The Mercy of Allah
Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Nov 16, 2018
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam! My khutba today is on a topic that is very dear to us; and that is ‘The Mercy of Allah (SWT).’ All the things we have learned about Islam—the beliefs, the laws, the ethics, the code of conduct and behavior, and the obligations we have to carry out, are important. These are things that we are supposed to learn and practice. But at times we become careless and negligent in doing what we are asked to do. When it comes to our relationship with Allah (SWT), does He punish us or take us to task for every mistake we make and every sin we commit? No!
Knowing that we are imperfect and commit mistakes throughout life, He makes it clear that people who make mistakes, but then return to Him in sincerity and ask for His forgiveness, will be forgiven. As long as people are sincerely sorry for what wrong they have done, they must never lose hope in Allah’s mercy regardless of the magnitude of their sins. This truth is emphasized in the following verse:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“ Say ‘O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah will forgive all sins. Indeed He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful” (al-Zumar, 39:53).
It has been narrated in a Hadith, which says, “Had human beings not committed any sin, Allah would have replaced this species with another species that would commit sin so that He could forgive them.” So, Allah wants to forgive us and He wants us to feel His mercy in this life and in the hereafter. One should not misunderstand this Hadith as a blanket sanction for committing sins. The emphasis of this Hadith is imperfection of human beings and its connection with Allah’s forgiveness and mercy. Unfortunately, much of the message what we are getting and what we are delivering to others is not the mercy, love and compassion of Allah. More often we are talking about the power and wrath of Allah and how we should fear Him. The Prophet (SAW) was told to convey to all people the good news that Allah keeps forgiving and is most merciful.
نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Tell My servants that I am indeed the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 15:49)
In order that we develop some appreciation of our relationship with Allah, listen to what Allah tells us in the Qur’an,
وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
“My mercy extends to all things.” (al-A’raf, 7:156)
And we learn through a Hadith Qudsi that says,
لَمَّا قَضَى اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابِهِ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي غَلَبَتْ غَضَبِي
“When Allah decreed the creation, he wrote in his Book with him on his Throne: My mercy prevails over my wrath.” Let us understand this phenomenon through an example. Just like in parental relationship with children, there are things children are supposed to do. There are ways the children are expected to behave. There are family rules, traditions, and norms. But, after all, when it comes to parental relationship, it is essentially based on mercy, love, and affection that often override other things.
It is a fact of life that the perception we develop about someone affects our behavior and relationship. If we are afraid of our parents, we may develop one type of relationship. If we develop the relationship based on love and affection, it would be totally different. We have seen that our perception and knowledge of Allah, especially the way we understand and the way we are presented information and ideas about Him, is primarily how powerful He is in His knowledge and in His ability to affect our lives here and in the hereafter. But is that the only way Allah wants us to know or perceive Him?
In the Qur’an, Allah has been identified in many different ways. We all know that there are at least ninety-nine attributes of Allah collected from the Qur’an and the ahadith. But Allah specifically chose only two of these by which we should be remembering Him every time we begin something or every time we take the first step toward something. He does not want us to begin something by remembering Him as al-Qahhar (the One besides Whose Might all creation is powerless) or al-Jabbar (the One Who forces His will on others. Nothing can happen in His domain except whatever He pleases) or by any other name.
There are only two attributes by which Allah wants us to remember Him every time we take a step in our life. What are those attributes? They are as we all know contained in “Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim“: ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim. According to Ibn al-Qayyim (Rahimahullah), the term Rahman implies the quality of abounding grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the concept of Allah’s Being, whereas Rahim expresses the manifestation of that grace, and its effect upon, His creation—in other words, an aspect of His activity.
So out of all the attributes of Allah that we might know or be familiar with, He wants us to remember Him by these two attributes. These attributes, therefore, are central to proper perception about Allah. The Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said that no man’s good deeds are enough to get him admitted into Paradise, but it is only by the mercy of Allah that people will enter Paradise. Our deeds are only the tools; the means to get close to Allah so that we can be hopeful of His mercy. Therefore, let us do our good deeds, let us have our correct faith, and let us perform our obligations as best as we can, but then leave the rest to Allah’s mercy; the same mercy that brings and binds us together as human beings.
Now, how do we develop an appreciation of the mercy or Rahmah of Allah? Allah has used certain examples for us to understand that. In this life, no one shows more unconditional love and affection than a mother. Nobody else! All other relationships are perhaps somewhat mixed and conditional. When it comes to mother’s love, it comes the closest to understanding the Rahmah of Allah. This is the understanding we get from the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
In one Hadith, it is reported that during one of the gatherings of the companions of the Prophet (SAW), there was a woman prisoner running anxiously to and fro in search of her missing child. When she found the child, she took it up in her lap, drew it close to her, and suckled it. The Prophet (SAW) asked his companions what they thought of that woman. He asked: Do you think this mother could ever throw her child into the fire? The companions replied, O Rasulullah, how can that be, possible? The Prophet (SAW) then said, if this is so, then do know that Allah loves His servants much more than this mother loves her child.
Let us do our good deeds. But with all our imperfections, we have hope because Allah is much more merciful than we actually perceive and appreciate. It is important to understand that Allah has not created us as perfect creatures so that we won’t make mistakes. Human beings are prone to make mistakes. The very first human being and his mate are perfect examples of our imperfection.
Therefore, Allah does not want perfection from us. Rather, He expects that from time to time, if we falter or make mistake, we should not follow the path of Shaytan and be arrogant and persistent in our mistake. Rather, we should follow the footsteps of our first parents Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them), which is, that we admit and recognize our mistakes, seek forgiveness and make a determined effort not to repeat the mistake again.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
My dear brothers and sisters! The closest we can think about how Allah feels toward us is, once again, the mother. It is important to be aware that the word Rahmah is the root of Allah’s two supreme attributes: ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim. The Arabic word for the womb is Rahm. Allah has brought us to this world through the same reproductive system, which in Arabic is named Rahm derived from the same root from which the two supreme attributes of Allah: ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim are derived. It then makes sense when Allah says, “My mercy extends to all things.” Allah Himself wants us to perceive and remember Him with His attributes of mercy.
So let our hearts be filled with mercy so that our family bonds can be better and stronger. So that when we hug our children or kiss them, when we embrace or hold them, when we pass our hands over their head, it is nothing less than the manifestation of Allah’s mercy flowing through us. In our da’wah and message, we also have to deliver this message of love and mercy. Proper understanding of this aspect of Allah has deeper implications for us as individuals and as communities.
Once touched by the mercy of Allah, our personality is transformed. We begin to have positive effects on our relationship at the family level. It would also be reflected in society’s political and economic dimension. Our relationship with neighbors, Muslims or non-Muslims, individuals or nations, would also be positively transformed. From domestic violence to political leadership, from social responsibility to economic development, from conflict resolution to interfaith relations, the implication of assimilating the message of mercy in our life is so pervasive.
The mercy and love that Allah has for us should prevent us to disobey Him and should motivate us to obey Him. Despite our best sincere efforts, if we falter, however badly, we always have hope for His mercy, forgiveness and love, as long as we are humble, submit to Him, and repent to Him. It is His Rahmah that is going to save us, not anything else, even though we do have to have right belief, and adequate good deeds. But Allah’s Rahmah is ultimately what we need.
Let us supplicate to the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Ya Allah! Ya Arhamar Rahimin! Have mercy on us above the earth; have mercy on us below the earth and have mercy on us on the Day when our deeds will be shown to us. And cause us to be merciful to one another. O Allah! We ask You for those things that lead to Your Mercy and Forgiveness. We ask You for safety from every vice; for achieving all that is good and righteous; for gaining entry into Paradise, and for being saved from the Hellfire. Allahumma Ameen.
