Ramadhan Articles - Ramadhan: The Month of Mercy to Muslims

Mercy is a favour from Allah which He places in the hearts of
whomsoever He wills. Verily, Allah will have mercy on His servants who
are merciful. Allah is the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful. He
loves the merciful and calls to mercy. He orders His servants to
enjoin patience and mercy. A person may lack mercy for any number of
reasons, among them, an abundance of sins and disobedience. They stain
their hearts so much so that they ultimately blindthem until their
hearts become harder than stones. Allah says of the Children of
Israel:"And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like
rocks, or even harder."(2:74).
Allah also says about them when they opposedand rebelled against the
divine law:"Then, for having broken their solemn pledge, We rejected
them and caused their hearts to harden."(5:13).
Among the things that cause a loss of mercy is arrogance with wealth
and pride with riches. Allah says:"Nay, verily, man becomes grossly
overweening whenever he believes himself to be
self-sufficient."(96:6-7).
The day the heart is disciplined with faith andgood deeds it fills
with mercy and kindness.
Another reason for the weakness of mercy is an abundance of gluttony
and saturation. They giverise to contempt and recklessness. Hence the
month of fasting was prescribed to crush this unruliness and ill
discipline. The fasting person is naturally among the most merciful
people. That is because he has tasted hunger, experienced thirst and
endured hardship. His soul is, therefore, enveloped with mercy, care
and gentleness for Muslims.
Mercy is something which every Muslim is required to render to his
brother Muslim. It is a requirement from every responsible custodian
toward those under his care. He should feel sorry for them and be
lenient toward them. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam
said:'O Allah! Whoever was entrusted with authority over any affair of
the Muslims and made it difficult for them, please make it difficult
for him. And whoever was entrusted over any affair of the Muslims and
was kind toward them, then be kind toward him.'
In a related hadith Allah'sMessenger also said:'Whoever oversees an
affair for my nation and disappeared or abandoned them without
fulfilling their needs while impoverishing them, Allah will debar him
fromhis needs and impoverishhim on the Day of Judgement.'
Mercy demands that the scholar and teacher should be gentle toward his
students and lead them to the easiest and best ways to love him and
benefit from his teachings. If he does this Allah will decree for him
the most excellent and abounding reward. Listen to the manner in which
Allah praises His Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam :'And it was by
God's grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy
followers:for if thou hadst been harsh and hard of heart, they would
indeed have broken away from thee'(3:159).
Mercy further requires from the imam that he should not make
worshipdifficult for his followers or cause them harm. On the
contrary, he should be merciful, kind and wise. The Prophet sallallahu
`alaihi wa sallam said:'Whoever from you leads the people in prayer
must make it easy because among them are the old, the sick, the young
and the needy.'It was narrated that when Mu'adh once extended the
prayer the Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said to him:'Are you a
troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a
troublemaker OMu'adh?'
In the same manner, when Uthman ibn Abi al As al Thaqafi requested: 'O
Messenger of Allah, make me an imam of my people.' The Prophet
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:'You are theirimam so lead the
prayer according to the weakestof them and take a caller to prayer who
would seek no payment for doing so.'
Mercy dictates that the one who calls to Islam must advise those whom
he is inviting with tenderness. That he should, moreover, clarify
issues to them with concern. He should not hurt, defame people or even
revile the disobedient in public. Allah advised Moses and Aaron to
employ the following methods in their call to the tyrant Pharaoh:'But
speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or
[at least] be filled with apprehension'(20:44).
He also says:
'Call you [all mankind] unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and
goodly exhortation, And argue with them in the most kindly
manner'(16:125).
The eminent jurist and Islamic scholar, Imam al Shafe'e wrote:
Support me with your advice in private,
and avoid advising me in public.
Surely giving advice among the people is a kind of reproach,
which I would rather not listen to.
If you disobey and ignore my wish,
don't be saddened if you are not obeyed.
Mercy is required from a father to his children. This matter was
previously discussed in the lesson (No. 18) on how we train our
children. The mercy of the father or mother toward her children has
the greatest effect on their integrity, well-being and obedience.
Self-praise and harshness only open the door to despair. The Prophet
sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said:'Kindness was never bestowed upon
something except that it beautified it, and it was never removed from
that thing except that it made it ugly.'
O you who fast and causehunger to your stomach, there are thousands of
stomachs more awaiting a meal. Will there not arise from among you
those who would feed them? O you who fast and cause thirst to your
liver, there are thousandsmore who await a mouthful of water. Will
there not arise from among you those who would quench their thirst? O
you who fast and wear the finest garments, there are naked people out
there awaiting only a piece of cloth to cover their bodies. Will there
not then come forth from among you those who would clothe them?
O Allah! We implore your extended mercy that will forgive our sins and
erase our misdeeds and errors.