Allah decreed the Creation, He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with him: My Mercy prevails over My wrath.”
Another Qudsi Hadith, also quoted by Muslim, as well as Bukhari, al-Nisaa’i, and Ibn Maajeh says:
“A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him, he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter my ashes into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then Allah Commanded the earth to produce what it had taken—and there that person was! And Allah said to him: What induced you to do what you did? The man answered: Being afraid of you. O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You because of my sins) and because of what that man had said Allah forgave him.”
Imam Al-Husain expresses so poetically in his Du’aa of Arafat just before heading towards Karbala:
| يا مَنْ عَفا عَنْ عَظيمِ الذُّنُوبِ بِحِلْمِهِ، يا مَنْ اَسْبَغَ النَّعْمآءَ بِفَضْلِهِ، يا مَنْ اَعْطَى الْجَزيلَ بِكَرَمِهِ، يا عُدَّتى فى شِدَّتى، يا صاحِبى فى وَحْدَتى، يا غِياثى فى كُرْبَتى، يا وَلِيّى فى نِعْمَتى، يا اِلهى وَاِلهَ آبائى… |
| O He who pardons the greatest sins by His clemency!
O He who lavishes blessings by His bounty! O He who gives abundance by His generosity! O Sustenance to me in my adversity! O Companion to me in my solitude! O The Aid to me in my affliction! O Benefactor to me in my blessing! O my God and God of my fathers….. |
Imam Ali in his famous Du’aa Kumayl says:
| فَاِلَيْكَ يا رَبِّ نَصَبْتُ وَجْهي وَاِلَيْكَ يا رَبِّ مَدَدْتُ يَدي،
فَبِعِزَّتِكَ اسْتَجِبْ لي دُعائي وَبَلِّغْني مُنايَ وَلا تَقْطَعْ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ رَجائي، وَاكْفِني شَرَّ الْجِنِّ وَالاِْنْسِ مِنْ اَعْدائي، يا سَريعَ الرِّضا اِغْفِرْ لِمَنْ لا يَمْلِكُ إلاّ الدُّعاءَ فَاِنَّكَ فَعّالٌ لِما تَشاءُ، يا مَنِ اسْمُهُ دَواءٌ وَذِكْرُهُ شِفاءٌ وَطاعَتُهُ غِنىً، اِرْحَمْ مَنْ رَأْسُ مالِهِ الرَّجاءُ وَسِلاحُهُ الْبُكاءُ، يا سابِـغَ النِّعَمِ، يا دافِعَ النِّقَمِ، يا نُورَ الْمُسْتَوْحِشينَ فِي الظُّلَمِ، يا عالِماً لا يُعَلَّمُ، صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّد وَآلِ مُحَمَّد وَافْعَلْ بي ما اَنْتَ اَهْلُهُ وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلى رَسُولِهِ وَالاَْئِمَّةِ الْمَيامينَ مِنْ آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْليماً كَثيراً . |
| So, my Lord! Towards Thee I look up earnestly
And towards Thee, my Lord! I have stretched forth my hands bullet bullet O’ Knowledgeable! Who knows without being taught! Bless Muhammad and the Descendants of Muhammad And do unto me in accordance with what befits Thee, And deal with me not in accordance to my worth, May Your blessings be bestowed upon Your Apostle and the Rightful Imams from his Descendants and Your peace be upon them aplenty |
CONCLUSION:
Mercy of Allah is unlimited and infinite. Count on it. He has sent Prophets, Holy books, angles, and the criteria to guide us all as humanity. For those of us who have learned how to repent of our sins, as Adam, Moses, Jonah, and others did for their sins, He forgives.
We shall never ever lose our hope in Allah’s forgiveness. Signs of His forgiveness of our sins are many and numerous. Verses were quoted from the Holy Quran and Hadith which are all indicative of His Infinite Mercy. Allah is The Most Merciful, The Most Kind, The Most Gracious, and The Most Compassionate. No merciful human being, Jinn, and angel can surpass the degree of Mercy of Allah. We must constantly be cognizant of His Mercy, and His Infinite unlimited Kindness beyond our wildest imagination. We should try earnestly to avoid sins, but if we did it inadvertently, we must never lose hope of His possible forgiveness. Although no one among the human beings is perfect and without sins currently, we lose sight of the fact that He can forgive.
If we believe in Allah, in His Books, in His Prophets, in His Angels, in the Unseen, and in His Day of Resurrection, and try to obey His orders: His commands in doing good and avoiding the forbidden things, and if we do good while we have faith, we should never give up our hopes in His Grace and Mercy upon us.
He has indeed prepared paradise for his faithful obedient servants with plenty of Blessings and Mercy upon them. May He save all of us from the hellfire by His unlimited Grace and May He strengthen our faith during our life on this planet earth, and May He protect us from the temptations of Satan, so much so that we would rightly deserve His Forgiveness and Paradise, and to end up saying to our folks on the Day of Judgment: “Come read My Book” while we take pride in it, Amen.
