Sunday, April 6, 2008

God's Mercy

Peace of God and His mercy to you.

Allah is so merciful. He is a fair judge, a fair God. The Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, said:
There was a man before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the most learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: No. He killed him also and thus completed one hundred. He then asked about the most learned person of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: Yes; what stands between you and the repentance? You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to the Prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land (for you). So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitent and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn nearer. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go (the land of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of him. Source: al-islam

One should not complain, shout or curse when facing a hardship. One should believe in God's mercy:
Sa'd bin 'Ubadah complained of illness. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came to visit him accompanied by 'Abdul-Rahman bin 'Auf, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud. As he entered (his room) he found him in a swoon. Upon this he asked: Has he died? They said: Messenger of Allah, it is not so. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) wept. When the people saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) weeping, they also began to weep. He said: Listen, Allah does not punish for the tears that the eye sheds or the grief the heart feels, but He punishes for this (pointing to his tongue), or He may show mercy. Source: al-islam

In the month of Ramadan, God's mercy manifests. The Prophet says:
When there comes the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained. Source: al-islam

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, reported:
Some persons among the polytheists had committed a large number of murders and had excessively indulged in fornication. Then they came to Muhammad (may peace be upon him) and said: Whatever you assert and whatever you call to is indeed good. But if you would inform us that there is atonement of our past deeds (then we would embrace Islam). Then it was revealed:
And those who invoke not any other ilâh (god) along with Allâh, nor kill such life as Allâh has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment. Al Furqan 25:68
And it was also revealed:
Say: "O 'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh" Az Zumar 39:53
Source: al-islam

The Prophet assures that God is merciful:
When Allah created the creation He put down in his Book, which is with Him upon the Throne: Verily, My mercy predominates My wrath. Source: al-islam

He also said about God's mercy:
Allah made mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nine parts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this one part that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal lifts up its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might hurt it. Source: al-islam

God says in the Holy Quran:
And when those who believe in Our revelations come unto thee, say: Peace be unto you! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself mercy, that whoso of you doeth evil through ignorance and repenteth afterward thereof and doeth right, (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Al Anaam 6:54

And He says:
Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn, He would hasten on the doom for them; but theirs is an appointed term from which they will find no escape. The Cave 18:58

He is the great merciful:
Your God is One God; there is no God save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Cow 2:163

In the end...
Do not lose faith in God's mercy:
Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Az Zumar 39:53