Do Not Despair of Allah’s Mercy
Limitless is the mercy of Allah and this He has described through His Names and Attributes. The Compassionate! The Most Generous!! The Forbearing One!!! Allah Gives and Forgives, yet humans get and forget. Out of His Compassion and Mercy, God provides for all His creatures without exception. Human beings commit sin, grievous and minor ones. Yet they have a Benevolent Lord Who is ready to show mercy no matter how much they’ve erred. Allah’s Apostle peace be upon him simplified Allah’s mercy with numerical analogy thus:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, 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
The life of a believer resonates between fear and hope. So be hopeful of Allah’s mercy, no matter how much you have sinned. And be fearful of His punishment which is severe and unbearable. What you need is sincere repentance with a commitment not to return to your wrongdoings. No one will enter Paradise, except by the mercy of Allah, so this is what we all crave for. 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.” — (Bukhari and Muslim).
Below are a few tips on how to increase the mercy of The Most Gracious, The Merciful upon yourself:
- Believe in Allah! The supremacy of His Lordship, the divinity of His worship and the uniqueness of His Names and Attributes.
- Love His Messenger, Muhammad peace be upon him. Obey his commandments and emulate his way of life — Sunnah.
- Do good deeds consistently, but do not take pride in them.
- Seek repentance, weep secretly and ask for forgiveness from your Lord.
- Show mercy to people on earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy on you.
- Call people to goodness and guard against evil; Allah will have mercy on you.
- Be consistent with your daily prayers and do more with standing up late at night.
- Transact with Allah by giving charity to the poor and helping those who are in need (be it Muslim or non-Muslim).
- Supplicate sincerely asking for mercy from the source of Goodness, the Most Generous One.
- In every good deed you do, make sure your intention is solely for the sake of Allah and then begin with His Name.
“Our Lord! Make not our hearts to deviate after you have guided us aright, and grant us mercy from Yourself; surely You are The Bestower.” — Qur’an 3[Al-Imran]:8
Yaumul Jum’ah 12th Ramadan 1440H // Friday 17th May 2019.
