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We should not miss the total picture of Islam, the totality of
Islam.
The total objective of the mission of the Prophet (peace and
blessing be upon him) that was described to him by Allah (Praised
and Exalted be He) in the Qur’an:
[We sent thee not but as a
mercy for all creatures.]
(Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:107)
Therefore, it is so simple to conclude that anything which conflicts
with mercy does not run parallel with the mission of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him).
The Prophet described himself as “Ar-Rahmatu Al-Muzjah,” the
mercy presented by Allah to mankind. All his life, he was the best
example of mercy. His was a mercy on far and near, friend and enemy.
That was the psychology of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him).
Yet some Muslims are impervious to this concept of mercy. They want
to make themselves judge, and pass judgments in situations where it
is only for Allah to pass judgment. To have the courage to speak on
behalf of Allah and to condemn a dead Muslim to remain unburied, to
me looks like the ethic of cruelty. Cruelty is incompatible with
iman
(faith) and Islam.
At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) there
was a man widely known to be a hypocrite. In secret he would ally
with the enemies of the Muslims. Yet the Prophet knew it and many of
the Muslims could feel it.
They thought of killing the man, and his own son came to the Prophet
and said, “O Prophet of Allah, let me kill my father.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered, “Never
let it be said that the Prophet kills his followers. If he is a
hypocrite we can only have the authority of implementing the law.
But if there is no legal crime then we cannot punish a man.”
Some time later, that hypocrite died, and everybody felt relief that
this man was dead. Yet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
sent his cloak to be used in shrouding that dead man, and went by
himself to conduct the funeral Prayer over him. That was the conduct
of the Prophet.
He knew that the man was wrong, but what about the son who was
faithful? Isn’t the son deserving of some courtesy here? Or shall
the son bear the burden of everybody cursing his father?
Or a son who committed suicide recently: What about the faithful
Muslim mother with the body of her dead son on her hands? She could
not carry him, she could not wash him or convey him to the funeral
or bury him. Isn’t it a shame that two women and a group of
Christians fulfilled that duty?
Praise be to Allah, you—and hopefully I—know that the essence of
Islam is
rahmah (mercy). Whoever will need the rahmah of Allah
(Praised and Exalted be He) has to build up a stock in his account.
If you need the mercy of Allah, then give mercy. If you will ever
need the forgiveness of Allah, then give forgiveness.
Still, so far I see Muslims now and then whose hearts are thick,
whose emotions are dry, who know the rules and regulations, but who
miss the
rahmah, which is the essence of Islam.
Islam, to me, cannot be joined half-way. It cannot be started with
the rules and regulations and the do’s and don’ts. The beginning is
the total realization of total mission of Islam, which is a mercy to
the worlds.
Some time ago, I was with one of those great scholars, a big `alim,
with plenty of following. Our discussion led us to discuss the
status of the illegitimately born child in Islam. Very promptly, he
said, “To be killed.”
So I said, “O, `Abdur Rahman, suppose you and I were standing in
this room, and through the door comes a sweet five-year-old boy,
with a ball in his hand. He smiles at us and throws the ball to play
with us. Would you go and kill him?”
The man took the message and said, “No, I wouldn’t kill him.”
This example shows that knowledge is present in Muslims who lack the
essence. This happens with many Muslims still.
May Allah inspire you to live your life under the shade of the mercy
of Allah (Praised and Exalted be He). And may Allah make you
instruments of His mercy, not of His punishment.
If you are an instrument of His punishment, expect that you will
face punishment; and if you are an instrument of His mercy, expect
that He will deal with you in mercy.
We ask Allah (Praised and Exalted be He) to fill our hearts with
mercy, and to give us mercy when we need it. We ask Allah to make us
instrumental in showing the way to other Muslims, who unfortunately
are confused about Islam and give more importance to the rules than
to the essence of Islam.
My dear brethren, what a great religion Islam is. The corollary is
that only great people are worthy of carrying the message of this
great religion. Only people commensurate with Islam should call
themselves Muslims. Only people whom Allah led in their hearts to
the essence of Islam, which is mercy.
Without acquiring that, we have missed the beginning, my brothers
and sisters. Without starting with it deep in our hearts, we cannot
go on and say that we are the Muslims. Without realizing that the
total mission of Islam is mercy, and that the Prophet’s mission is
nothing but mercy, then we have not begun at the beginning.
May Allah instill in our hearts His love and love of our fellow
Muslims and our fellow human beings. May Allah make us always
instruments of His mercy, and give us mercy and forgiveness on the
day we will need them.
*
Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: http://members.cox.net/arshad/mercy.html
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