Mercy

You know

the human urge for justice is innate within us.

We don't always expect things to go our way,

but we do want any outcome we have to deal with to be fair.

This can be seen from a very young age.

Children are very concerned about what is and isn't fair.

Equally, when we are grown we dislike being cheated

when we ourselves have been doing our best to be honest

it doesn't seem fair.

We want justice,

and in our attempts to find it

we do our best to understand God's Will for us

and express it as law in the Shari'ah.

But Shari'ah can never be Absolute Justice,

because it can only ever be the best attempts of humankind to interpret God's justice for the human condition.

In the Shari'ah we may try to be just,

but Justice is not the Shari'ah.

Al-'Adl, the All-Just,

is one of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah,

and God's is the Absolute Justice.

Justice is the opposite of tyranny,

which causes pain, destruction, and disturbance.

Justice secures peace,

balance, order and harmony.

Allah the Most Just is the enemy of tyrants,

those who support tyrants,

and their friends and sympathisers.

In Islam tyranny in any form or shape is unlawful

Sheikh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti

has explained that to be just,

sharing in that aspect of the Divine,

is an honour and a distinction for humanity,

and the opposites justice and tyranny

have wide implications for humankind,

more important than their simple moral and social consequences.

They are equated with our understandings of

harmony versus disharmony,

order versus chaos,

and right against wrong.

If someone gave money to the rich

and took from the poor,

they would be considered a tyrant

because it is the poor who need the money.

Yet if Allah did the same it would be justice

for God sees all,

the before and the after,

the inner and the outer.

God is All-Knowing,

the All-Merciful, the All-Just.

God makes some strong and others weak,

but God can also make the strong become weak,

the rich poor, the wise foolish,

and the healthy sick.

In God's Creation all is Just.

All is right

From our limited perspective it may seem to be a gross injustice

that there are those who are crippled, blind or deaf,

those who are starving while others feast,

and that the young can die.

But Allah is the Creator of the beautiful and of the ugly,

the good as well as the bad.

In this are mysteries difficult to understand,

but that's no reason not to try,

and many have tried throughout history.

We can sort of understand

how we tend to think in opposites, like hot and cold.

What do we mean by hot

apart from,

well, not cold.

And vice versa.

How hot compared to what?

More than warm but less than too hot to handle?

And when does a cold drink get to be warm?

Somewhere between ice-cold and hot?

What do we mean by rich and poor?

When does sadness stop being sadness and start to become happiness?

When does good become bad?

Both good and bad are necessary.

God shows one with the other,

lets us judge the right against the wrong,

and leaves us free to use our own judgement.

And some may find paradise through poverty and sickness,

and some may find misery in riches.

Each of us to our lot.

God knows what is best for us on our way.

Only God knows our destinies,

and the realisation of destinies is Allah's Justice.

Out of respect for the beautiful name of Allah,

al-'Adl,

we must learn to exercise

Shukr, thankfulness,

Tawakkul, trust in God,

and Rida', acceptance.

That way we may approach the mystery of Allah's Justice

and be happy with both the joy and the pain that comes our way from the Creator.

But our Creator offers us so much more than Justice.

Al-'Adl, the All-Just

may be one of the Most Beautiful Names,

but the Qur'an says that we should call God Allah or ar-Rahman,

the All-Merciful.

Ar-Rahman is the One

Who wills mercy and good for all creation at all times,

without any distinction between the good and the bad,

the faithful and the rebel,

the beloved and the hated.

Who pours upon all creation infinite bounties.

the Qur'an in Surah al-A'raf, The Heights

says God's Mercy covers everything.

Ar-Rahman, the All-Merciful,

like Allah

is a proper name of the Creator

and cannot be given to others.

We understand mercy and compassion as a fineness of feeling,

a pain and concern felt when we know that someone is in distress.

It begins with this pain, the pressure of which

moves us to help the one in distress.

But the feeling of compassion and pity is not sufficient.

Real mercy is only possible when we are able to

alleviate the pain and distress which the pitied one is suffering.

Allah is beyond our limited experience,

yet somehow chose mercy rather than punishment

before initiating the creation.

God has created all creation with mercy.

Everything which has come to be

since the beginning

is blessed with mercy.

God has created all creation,

including humankind,

pure and without defect.

God has blessed the creation with infinite bounty,

and given humanity

the freedom to choose between good and bad.

And to use that freedom of choice

for the good of ourselves and others

we need to find the mercy within ourselves,

feel the pain of the misguided one

as well as the unfortunate one,

and view them not with condemnation,

but with compassion.

And when we find this mercy within ourselves,

and use it as God wills,

caring for the creation for Allah's sake,

we are shown the way by which we find the Garden.

The manifestation of mercy in believers

occurs as thankfulness to God

for the ability to be compassionate, caring and giving,

which Allah gives us.

Absence of pride in our doing of good deeds

and realising that God is the Creator of the ones in need

as well as our ability to satisfy their needs

and be an instrument of God's provision to those who need it

all this is a reflection of ar-Rahman ar-Rahim,

the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate.

If we encounter difficulties we bear them for God's sake,

though we will receive reward both here and in the hereafter,

but we must remember not to show off our good deeds,

especially to those who benefit from them.

Better that we be thankful to them,

for if their need did not exist there would be no way

to exercise our compassion and generosity.

And should we be the ones in need, and the recipients of compassion and care,

we should be thankful to our benefactors

and remember them well at all times,

because it is said

that the one who cannot be thankful to man or woman

cannot be thankful to God.

That doesn't mean that we should make gods out of our benefactors,

becoming their servants instead of Allah's.

We must remember that good only comes from God,

though the one who has been chosen to bestow God's Mercy upon us

is of course also worthy of our respect.

In this way, those who find God's Mercy and Compassion in their beings

come close to their Creator through them,

and know that whatever happens, God will have mercy upon them,

save them from the Fire

and reward them.

And we are guided towards the recognition of God's Mercy throughout the Qur'an,

with each Surah

apart from Al-Tawbah, Repentance,

beginning with the Name Allah, the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate.

How much more is it possible to stress the importance of Mercy in our Deen.

What peace and blessings come our way

when we remember that God's Mercy rains down over all of creation,

and remember that in Surah Al-Anbiya', the Prophets,

we are told by Allah that God's Messenger

was only bestowed on the creation as a Mercy to all the worlds,

a Mercy to all beings.