[6:12] Say,
"To whom belongs everything in the heavens and
the earth?" Say, "To
GOD." He has decreed that mercy is
His attribute. He will surely
summon you all on the Day of Resurrection, which
is inevitable. The ones who lose their souls are
those who disbelieve.
[24:20] GOD
showers you with His grace and mercy. GOD is
Most Kind towards the believers, Most Merciful.
Mercy:
- An act of kindness, compassion, or favor
- Something that gives evidence of divine favor;
blessing
The words we speak out are simply sounds - no
more than that. When we utter the word God or
Allah, we are using a sound to point at the
Absolute Truth. The sound by itself is worth
nothing compared to the truth behind it. The
same applies to all of God's attributes. They
are simply sounds, words that we can use, while
the actual magnitude of their divinity and
implementations are far beyond our human sounds,
utterances, or thoughts.
God's mercy is one of His attributes
that encompasses all visions, and all words or
sounds ; all things (40:7). The very first
mercy God showered us with is our birth on earth
as a second chance to fix out initial mistake in
Heaven when we doubted God's absolute authority:
The Original Sin
[16:61] If GOD
punished the people for their transgressions, He
would have annihilated every creature on earth.
But He respites them for a specific,
predetermined time. Once their interim ends,
they cannot delay it by one hour, nor advance
it.
[18:58] Yet,
your Lord is the Forgiver, full of mercy.
If He called them to account for their
deeds, He would annihilate them right there and
then. Instead, He gives them a respite until a
specific, predetermined time; then they can
never escape.
The Quran spells out for us who can attain God's
mercy and how. The formula is prescribed clearly
and in a straightforward manner. It is our
belief in the truth, our reverence, our worship,
our repentance, and our efforts to lead a
righteous life by following His commands, and
striving in His cause that would open all the
doors for God's mercy and make us earn that
divine blessing. Please read and reflect on all
the following elements in God's prescription of
mercy:
[57:28] O you who
believe, you shall reverence
GOD and believe in His messenger.
He will then grant you double the
reward from His mercy, endow you with light to
guide you, and forgive you. GOD is Forgiver,
Most Merciful.
[7:156] "And decree for
us righteousness in this world, and in the
Hereafter. We have repented to You." He said,
"My retribution befalls whomever I will.
But My mercy encompasses all things. However,
I will specify it for those who (1)
lead a righteous life,
(2) give the obligatory charity
(Zakat),* (3) believe in our
revelations, and
[7:157] "(4)
follow the messenger, the gentile
prophet (Muhammad), whom they find written in
their Torah and Gospel.* He exhorts them to be
righteous, enjoins them from evil, allows for
them all good food, and prohibits that which is
bad, and unloads the burdens and the shackles
imposed upon them. Those who believe
in him, respect him, support him, and follow the
light that came with him are the successful
ones."
[9:71] The believing men
and women are allies of one another.
They advocate righteousness and forbid
evil, they observe the Contact
Prayers (Salat) and give
the obligatory charity (Zakat),
and they obey GOD and His messenger.
These will be showered by GOD's mercy.
GOD is Almighty, Most Wise.
[7:56] Do not
corrupt the earth after it has been set
straight, and worship Him out of reverence, and
out of hope. Surely,
GOD's mercy is attainable by the righteous.
[7:96] Had the
people of those communities believed and turned
righteous, we would have
showered them with blessings from the heaven and
the earth. Since they decided to
disbelieve, we punished them for what they
earned.
[29:23] Those
who disbelieve in GOD's revelations, and in
meeting Him, have despaired from My mercy.
They have incurred a painful retribution.
[6:51] And
preach with this (Quran) to
those who reverence the summoning before their
Lord - they have none beside Him as a
Lord and Master, nor an intercessor -
that they may attain salvation.
[3:132] You shall
obey GOD and the messenger, that you may
attain mercy.
[24:21] O you who
believe, do not follow the steps of Satan.
Anyone who follows the steps of Satan should
know that he advocates evil and vice. If
it were not for GOD's grace towards you, and His
mercy, none of you would have been purified. But
GOD purifies whomever He wills. GOD is Hearer,
Knower.
[6:54] ...
Your Lord has decreed that mercy is His
attribute. Thus, anyone among you who commits a
transgression out of ignorance, and repents
thereafter and reforms, then He is Forgiving,
Most Merciful."
[2:218] Those who
believe, and those who emigrate and strive in
the cause of GOD, have deserved GOD's mercy.
GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Based on all of the above, we can easily
recognize that the tools that help us make the
right decisions and guide us to the straight
path of God demonstrate God's mercy ; His
proofs, His message, and His laws in His
scriptures delivered through His human
messengers are indeed awesome manifestations of
His divine mercy:
[16:44] We provided them
with the proofs and
the scriptures.
And we sent down to you this message,
to proclaim for the people everything that is
sent down to them, perhaps they will reflect.
[40:13] He is
the One who continuously shows you His proofs,
and sends down to you from the sky provisions.
Only those who totally submit will be able to
take heed.
[27:93] And say,
"Praise be to GOD; He will show you His
proofs, until you recognize them.
Your Lord is never unaware of anything you do."
[21:107] We have sent you
out of mercy from us
towards the whole world.
[44:5] It is a
predetermined command from us that we send
messengers.
[44:6] This is
a mercy from your Lord. He is the
Hearer, the Omniscient.
[7:63] "Is it too
much of a wonder that a reminder should come to
you from your Lord, through a man like you, to
warn you, and to lead you to righteousness,
that you may attain mercy?"
[6:154] And we
gave Moses the scripture, complete with
the best commandments, and detailing everything,
and a beacon and mercy,
that they may believe in meeting their Lord.
[6:155] This
too is a blessed scripture that we have
revealed; you shall follow it and lead a
righteous life, that you may attain mercy.
[7:52] We have
given them a scripture that is fully detailed,
with knowledge, guidance, and mercy for
the people who believe.
[16:64] We have revealed
this scripture to you, to point out for them
what they dispute, and to provide
guidance and mercy for people who believe.
[16:89] The day will come
when we will raise from every community a
witness from among them, and bring you as the
witness of these people. We have
revealed to you this book to provide
explanations for everything, and guidance,
and mercy, and good news for the submitters.
[27:76] This Quran
settles many issues for the Children of Israel;
issues that they are still disputing.
[27:77] And
most assuredly, it is a guide and mercy for the
believers.
[10:57] O people,
enlightenment has come to you herein from your
Lord, and healing for anything that troubles
your hearts, and guidance, and mercy
for the believers.
Another conclusion we can make in the light of
all the above verses is that attaining God's
mercy is a choice that is available for every
human. It is we who choose to be among His
constituents of mercy, and it is also we who
choose to stay out of it by our very own
volition.
[10:9]
As for
those who believe and lead a righteous
life, their Lord
guides them, by virtue of their belief.
Rivers will flow beneath them in the
gardens of bliss.
[19:76] GOD
augments
the guidance of those who choose
to be guided. For the good deeds are
eternally rewarded by your Lord, and bring
far better returns.
[10:44]
GOD never wrongs the people; it is the
people who wrong their own souls.
[2:175] It is
they who chose the straying instead of guidance,
and the retribution instead of forgiveness.
Consequently, they will have to endure Hell.
Our appreciation to God's immense mercy must
never run out. We are surrounded by its signs:
[30:50] You
shall appreciate GOD's continuous mercy,
and how He revives the land that has been dead.
He will just as certainly resurrect the dead. He
is Omnipotent.
We also should never stop imploring God for such
a great bounty:
[3:8] "Our Lord,
let not our hearts waver, now that You have
guided us. Shower us with Your mercy; You are
the Grantor.
[23:109] ... `Our
Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and shower
us with mercy. Of all the merciful ones, You are
the Most Merciful.'
[23:118] ... "My
Lord, shower us with forgiveness and mercy. Of
all the merciful ones, You are the Most
Merciful."
[40:7] .. "Our
Lord, Your mercy and Your knowledge encompass
all things. Forgive those who repent and follow
Your path, and spare them the retribution of
Hell.
[40:8] "Our Lord,
and admit them into the gardens of Eden that You
promised for them and for the righteous among
their parents, spouses, and children. You are
the Almighty, Most Wise.
[40:9] "And
protect them from falling in sin. Whomever You
protect from falling in sin, on that day, has
attained mercy from You. This is the greatest
triumph."
Peaceful Friday, salaam, and God bless.
