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Allah's Mercy upon the Creation
Shaykh Salih bin Humayd [(Muharram 15,
1423 (March 29, 2002)]
All praise is
due to Allaah. May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, his household
and companions.
Fellow Muslims!
Fear Allaah and take lessons from those who have gone before you. They
have been taken away by death and you will certainly follow them. Allaah
says,
“Have they
not travelled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to
understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily, it is not the eyes that
grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow
blind.”
(Al-Hajj 22:46)
Dear Muslims!
Mankind are in need of mercy of the Merciful Lord as they are in need of
love and compassion. They are in need of a forbearing one who can tolerate
their ignorance and weakness. They are in need of a big heart that can
give and not take, and that can alleviate their distress and sorrow and
not add to it.
Indeed, apathy
relegates man to the position of animal or makes him look like a lifeless
tool or stone. Man is distinguished from other things by his heart and
soul and not only by his flesh and bone. It is by soul and heart that he
feels, reacts, shows compassion and feels pains. Mercy is a perfect
quality in the human nature that makes man feel the pain of others and
makes him try to remove that pain, as it makes him overlook people’s
faults, wish for their guidance and excuse them. Compassion is a
manifestation of a perfect nature and good manners that makes man act
righteously and sees him through the crises. The Messenger of Allaah said,
“Allaah makes mercy one hundred parts. He revealed a part thereof to the
earth. It is by this single part that the creatures show compassion among
themselves, that is why you see an animal raises up its hoof so as not to
harm its young.”
Mercifulness is
an attribute of our Lord that befits His Majesty and does not resemble
that of His creatures in any way. He is the Most-Merciful of those who
show mercy and his mercy encompasses everything. The angels of mercy,
while invoking for the believers, praise their Lord by this great
attribute. They say,
“Our Lord,
You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge. So, forgive those who
repent and follow Your way and save them from the torment of the blazing
fire.”
(Ghaafir 40:7)
Umar said: Some captives were brought
to the Messenger of Allaah and there was a woman among them whose breasts
were full of milk. Suddenly, this woman saw an infant in the midst of the
captives. She took hold of it, brought it into her bosom and started
suckling it. The Prophet then told the companions, “Do you think that this
woman would throw her child in the fire?” We said, “No, By Allaah she
would not, if she is able not to.” He then said, “Allaah the Exalted is
more merciful with His slave that this woman with her child.” (Al-Bukhaaree)
Brethren in
Faith! Allaah’s mercy is the link between Him and His slaves. It is out of
His mercy that He sent Messengers and revealed Books to them. It is also
by His mercy that He will reward those who believe and do good deeds.
Allaah says,
“O mankind!
There has come to you a good advice from your Lord and a healing for that
(disease) which is in your breasts – a guidance and a mercy for the
believers.”
(Yoonus 10:57)
The rightly
guided believers get mercy in accordance with their guidance. The more a
slave is guided, the more his portion of Allaah’s mercy will be. It is
through mercy that Allaah ordained commandments and prohibitions and
created undesirables in this world so that man would not rely on the
pleasure of this life but rather seek for the bliss of the Hereafter. He
sent His Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to mankind and He says,
“And We have
sent you not (O Muhammad) but as a mercy for the worlds.”
(Al-Anbiyaa
21:107)
Allaah sent him
with a knowledgeable and kind heart; a good conduct, compassionate nature
and generous hand. He is the most compassionate of Allaah’s slaves and
most patient. Allaah says about him,
“And by the
mercy of Allaah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and
harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you.”
(Aal ‘Imraan
3:159)
Islaam is also a message of blessing,
peace and mercy for all mankind. Islaam calls unto mutual compassion and
makes that a sign of faith. When a compassionate and good-hearted Muslim
meets people, he becomes generous with them and strives to alleviate their
sufferings. The Messenger of Allaah said, “You can never be (true)
believers until you show mercy to one another.” The companions said, “We
all show mercy, O Messenger of Allaah!” The Prophet replied, “It is not
the compassion that anyone of you shows to his friend. It is the
compassion and mercy that you show to the people in general.” (At-Tabaraanee)
You are not required to show mercy to
your acquaintances only but to the generality of people and the sayings of
the Prophet shows this. He said in one of these sayings, “Allaah does not
show mercy to him who does not show mercy to people.” (Al-Bukhaaree and
Muslim)
Ibn Battaal
said, “This hadeeth encourages showing mercy to all creatures including
the believer, the unbeliever, the animals, the slaves and others. It also
includes feeding the needy, assisting others to carry their loads and not
oppressing others by even beating.”
Fellow Muslims!
Allaah’s mercy is sought through obeying Him and His Messenger and
standing firm on the matter of Islaam. Allaah says,
“And obey
Allaah and the Messenger that you may attain mercy.”
(Aal ‘Imraan
3:132)
It is also
sought through the fear of Allaah, He says,
“And fear
Allaah that you may receive mercy.”
(Al-Hujuraat
49:10)
Mercy can also
be attained through observance of prayers, paying Zakaah, enjoining good
and forbidding evil. Allaah says,
“The
believers, men and women are supporters of one another; they enjoin (on
the people) all that is good and forbid all that is evil; they perform
prayer, give the zakaat and obey Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah will
have mercy on them. Surely, Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”
(At-Tawbah
9:71)
Man, because of
his sins and shortcomings, is in need of Allaah’s mercy. Allah says,
“Why seek
you not the forgiveness of Allaah that you may receive mercy.”
(An-Naml 27:46)
Also, one of the major causes of
Allaah’s mercy is to show mercy to His slaves. The Prophet said, “Those
who show mercy to their fellow beings will be shown mercy by the Merciful
Lord. So, show mercy to those on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will
show mercy to you.” (At-Tirmidhee)
It is for this
reason that a believer who is strong in his faith is distinguished by
kind-heartedness. He has compassion for the distressed and the poor, aids
the wronged and hates crimes. He is always a source of good and peace for
those around him.
Fellow Muslims! Since this is so,
one’s parents are the most deserving of one’s mercy. Being kind to them
brings mercy and happiness. They are followed by one’s children. Usaamah
bin Zayd said, “The Messenger of Allaah would sit me on his thigh and sit
Al-Hasan on his other thigh and then say: O my Lord, I am compassionate
with them, so show mercy to them.” (Al-Bukhaaree)
There are however some people whose
hearts are devoid of compassion and are harsh in their behaviour and
words. The Messenger of Allaah once kissed Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn in the
presence of Al-‘Aqra‘ bin ‘Aabis. Al-‘Aqra‘ said, “I have ten children and
I have never kissed any of them.” The Prophet then looked at him and said,
“He, that does not show mercy to others will not be shown mercy.” (Al-Bukhaaree
and Muslim)
The rights of
kith and kin are also connected with those of the parents. The Messenger
of Allaah said, “Bond of kinship is a branch of mercy, so whoever
maintains it, Allaah protects him and whoever severs it, Allaah will cut
him off.” A Muslim should not cut his relationship with his relatives by
not assisting them or commiserating with them in times of hardship.
Surely, harshness and severing the bond of kinship deprive one of Allaah’s
blessings and favour and expose one to His wrath.
Among acts that bring mercy are
treating servants and employees in the best possible way, being gentle
with them and over-looking their shortcomings. One should not maltreat
them, force them to do what they cannot or laugh at them. For, when Allaah
gives one an authority over something and misuses it, He withdraws it and
that can lead him to undesirable ending. Anas bin Maalik said, “I served
the Messenger of Allaah for ten years and he never rebuked me once or told
me about something that I did: Why did you do that? or something I did not
do: Why did you leave that?” (Muslim)
In another Hadeeth, a man came to the
Prophet and asked him: How many times should I overlook the errors of my
servant? The Prophet replied: “70 times in a day.” (Abu Daawood)
There are
however some heartless and cruel people who exploit the weakness of the
servants and inflict all kinds of harm on them. It is about these people
that the Prophet said, “Whoever beats a person with a whip wrongfully,
revenge will be taken on him on the Day of Resurrection.”
Taking care of
the sick and the disabled also brings mercy, for they live an incomplete
life and are unable to achieve their aims because of their conditions. We
should therefore, be gentle with them and beware of harming them. Cruelty
in dealing with them is a great sin for Allaah says,
“No blame is
there upon the blind nor is there blame or sin upon the lame, nor is there
blame or sin upon the sick.”
(Al-Fath 48:17)
As for the children, they are also in
need of special care and compassion. The Messenger of Allaah said, “He who
does not show compassion to our young ones or recognizes the honour of our
elderly ones is not of us.” (Ahmad and Tirmidhee)
Brethren in
Faith! Islaamic injunctions and teachings pertaining to showing compassion
do not restrict it to fellow human beings alone but commands that we
extend it to animals as well. Paradise was opened for a whore who fed a
dog with water and her sins were forgiven while conversely, a woman was
made to enter the Fire for her detention of a cat with no food until it
died.
If showing
mercy to a dog could remove the sins of a whore, then showing mercy to
mankind should perform wonders. Conversely, if detaining a cat could earn
a woman Hellfire, then how much more could wrongful detention of innocent
human beings earn!
Islaam also
takes care of animals even to the point of slaughtering. The Prophet said,
“Allaah prescribes kindness in everything: when you kill an animal, kill
it with kindness and when you slaughter an animal, slaughter it with
kindness. Let the slaughterer amongst you sharpen his knife and give his
slaughtered animal the least pain.”
Fellow Muslims!
Mutual showing of mercy fosters unity as excessive fun weakens the hearts
and does not let one feel the pain of others and their distress. A man
came to the Messenger of Allaah complaining about his hard heart. The
Prophet told him: “Do you want to soften your heart? Show mercy to the
orphans, rub your hand on his head in compassion and feed him from your
food, your heart will become soft.” It is only from the heart of the
unfortunate one that mercy is removed. Allaah said,
“Is it they
who would portion out the mercy of your Lord? It is We Who portion out
their livelihood in this world, and We raise some of them above others in
rank, so that some may employ others in their work. But the Mercy of your
Lord is better than the (wealth of this world) which they amass.”
(Az-Zukhruf
43:32)
Brethren in
Faith! Mercy is not mere affection with no compassion, sense of justice
and orderliness. It is rather a quality that recognizes the rights of all.
When a doctor performs surgery or amputates the limb of a sick person, he
only does that for the greater benefit of the sick and out of compassion
for him and in order to get him healed. So is the implementation of
Islaamic legal punishments that aims at stopping the insolent fellows from
continuing in their shameless acts and force them to follow the right
course. This is mercy in its actual sense. Allaah says,
“And there
is a (saving of) life for you in the Law of Equality in punishment, O men
of understanding, that you may become pious.”
(Al-Baqarah
2:179)
Showing
compassion to the criminals is major act of cruelty to the whole society
and encouragement for the criminals to continue their shameless acts. That
is why the Qur’aan calls this kind of compassion a pity and does not call
it mercy. Allaah says,
“Let not
pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allaah.”
(An-Noor 24:2)
The sternness
that Islaam abhors is the one that does not help in actualizing justice or
preventing evil deeds but which is mere harshness that emanates from
perverted manner or whimsical desires.
One may however
wonder how can a Muslim be stern with the disbelievers while conversely
being compassionate to believers as shown in this verse,
“Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allaah. And those who are with him are severe against
disbelievers and merciful among themselves.”
(Al-Fath 48:29)
The fact of the
matter is that, Islaam came with comprehensive mercy that excludes no man
or animal. But there are some men and animals that pose danger and terror
to the whole mankind. Therefore, it is in the interest of mankind to stop
the evils of those men and animals as a token of compassion for them and
for the rest of the creation.
Islaam is a
message of peace, blessing and mercy for all the worlds, but there are
some creatures who would not let the world have this peace and mercy. It
then becomes inevitable to stop those creatures and prevent them from
disturbing the peace of other creatures. Allaah says,
“My Mercy
embraces all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who are pious
and give zakaah and those who believe in Our signs. Those who follow the
Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad)”
(Al-A’raaf
7:157)
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