In
the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. Truly all praise is
due to Allah, we praise him and seek his help and forgiveness. We seek refuge
in Allah from the evils of ourselves; and our bad actions. Whomsoever Allah
guides, none can turn him astray, and whomsoever Allah turns astray, none can
guide him. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah,
the only one without Any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is his
servant and final messenger.
Today’s
khutbah is about Alláh’s mercy. Of all the 99 Beautiful Names of Alláh, it is Ar-Rahmán
and Ar-Rahím that we use, most frequently, in our prayers and dua’s. Ar-Rahmánand Ar-Rahím,
are both derived from the same Arabic root word, Rahma, meaning mercy,
compassion.
Most
of us, unfortunately, take Alláh’s mercy and compassion for granted. But if we
stop for a moment, and just reflect on the depth and extent of Alláh’s mercy,
we will be astonished beyond words.
In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: “Allah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down
one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which
they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild
animals are kind to their offspring. And Allah has kept back ninety-nine parts
of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves of the Day of
Resurrection.” (Muslim, al-Tawbah, 6908)
It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah
be pleased with him) said: “Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and there was a woman among
the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she
embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would
throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allah, not if she is able not
to.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
‘Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child.’”
(Agreed upon)
One aspect of the Mercy of Allah to His slaves is
that He sent the Messengers and revealed the Books and laws to organize their
lives according to the ways of wisdom, far removed from hardship and difficulty.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): Wa maa ar sal na ka illah rahmatal lil alameen
“And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a
mercy for the ‘alameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists).” [21:107]
The Mercy of Allah is what will admit His believing
slaves to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. No one will ever enter Paradise
because of his deeds alone, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “No one’s deeds will ever admit him to Paradise.” They said,
“Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “No, not even me, unless Allah
showers me with His Mercy. So try to be near to perfection. And no one should
wish for death; he is either doing good so he will do more of that, or he is
doing wrong so he may repent.”
[al-Bukhari, Muslim]
So the believer must remain in a state between
hoping for the Mercy of Allah and fearing His punishment, for Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Declare (O Muhammad) unto My slaves, that truly, I
am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful.
And that My Torment is indeed the most painful
torment.” [15:49-50]
We
Muslims as Believers would say, that our creation and continued existence on
this planet, it is due entirely to the mercy of Alláh, subhánalláh
wata-‘álá, glorified and exalted is He. The Holy Qur’án makes this point in
many beautiful verses. For example, in Súra Saba [34:9] we read:
"See
they not how little of the sky and the earth is open to them, and how much is
hidden? If We wished We could cause the earth to swallow them up or cause a
piece of the sky to fall upon them. Verily in this is a Sign for every servant
that turns to Allah (in repentance)."
Sura
Fátir v41 "It is Allah Who
sustains the heavens and the earth lest they cease (to function): and if they
should fail there is none not one can sustain them thereafter: verily He is
Most Forbearing Oft-Forgiving"
and
further in the same sura: verses 44 and 45:
44 "Do they not travel through the earth and see
what was the end of those before them though they were superior to them in
strength? Nor is Allah to be frustrated by anything whatever in the heavens or
on earth: for He is All-Knowing All-Powerful.
If
Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve He would not leave
on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them
respite for a stated Term: when their Term expires verily Allah has in his
sight all His servants."
How
do we become worthy of Alláh’s Mercy? We become worthy of His Mercy, when we
begin that long journey from doing what pleases us, to doing what pleases
Alláh. To someone who is not in the habit of doing good deeds, someone who
instinctively does anything and everything that pleases his own self, it is
very difficult to start doing things that please Alláh. This comes only by
conscious effort. But remember, when you do just one good action, you can
repeat it, and it can become a good habit. Like a farmer with his seed, when
you sow an action, you reap a habit.
We
should also remember, that part of Alláh’s mercy, is that he is very
patient with our shortcomings. We all have many faults, but Alláh’s anger does
not just descend on us like a bolt of lightning, as soon as we step out of
line. He always gives us time, lots of time, to recognise the error of our
ways, and to put things right, to ask for mercy.
In
the same way, we must not be impatient with others. We must also show mercy,
wherever we have power and authority. This is especially towards our Family.
We must not project our fears and anxieties on them.
Taking
an aggressive attitude usually does more harm than good. It is much better, to
teach and to encourage, using kindness and a setting a good personal example,
without arrogance or self-righteousness. Let our sisters and children take
their own time, to make their own decisions. We expect Alláh’s mercy
and patience for ourselves. Why then, should we not show mercy and patience for
others, especially our women and children? The first Hadíth Qudsi
reminds us:
"When
Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is
laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my anger."
This
Hadíth confirms that Mercy is more powerful than anger.
Let
us pray to Alláh, subhánalláh wata-álá. May His mercy descend into
our homes and in our hearts, all throughout the year, insh-Alláh. May
we all show greater mercy to one another, especially to those over whom we have
some authority. May Alláh guide our leaders to show mercy to their citizens,
our employers to their workers, our parents to their children. And May He
reward us all, according to the best of our deeds. May this small community of
ours, grow and prosper in love, mercy and brotherhood, and may we all, set a
good example to other communities inside and outside of Islam.
Aqoolo qawli hadha
wastaghfirullaha li wa laku.
