Allahs Mercy IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST MERCIFUL THE BESTOWER OF MERCY The criteria for Allah’s Mercy “Say: “To Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth?” Say: “To Allah”. He has prescribed mercy for himself. Indeed He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt…” {6:12} It is recorded in the two Sahihs, that Abu Hurayrah ® said that the Prophet (S) said, “When Allah created the creation, He wrote in a Book that He Has with Him above the Throne; ‘My Mercy overcomes My Anger’.” From amongst the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, it is Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim that we use, most frequently, in our prayers and duas. Ar-Rahmaan (The Most Merciful), means the one who has as His Attribute very great and extensive Mercy. And, Ar-Raheem (The Bestower of Mercy) is the One who is merciful to others. Therefore, Ar-Rahmaan is the One who possesses very great and extensive mercy, and Ar-Raheem is the One who bestows that Mercy upon others. Allah (S) Says, “Who is averted from (such a torment) on that Day, (Allah) has surely, been Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success.” {6:16} On The Day of Judgment, only those upon whom Allah (S) Has Mercy will be saved, only those upon whom Allah (S) Has Mercy will be saved from Jahannam, whose fire is seventy times more severe then this worldly fire, and so on the Last Day, only those upon whom Allah (S) Has Mercy will enter Jannah. Therefore it should be of great importance, to each and every one of us, to know how we can attain the Mercy of Allah (S) and what actions will lead to the Mercy of Allah. I would like to remind you of some examples from the Quran and the Sunnah that have been specifically linked to the Mercy of Allah (S) and will lead us to the Mercy of Allah (S) InshAllah! 1) Eemaan; “And He is Ar-Rahim (Merciful) to the believers”. {33:43} Those who believe in Allah, His Angels, His Messengers, His Books, The Last Day, Jannah and Jahnnam and The Divine Decree – And this belief is in their hearts, and this belief is on their tongues and this belief is in their actions! 2) Obedience to Allah (S) & His Messenger (S); “And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.” {3:132} In order to obtain the Mercy of Allah (S), we must obey Him and not disobey Him, and obey His Messenger (S) and not disobey him (S). 3) Being Merciful to Others; One of the descriptions of the believers that Allah (S) mentioned in the Quran is that of being merciful with one another. And when you have this honourable characteristic then Allah (S) will be merciful towards you! “The Merciful will be treated with Mercy by The Most Merciful (Allah). Be merciful to those who are on earth and He Who is above the heavens will be merciful to you”. (Abu Dawud) “Allah will not be merciful with whoever is not merciful with the people”. (Muslim) 4) Visiting the sick; Jabir Ibn Abdullah ® reported that he heard the Prophet (S) say, “Whoever visits a sick person wades in Ar-Rahmah (Mercy), until he sits down, when he is firmly entrenched in it (in Mercy).” (Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad) 5) Sitting in the place where one prayed; “…Then when he enters the Masjid, he is in [the state of] prayer as long as it is the only thing keeping him from leaving (i.e., the only reason why he is staying in the Masjid is to wait for the next prayer). And the Angels send prayers upon one of you as long as he is in the seat (spot) that he prayed in; they say, ‘O Allah, have mercy on him; O Allah, forgive him; O Allah, accept his repentance,’ as long as he does not harm anyone (with speech or deed) while he is in it, and as long as he does not nullify his state of purity (i.e., by passing wind, etc.).” (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, An-Nasa’i, Abu Dawud & Malik) 6) Attending Halakhat; Imagine there is a place where the inheritance a rich man is being distributed, everyone and anyone can have a share, and there is pounds and dollars, and gold and silver being shared amongst whoever comes, who from amongst us will not run in search of this place? The Prophets did not leave behind, pounds or dollars, but they left behind knowledge, and whoever acquires it, acquires an abundance of good! Therefore we should strive to be in those places where the wealth, inheritance, of the Prophets is being distributed, and these gatherings are surrounded by the Angels, who witness Allah (S) forgiving those who attend and giving them glad tidings of Jannah and being saved from Jahannam. And it is in these gatherings that there is the Mercy of Allah (S). Abu Hurayrah ® and Abu Sa’id ® reported that the Prophet (S) said, “People who remember Allah will have four rewards: there will descend upon them tranquillity, and mercy will cover them and the Angels will flock around them and will mention them in the presence of those near Him”. (Sahih Muslim (also mentioned in the explanation to Hadith 36 Jamial Uloom wal Hikam). Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, Allah, the Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember Allah. When they find some people remembering Allah they call to one another and say, `Come to what you are looking for; and they surround them with their wings till the space between them and the lowest sky is fully covered. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them (although He is best informed about every thing): `What are my slave saying? They say: `They are glorifying Your Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tamjid, (i.e., they were declaring Your Perfectness, praising, remembering the Greatness and Majesty of Allah). He asks: `Have they seen Me? They reply, `No, indeed, they have not seen You. He asks: `How would they act if they were to see Me? Thereupon they reply: `If they were to see You, they would engage more earnestly in worshipping and glorifying You and would extol You more. He would say: `What do they beg of Me? They say, `They beg You for Your Jannah. Allah says, `Have they seen My Jannah? They say, `No, our Rubb. He says: `How would they act if they were to see My Jannah? They reply, `Were they to see it, they would more intensely eager for it. They (the angels) say, `They seek Your Protection. He asks, `Against what do they seek My Protection? They (the angels) say, `Our Rubb, from the fire of Hell. (He, the Rubb) says, `Have they seen the fire of Hell? They say, `No. By Your Honour, they have not seen it. He says: `How would they act if they were to see My Fire? They say: `If they were to see it, they would more earnest in being away from it and fearing it. They beg of Your forgiveness. He says: `I call you to witness that I hereby grant pardon to them and confer upon them what they ask for; and grant them protection against what they seek protection from. One of the angels says: `Our Rubb, there is amongst them such and such slave who does not belong to the assembly of those who are participating in Your remembrance. He passed by them and sat down with them. He says: `I also grant him pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their associates will not be unfortunate. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. 7) Qiyam-ul-layl; Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, May Allah show mercy to a man who gets up during the night and performs Salat, awakens his wife to pray and if she refuses, he sprinkles water on her face (to make her get up). May Allah show mercy to a woman who gets up during the night and performs Salat, awakens her husband for the same purpose; and if he refuses, she sprinkles water on his face. [Abu Dawud]. Shaving/ Trimming one’s hair during Hajj; Islam was built on five, Hajj as you all know is one of the pillars of Islam, the acceptance of which is forgiveness from Allah (S), and for those of you that have been, I’m sure that you would agree it is truly a journey of a lifetime. During the Hajj, three days are spent camping in a place called Mina, which concludes with the Day of Arafah, then there is the day of Eid, the pilgrims return from Mina, offer their sacrifices. After offering the sacrifice the pilgrims shave or shorten their hair, and it better to shave the hair opposed to trimming it! Both Bukhari and Muslim have reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, May Allah bless those who shaved. The Companions asked him, O Allahs Messenger, what about those who clip their hair short? Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) again said, May Allah bless those who shaved. They repeated their question the third time, and again the Prophet said, May Allah bless those who shaved. When they asked him for the fourth time, O Allahs Messenger, what about those who clip their hair short? He said, And (may Allah bless) those who clip their hair short. (It is said that the reason for repeating supplication for those who shaved their hair is obviously to encourage people to shave rather than cut their hair short only because by shaving off ones hair one demonstrates ones sincerity and humility to Allah without caring for ones physical appearance) 9) Settling Disputes; The Prophet (S) invoked Allah to have mercy on a slave who had wronged his Muslim brother in self or wealth, then goes to him and asks for forgiveness. Before he (the oppressed) takes from his good deeds or gives him (the oppressor) his bad deeds (on the Day of Resurrection). (Ibn Hibban). Abu Hurayrah ® narrated that Allahs Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Do you know who is the bankrupt? They (the Companions of the Prophet) said: A bankrupt man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth. He (the Prophet) said: The bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then his sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire. (Sahih Muslim) Therefore brothers and sisters, if you have wronged your brother/ sister, ask for their forgiveness, before it is too late, and then may Allah’s Mercy be upon you. 10) Good manners in business; Islam offers mankind guidance in all aspects of human life, including trade, for example the Messenger of Allah (S) said, Narrated Jabir Ibn Abdullah ®: Allah’s Messenger (S) said, “May Allah’s Mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari) We learn from this hadith how to buy and sell and also if we follow Allah’s Guidance in this regard, know that the Messenger of Allah (S) asked Allah (S) to bestow His Mercy upon you! Unfortunately, today we have very little knowledge and interest for the ahkam relating to business, and as a result we see Muslims falling into many types and forms of prohibited and doubtful forms of business transactions. The Prophet (s) had the reputation of being the most honest and trustworthy of people, and this was reflected when he was doing business. When Muhammad (S) was working for Khadijah ® she noticed his praiseworthy characteristics and qualities and as a result she proposed to him and married him. “Indeed in The Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.” {33:21} 11) Supplication for one who sneezes; Abu Hurairah (May Allah bepleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, A believer owes another believer five rights: responding to greetings, visiting him in illness, following his funeral, accepting his invitation, and saying `Yarhamuk-Allah (May Allah have mercy on you), when he says `Al-hamdu lillah (Praise be to Allah) after sneezing. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Muslims narration is, There are six rights of a Muslim upon a Muslim: When you meet him, greet him; when he invites you, respond to him; when he seeks counsel, give him advice; when he sneezes and praises Allah, say to him: `May Allah have mercy on you (Yarhamuk- Allah ); when he is sick, visit him; and when he dies, follow his funeral. Conclusion; Abu Hurayrah ® narrated that Allah’s Messenger (S) said, “The deeds of anyone of you will not save you [from the (Hell) Fire].” They said, “Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah’s Messenger?” He said, “No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah protects or covers me with His Grace and His Mercy. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and Al-Qasd (always adopt a middle, moderate and regular course) whereby you will reach your Al-Qasd (target i.e., Paradise).” (Sahih Al-Bukhari) “…And unless You forgive me and have mercy on me, I would indeed be one of the losers.” {11:47}
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 06:39:23 +0000
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