page 3
A Definition Of
Mercy
Brother Numan Ali Dügmeoglu
As Muslims, we are always told that mercy is a key component
of Islam. This distinction becomes even more important to
young Muslims today who are growing up in an age where
society is redlining Islam to embody the complete opposite of
mercy. All r eligions and ideological movements have been
subject to widespread scrutiny and social persecution at some
point in its history or time. For example, both Christians and
Jews were labeled heretics and dissidents in their early days
because people were genuinely taken aback by the idea of a
new system of faith challenging not only personal beliefs, but
also beliefs that had for so long been accepted by the general
public. In essence, persecution and/or ostracism of religions,
ethnicities, and so on is spurred and fueled by fear not hate,
and more specifically a fear of the unknown. The unfortunate
hate towards Islam, however, is partly due
to our own shortcomings as an Ummah
(Muslim community).
Pressured by outsides forces and our own
negligence, we sought refuge at the time
from both extremes in our practice of Islam.
We’ve either gravitated towards extremely
conservative rulings and practices or a very
liberal interpretation, in which we’ve lost
sight of practice but retained the elements
of Islamic principles. That analysis falls
outside the scope of this piece, but it is
important to note that this polarization in general has left a
void in the middle.
As it says in Ayah 143 of Surah Baqara:
“…And thus We have made you a Wasata (Middle
way – Just/Balanced] Ummah/Nation.”
Muslims have been made people of the middle way and we
must return to it. Otherwise, we are doomed to experience the
same fate and corruption as the peoples of previous prophets
have, considering Islam is experiencing its era of persecution
during a massive conflagration of modern media and
technology.
To acquire this 'Wasata', we must cultivate a balance between
physical worship and the expression of principles. This is
where the concept of mercy plays a crucial role as it will
allow our lives to be transformed into a state of perpetual
worship, a worship so beautiful even nonbelievers envy its
grace.
You may be wondering how this could be done, and it’s
actually really simple. First, our understanding of mercy must
go beyond the mundane. From there we must move onto
implementing that understanding in the expression of our
practice of Islam. Fundamentally mercy is the
fuel that propels the Deen. As we know, a key
dhikr in Islam is “In the name of Allah the
Compassionate, the Merciful.” 'Rahman'
translates to
“The Compassionate” and Rahim to “The
Merciful”. However, etymologically speaking,
both Rahman and Rahim actually denote mercy.
The difference is in that as Ar-Rahim, the
Merciful, Allah reserves his mercy for the
Mu’min, the believers on the Day of Judgment.
Yet, as Ar-Rahman, the Compassionate, Allah
does not discriminate in who receives his mercy
in the dunya. Both believers and nonbelievers
are all treated and judged with ultimate mercy.
Allah states in Surat al-A’raf, Ayah 156, “…My
mercy encompasses all things." That is to say
Allah has reserved for himself two titles that
laud His boundless mercy, yet we continue to
only think of mercy in one way. When we think
of mercy, we tend to attribute it to dealing with
forgiveness and in some
sense pity. Yet Allah
reminds us that mercy is
interchangeable with
compassion yet uniquely
different.
What is Compassion? It
is the ability to empathize
and sympathize; to feel for
another when they are in a
trying situation. So the fact
that Allah has this sense of
empathy for all things - even nonbelievers - is
profound. Not only does He have a sense of pity
and forgiveness for all during our time in this
Dunya; He relates to us and knows the pain we
feel. He alleviates our struggles and relishes in
our happiness regardless of who we are or
what we may (or may not) believe...
"Rasulullah
(saw) equated
mercy with
affection and
love."
continued on pg 7 ...
A MUNA Youth Publication