Mercy is a favour from Allah which He places in the hearts of
whomsoever He
wills. Verily, Allah will have mercy on His servants who are
merciful. Allah
is the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful. He loves the merciful
and calls
to mercy. He orders His servants to enjoin patience and mercy. A
person may
lack mercy for any number of reasons, among them, an abundance of
sins and
disobedience. They stain their hearts so much so that they
ultimately blind
them until their hearts become harder than stones. Allah says of
the Children
of Israel: 'And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and
became like
rocks, or even harder' (2:74).
Allah also says about them when they opposed and rebelled
against the divine
law: 'Then, for having broken their solemn pledge, We rejected them
and
caused their hearts to harden' (5:13).
Among the things that cause a loss of mercy is arrogance with
wealth and
pride with riches. Allah says: 'Nay, verily, man becomes grossly
overweening
whenever he believes himself to be self-sufficient' (96:6-7).
The day the heart is disciplined with faith and good deeds it
fills with
mercy and kindness.
Another reason for the weakness of mercy is an abundance of
gluttony and
saturation. They give rise to contempt and recklessness. Hence the
month of
fasting was prescribed to crush this unruliness and ill discipline.
The
fasting person is naturally among the most merciful people. That is
because
he has tasted hunger, experienced thirst and endured hardship. His
soul is,
therefore, enveloped with mercy, care and gentleness for
Muslims.
Mercy is something which every Muslim is required to render to
his brother
Muslim. It is a requirement from every responsible custodian toward
those
under his care. He should feel sorry for them and be lenient toward
them.
Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: 'O Allah!
Whoever was
entrusted with authority over any affair of the Muslims and made it
difficult
for them, please make it difficult for him. And whoever was
entrusted over
any affair of the Muslims and was kind toward them, then be kind
toward him.'
In a related hadith Allah's Messenger also said: 'Whoever
oversees an affair
for my nation and disappeared or abandoned them without fulfilling
their
needs while impoverishing them, Allah will debar him from his needs
and
impoverish him on the Day of Judgement.'
Mercy demands that the scholar and teacher should be gentle
toward his
students and lead them to the easiest and best ways to love him and
benefit
from his teachings. If he does this Allah will decree for him the
most
excellent and abounding reward. Listen to the manner in which Allah
praises
His Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam : 'And it was by God's
grace that
thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy followers: for if thou
hadst been
harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from
thee'
(3:159).
Mercy further requires from the imam that he should not make
worship
difficult for his followers or cause them harm. On the contrary, he
should be
merciful, kind and wise. The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam
said:
'Whoever from you leads the people in prayer must make it easy
because among
them are the old, the sick, the young and the needy.' It was
narrated that
when Mu'adh once extended the prayer the Prophet sallallahu `alaihi
wa sallam
said to him: 'Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a
troublemaker O
Mu'adh? Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh?'
In the same manner, when Uthman ibn Abi al As al Thaqafi
requested: 'O
Messenger of Allah, make me an imam of my people.' The Prophet
sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam said: 'You are their imam so lead the prayer
according to
the weakest of them and take a caller to prayer who would seek no
payment for
doing so.'
Mercy dictates that the one who calls to Islam must advise those
whom he is
inviting with tenderness. That he should, moreover, clarify issues
to them
with concern. He should not hurt, defame people or even revile
the
disobedient in public. Allah advised Moses and Aaron to employ the
following
methods in their call to the tyrant Pharaoh: 'But speak unto him in
a mild
manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled
with
apprehension' (20:44).
He also says: 'Call thou [all mankind] unto thy Sustainer's path
with wisdom
and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly
manner'
(16:125).
The eminent jurist and Islamic scholar, Imam al Shafe'e wrote:
Support me with your advice in private,
and avoid advising me in public.
Surely giving advice among the people is a kind of reproach,
which I would rather not listen to.
If you disobey and ignore my wish,
don't be saddened if you are not obeyed.
Mercy is required from a father to his children. This matter was
previously
discussed in the lesson (No. 18) on how we train our children. The
mercy of
the father or mother toward her children has the greatest effect on
their
integrity, well-being and obedience. Self-praise and harshness only
open the
door to despair. The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:
'Kindness
was never bestowed upon something except that it beautified it, and
it was
never removed from that thing except that it made it ugly.'
O you who fast and cause hunger to your stomach, there are
thousands of
stomachs more awaiting a meal. Will there not arise from among you
those who
would feed them? O you who fast and cause thirst to your liver,
there are
thousands more who await a mouthful of water. Will there not arise
from among
you those who would quench their thirst? O you who fast and wear
the finest
garments, there are naked people out there awaiting only a piece of
cloth to
cover their bodies. Will there not then come forth from among you
those who
would clothe them?
O Allah! We implore your extended mercy that will forgive our
sins and erase
our misdeeds and errors.