All-Encompassing Mercy

Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart. She looked around her and could not find him. She started breathing more heavily. Her eyes scanned her surroundings desperately, where she could see soldiers and captives, until suddenly, she caught a glimpse of his tiny body. She bolted towards and scooped him up as she wept, and then nursed him. Her whole body sighed in relief. Her baby was safe.

The Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) describes this scene in a famous hadith (narration) to give us a glimpse into God’s mercy. After witnessing this scene, the Prophet ﷺ asked the Companions, “Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?” And they said, “No, by Allah she would not, if she is able not to.” He ﷺ then said, “Allah the Exalted is more merciful with His slave than this woman with her child.” (Bukhari)

This is a universal example, one that most people can understand- the mercy of a mother towards her child. And not just any mother, but a mother faced with that situation. Allah is more merciful to His creation than that mother.

Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem

The first words that begin the journey through the Qur’an are: “In the Name of God, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful (ar-Rahman, ar-Raheem),” (1:1). We begin the journey of knowing God through His Mercy. This is the way in which God introduces Himself to us—not with the names that indicate majesty and strength. So in this journey of understanding Allah’s Names, it is only fitting that we speak of His all-encompassing mercy.

Rahman and Raheem both come from the same root of ra-haa-meem (ر-ح-م), which means “ar-riqqa wal-ta’atuf”—a combination of tenderness and compassion.

Ar-Rahman is the Entirely Merciful whose “All-inclusive mercy gives to both the worthy and unworthy. The mercy of God is perfect and all-inclusive. It is perfect in the sense that He not only wills the satisfaction of the needs of the needy but actually satisfies them. It is all-inclusive in that it includes the worthy and the unworthy, this life and that which is to come and encompasses the essentials, needs and advantages which go beyond them. Thus He is in truth the Compassionate absolutely,” (al-Ghazali).

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) says in the Qur’an, “He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne – the Most Merciful (ar-Rahman), so ask about Him one well informed.” (Qur’an, 25:59)

We are all recipients of Allah’s Mercy every single day. The plants, animals and humans. Men and women. Young and old. Muslim and non-Muslim. These mercies come in the form of all of the blessings in our lives, from the earth itself to our loved ones. Allah tells us, “And out of His mercy He made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and [by day] seek from His bounty and [that] perhaps you will be grateful,” (Qur’an, 28:73). These are the things that we don’t even realize, but we all benefit from. A cool breeze on a warm day. Rain after drought. The trees that purify the air for us. We are all recipients of this mercy.

Ar-Raheem is a more specific mercy towards the believers. For example, the mercy that descends during Ramadan is one only Muslims who believe in Ramadan can enjoy. And Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an, “It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful (Raheema)” (Qur’an, 33:43).
In order to understand this amazing mercy in the grand scheme of things, the Prophet ﷺ informs us that, “Allah has divided mercy into 100 parts, and He retained with Him 99 parts, and sent down to earth one part. Through this one part creatures deal with one another with compassion, so much so that an animal lifts its hoof over its young lest it should hurt it,” (Al-Bukhari).

When your mom shows affection towards you, or when your spouse covers you with a blanket lest you feel cold, remember that this is only a fraction of the one mercy that Allah (swt) sent down to earth. So imagine the mercy He has saved for the Day of Judgment!

Ar-Ra’uf

Ar-Ra’uf is “the One who has pity (on others), and pity is the intensification of mercy. Therefore it has the same meaning as rahim though in an intensified form, and the discussion of ar-rahim has already been presented,” (al-Ghazali).

So if Ra’uf is simply a more intensified form of mercy, what is the difference between Rahma and Ra’fa? Scholars have said that if a calamity hits you, one who is Merciful—Raheem—has mercy on you after that calamity. But Ra’uf is one who is so merciful, that his mercy extends before the calamity hits, and involves him taking care of you and warning you so that a calamity does not hit. Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi gives an example of a father who is protective of his children, and especially during the winter when he dresses them in warm clothes so that they do not suffer from the cold. That is ra’fa. Whereas a father whose heart aches because his child has become sick, and does everything to get the medicine to ease his child’s pain, is merciful—raheem. Imam al-Qushayri states that ra’fa is the highest form of mercy, where Allah protects His servants by warning them of the deeds the necessitate punishment.

It’s almost like Allah does not want us to have an ounce of doubt about His mercy towards us. His mercy is not only all-encompassing, with a special kind reserved for the believers, but He is telling us that His warnings to us, and His withholding from us is from an intense mercy. He does not want us to go through the hurt and pain had He not warned us.

But I face so many difficulties in my life…

I have explored the issue of calamities in these two articles: Why am I tested? And Will you turn away? So I will be brief here.

The culmination of Allah’s mercy is in the Paradise that He created, which the Prophet ﷺ described as a place “no eye has seen and no ear has heard and neither has the thought occurred in any person’s heart” (Bukhari). It is this place that we strive to be, where we understand that this is what our struggle was for. Yet Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an, “But you prefer the worldly life, While the Hereafter is better and more enduring,” (Qur’an, 87:16-17).

We will face difficulties, and this does not contradict Allah’s mercy. Some difficulties are simply challenges we need to overcome. Others seem to have no explanation.

As to the first kind, these challenges are there to strengthen us. There are some lessons we would not have learned without them. An Olympic champion only reaches that level by being pushed by his trainer. A child might wonder why a mother forces him to go to school everyday. But it is only so we can become the best that we can be. There is light at the end of the tunnel. These challenges bring us closer to Allah (swt) because we then realize that He is the only One who can help us. And at the end of it all, we are not tested with more than we can bear.

As to the second kind, Allah’s ra’fa is in His instructing us on what is the best way to be in this world. When we are faced with things we cannot explain, or suffering that seems too great, it is our responsibility to act. And Allah tells us how to act as His vicegerents on this earth. Every suffering will have its end, as “Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease” (Qur’an, 65:7). We will only be asked about what we did in the face of it.

And in all cases of difficulty, remember that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that,”  (Bukhari).

Living with this Name

Have Mercy on Others

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ 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, and He Who is in the heavens will show mercy to you,” (Tirmidhi). Be merciful in your interactions with people, and do not be harsh.

Learn the Things that Bring About Allah’s Mercy

There are some ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet ﷺ) where the Prophet ﷺ tells us what brings about Allah’s mercy:

“May Allah have mercy on a man who is kind when he buys, when he sells, and when he makes a demand,” (Bukhari) and, “May Allah have mercy on the man who gets up at night to pray and wakes up his wife to pray, and if she refuses, he sprinkles water in her face. And may Allah have mercy on the woman who gets up at night to pray, and wakes her husband up to pray, and if he refuses, she sprinkles water in his face,” (Abu Dawud).

Do Things that Increase the Mercy in Your Heart

Sometimes we can become numb to the suffering around us. We get so caught up in our lives that we lose the connection to other people, and therefore cannot empathize with their struggle. So, volunteer at a soup kitchen. Get involved with an organization that provides housing for the homeless. Give some of your time, energy and money to stand with people.

Follow the One who was Sent as a Mercy to the Worlds ﷺ

The best way to become a manifestation of Allah’s rahma is to study the life of the Prophet ﷺ and follow his example. The battle of Uhud was the most difficult battle for the Muslims. It was the battle in which they thought that they lost the Prophet ﷺ. In their panic and desperation, the companions asked the bleeding Prophet ﷺ to supplicate against their enemy. But he refused and said, “O Allah! Guide my people for they do not know!” These are lessons that we need to learn from.

Look at the Manifestations of Allah’s Mercy in your life, in Times When He has Given, and in Times When He has Withheld

Reflection is considered one of the greatest acts of worship. We are the benefactors of so many mercies, every day of our lives. Moreover, there are many times when something that is perceived as ‘bad’ turns out to be something good for us. So take the time to reflect on Allah’s mercy in your life—the times He protected you, the times He gave to you, and even the times He withheld from you.

The elevator came. I entered. Elevators in Egyptian apartment buildings often look makeshift; the small window in the elevator door gave me a fleeting glimpse of each floor, with concrete walls in between. It finally arrived – almost. The elevator was stuck midway between concrete wall and the actual floor. No problem, I thought, I’ll just push the door open, take a big step and I’ll make it insha’Allah (God willing).

But the door did not budge open. And no matter how much I yanked it, it would not open. It was completely shut. I pushed, jerked and rattled the door until I was faced with the horrifying realization that I was stuck. I began to panic; I was trapped in a dilapidated elevator in a building with absolutely no type of fire code and no type of emergency plan, in a country that does not have 911. I started pounding on the elevator door.

Making du`a’, I called my roommate. She ran out and tried to pull the door open. Stuck. Suddenly the same air I was breathing moments ago began to fade, and I felt complete terror. My roommate told me to press the button to another floor.

Allahu Musta`an (Allah is the Helper), how could I press the button to another floor? With a malfunctioning elevator, I could easily end up facing a concrete wall and find myself completely cut off from human help! I cannot explain how terrified I was. Perhaps somewhere deep down I felt insha’Allah everything would be okay, and looking back, this incident wasn’t really a big deal (with time, it became normal to get stuck, facing concrete, in the dark, just waiting for the elevator to work again).

But the reality of being in a foreign country, in an elevator where the emergency phone had no dial tone and the emergency button did not light up, despite desperately pounding it, sunk in fast. I could barely hear my roommate as she called out for me not to worry, and I realized how close I really was to death.

It’s as if you’re in the grave. You can see everything; you can feel everything; you can’t do anything to help yourself physically. No matter how hard you bang, you can’t get out; no matter how much you scream, no one else can help you. You’re just stuck, faced with the shock of your nearing end. A square that’s big enough to fit your body, caving in on you as you realize you have not done enough good, you did not repent enough, you were distracted in the last salah of your life, you have a mountain of sins to quit committing, self-reform to work on, and a world full of people you have not yet told you appreciate and need to ask for forgiveness from.

Pure terror is the best description I can think of for the reality of pounding on the only way to exit. You realize that no matter how much you try to escape, and how much others try to help, in the end it’s just you, your belief and actions, (or lack thereof) and Al Haaqqah (the Reality).

My sisters and brothers, I can’t imagine what it’s like when the time for salah is in but you put it off or miss it altogether, or when you scream at your mom who gave her life for you. Or despairing in Allah when deep down you know He is Ar Rahman (the Beneficient)…

In that moment when death hits, you don’t have time to repent. Your soul is taken and you experience deep, painful, immeasurable regret that missing salah wasn’t a one-time slip up, but a lifestyle that only one individual was responsible for, and then facing the reality that that one individual was you. But it’s too late, you’re stuck, you scream and all but the people and jinn hear you, and the Rabb al-`Alameen (the Lord of all the worlds), the Rahman ar-Raheem (the Beneficient, the Merciful), Al ‘Afu (the Eraser of sins), Al Ghaffar (the Forgiver) and Al Ghafoor (the All Forgiving), Al Haleem (the Clement), gave you ten, twenty, thirty-five, fifty, seventy, one hundred years to just turn to Him and sincerely say, “Oh my Lord, I believe in you, forgive me, forgive me.” But you didn’t.

Not all of us go through life-changing spiritual experiences. Not all of us fall into our graves while still alive to “die, before we die.” Even if we did, not all of us can make an immediate and steadfast turn towards Allah. But all of us can turn a little bit more to Allah and keep turning insha’Allah until we’re actively living a God-conscious life. Allah has made it so easy for us! He tells us in a hadith qudsi:

“Dear child of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind.

Dear child of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. Dear child of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.” (Ahmad)

And once we take that step and repent, let’s try a few extra small good deeds to make our hearts stronger! Sometimes we think that sinning comes so easily and too many obstacles prevent good in our actions. But do you know how easy Allah has made it for us to obliterate our sins and stack up the good deeds?

The Prophet ﷺ asked his companions (may Allah be pleased with them),

“Is anyone of you unable to earn a thousand good deeds?” One of those present asked: “How can one earn thousand good deeds in a day?” He ﷺ replied, “By saying: Subhan’Allah (glorified is Allah and free from imperfection) a hundred times, then one thousand good deeds will be recorded for him or one thousand sins will be blotted out from his record.” (Muslim)

I just timed it and it literally took me less than one minute to say Subhan’Allah one hundred times and insha’Allah get all those brownie points! Why don’t you say it and rake up all that reward now, before you even read the next line?!

Let us keep our tongues wet in the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah in our limited days, where good deeds are to our akhirah as water is to our bodies, and make the intention to make dhikr with every step we take. Let us remember how easy repentance really is, how much Allah (swt) LOVES for His slave – for me and you – to return to Him (swt) and how He keeps giving us extra time to spend the upcoming second to cry, “My Lord, forgive me!” We’re still alive, so let’s start living life with love, hope, mercy, fear and consciousness of Allah.

“Therefore flee unto Allah…” (Qur’an, 51:50)