Your Character in the Shade of Allah’s Beautiful Name (Al-Rahman)

By admin 2022, March 0 Comments

لحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

This is the 8^th talk on the topic entitled:” Your Life in Light of Eternity”, as a reminder, this topic addresses the following four questions:

What is the purpose of our lives on earth? The answer was to prepare us for eternity when we return to Allah who will assess whether we are worthy of being in His company in Paradise forever or He will send us to another place as punishment for our failure
What is the nature of this life on earth? The answer was that our life on earth is a temporary assignment, it is a test, and it is a trust.
What is our role on earth to fulfil the purpose of our lives on it? The answer was to worship Allah and we defined worship as total obedience to Allah’s commands motivated by our love and gratitude to Him and by our trust in Him that all His commands are intended for our benefits.
What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth?

Last week we started discussing the basis for answering the 4^th question and we concluded that the key is to understand the meaning of the glorious names of Allah as they relate to Allah’s attributes and ensure that we build our character around these names to become godly slaves of Allah and draw nearer to Him. However, there are two names that are unique to Allah, and these are Allah and Al-Rahman. As we discussed last time, Allah is the personal name of the creator of the universe as Allah said:

إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي

“Verily, I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so worship me, and establish prayers for celebrating My praise” (Taha 20:14).

We discussed the name, Allah, last time. The other name is Al-Rahman (الرحمان). The traditional interpretation of Allah’s name Al-Rahman (الرحمان). is that it reflects the attribute of Allah that is related to granting mercy to all people in this life whether they are believers or non-believers. This definition suggests the similarity of Al-Rahman to the other name of Allah, Al-Rahime (الرحيم). To differentiate between the two names, interpreters proposed that Al-Rahime is the attribute of Allah that is related to granting mercy solely to the believers in the hereafter.

Unfortunately, this interpretation of the name Al-Rahman by relating it to mercy reflects major misunderstanding that resulted from deriving the meaning of the term from the Arabic Lexicon by many interpreters and translators. However, terms in the Quran should only be interpreted by their use in the Quran and the meaning in the Arabic Lexicon should only be used when the Quran does not provide detailed applications of the term because the term may have been used only once. The Quran includes 77,449 words, out of them there are 1620 words that came in the Quran only once. Also, every surah in the Quran includes words that are not repeated in any other surah. As examples of words that came in the Quran only once:

In surah Al-Baqara (2), the word “Sayeb” (صيّب)
In surah Hud (11), the word “Hanidh” (حنيذ)
In surah Al-Ikhlas (112) the word “Al-Samad” (ٱلصَّمَدُ).
In surah Al-Maun (107), the word “Maun” (ٱلۡمَاعُونَ)

When interpreting these unique words using the Arabic Lexicon, one needs to differentiate between the common meaning (الراجح) and uncommon meaning (المرجوح). The interpreter cannot use the uncommon meaning unless there is major justification for it which can be attributing to Allah something that is not proper if one uses the common meaning.

But when we examine the use of the name Al-Rahman (الرحمان) in the Quran, we note that, excluding the Basmalah except in the first surah, Al-Fatihah, Al-Rahman came in the Quran 57 times. The use of the name Al-Rahman in the Quran suggests that it is an integration of all the other names and attributes of Allah whether they are related to mercy or to control or to punishment.

This one name, Al-Rahman (الرحمان), appears to include all Allah’s names and attributes whether there are:

the beautiful attributes (صفات الجما ل) such as such as (الرحمن الرحيم السلام الغفور الودود) the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Peace, the Forgiving, the Loving, or
the perfection attributes (صفات الكمال) such as (الخالق الحي القيوم الأحد الصمد العَزيزُ الحَكيمُ) the Creator, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, the Only One, the Self Sufficient, the All-Mighty, the All Wise, or
the majestic attributes (صفات الجلال) such as (القوي العزيزالجبارالقهارٱلْمُنْتَقِمُ) the Powerful, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Subduer, the Avenger.

Therefore, Allah said that we can call Him using either His personal name, Allah, or His name, Al-Rahman. In calling Allah using one of these two names, we will be invoking all the other names and attributes of Allah. Allah said:

قُلِ ٱدۡعُواْ ٱللَّهَ أَوِ ٱدۡعُواْ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنَ‌ۖ أَيًّ۬ا مَّا تَدۡعُواْ فَلَهُ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ‌ۚ (١١٠)

“Say: “call Allah or call Al-Rahman, by whatever name you call, to Him belongs the Best Names.” (Al-Isra 17:110)

Since Al-Rahman is a name that Allah identified for us to use to supplicate with, as we use the name Allah, this name represents far broader attributes of Allah unlike any other name. When we examine the use of this name, Al-Rahman, in the Quran, we note that it is used to reflect all the key attributes of Allah such as the creation capabilities, the control over all creations, the authority and power of punishment, the domination of the Hereafter and several others. The following verses provide examples of the attributes associates with the name Al-Rahman:

1/ Al-Rahman is used in reference to Allah’s perfection attributes of creation and control over all that exists. Allah says:

وَتَوَڪَّلۡ عَلَى ٱلۡحَىِّ ٱلَّذِى لَا يَمُوتُ وَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِهِۦ‌ۚ وَڪَفَىٰ بِهِۦ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًا (٥٨) ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَا فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ۬ ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ‌ۚ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ فَسۡـَٔلۡ بِهِۦ خَبِيرً۬ا (٥٩)

“And place your trust in the Ever-Living who does not die; and celebrate His praise; and enough is He to be aware of the sins of His slaves. (58) He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between in six days, and is firmly established control on the “Arsh” (Throne) (the biggest creation ever), Al-Rahman, so ask about Him someone who knows,” (Al-Furqan 25:58-59)

ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ (٥) لَهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَہُمَا وَمَا تَحۡتَ ٱلثَّرَىٰ (٦)

“Al-Rahman who is in control of the “Arsh” (Throne). (5) To Him belongs all that in the heavens, all that in the earth and whatever is between them and whatever is underneath the soil.” (Taha 20:5-6)

Note: Hadith explain the size of the Arsh (the throne)

رواه الطبرى فى ” التفسير قال ابن زيد به بلفظ «ما السماوات السبع في الكرسي إلا كدراهم سبعة ألقيت في ترس وقال أبو ذر: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: ما الكرسي في العرش إلا كحلقة من حديد ألقيت بين ظهري فلاة من الأرض».] الحديث مرسل وعن أبي ذر منقطع ولكن رجاله ثقات وهو اصح ما فى الباب والحديث بمجموع الطرق حسن لغيره [.

“The seven heavens are no more in comparison to the “kursi” (footstool) than seven dirhams exist in a shield and the kursi is no more in comparison to the “Arsh” (Throne) than an iron ring thrown in a vast desert.”

ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ طِبَاقاً مَّا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِن تَفَاوُتٍ فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍ

)الملك(

“He created seven skies, one over the other. You will see nothing out of proportion in the creation of Al-Rahman. So, cast your eye again. Do you see any rifts? “(Al-Mulk 67:3)

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَـٰفَّـٰتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلاَّ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَصِيرٌ) الملك (

“Have they not seen the birds above them spreading their wings, and (at times) they fold (them) in? No one holds them up except Al-Rahman. Surely, He is watchful of everything.” (Al-Mulk 67:19)

2/ Al-Rahman represents Allah’s majestic attributes that reflect threat and punishment, as in the following verses:

يٰأَبَتِ إِنِّيۤ أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيّاً ) مريم (

“(Ibrahim said) My dear father, I fear that you will be afflicted by a punishment from Al-Rahman, and you become a companion of Satan.” (Maryam 19:45)

قُلْ مَن كَانَ فِي ٱلضَّلَـٰلَةِ فَلْيَمْدُدْ لَهُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ مَدّاً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا رَأَوْاْ مَا يُوعَدُونَ إِمَّا ٱلعَذَابَ وَإِمَّا ٱلسَّاعَةَ فَسَيَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ شَرٌّ مَّكَاناً وَأَضْعَفُ جُنداً) مريم (

“Say, “Whoever stays straying, Al-Rahman will prolong his span of life until they see what they are being warned of: either the punishment (in this world) or the Hour (Day of Judgement), then they will know who was worse in position and who is weaker in forces.” (Maryam 19:75)

إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلذِّڪۡرَ وَخَشِىَ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِۖ فَبَشِّرۡهُ بِمَغۡفِرَةٍ۬ وَأَجۡرٍ۬ ڪَرِيمٍ (یسٓ)

“You only warn the one who follows the advice and fears Al-Rahman in secret. So, give him good news of forgiveness and a generous reward.” (Yaseen 36:11)

ءَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِۦۤ ءَالِهَةً إِن يُرِدۡنِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ بِضُرٍّ۬ لَّا تُغۡنِ عَنِّى شَفَـٰعَتُهُمۡ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَلَا يُنقِذُونِ

“Shall I take (other) gods in place of Him. If Al-Rahman intends to do harm to me, their intercession neither help me nor save me?” (Yaseen 36:23)

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ) الزخرف(

“Whoever makes himself blind to the remembrance of Al-Rahman, We assign for him a devil who becomes his companion all the time.” (Al-Zughtouf 43:36)

قَالَتۡ إِنِّىٓ أَعُوذُ بِٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ مِنكَ إِن كُنتَ تَقِيًّ۬ا

“She (Maryam) said, “I seek refuge with Al-Rahman against you, if you are God-fearing” (Maryam 19:18)

(Note) In case of fear from someone, we seek refuge with Al-Rahman’s attributes of strength, power and authority and not mercy and forgiveness)

3/ Al-Rahman implies the Controller and the Dominator of the world and the Hereafter as Allah says:

وَيَوۡمَ تَشَقَّقُ ٱلسَّمَآءُ بِٱلۡغَمَـٰمِ وَنُزِّلَ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ تَنزِيلاً (٢٥) ٱلۡمُلۡكُ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ ٱلۡحَقُّ لِلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ‌ۚ وَڪَانَ يَوۡمًا عَلَى ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ عَسِيرً۬ا (٢٦)

“The Day the sky will split open with clouds, and angels will be sent down, descending (in ranks) (25) The kingdom on that day is be the true one, belonging to Al-Rahman: it will be a day of dire difficulty for the disbelievers.” (Al-Furqan 25:25:26)

رَّبِّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَہُمَا ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ‌ۖ لَا يَمۡلِكُونَ مِنۡهُ خِطَابً۬ا (٣٧) يَوۡمَ يَقُومُ ٱلرُّوحُ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ صَفًّ۬ا‌ۖ لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنۡ أَذِنَ لَهُ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابً۬ا (٣٨ [النبأ 37-38]

‘’The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, Al-Rahman, with Whom none can speak. (37) On the Day when the Spirit (Jibril) and the angels will stand in rows. They will not speak, except for the one who is permitted by Al- Rahman, and speaks aright” (Al-Nabaa 78:37-38)

إِن كُلُّ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلأَرْضِ إِلاَّ آتِي ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ عَبْداً ) مريم(

“There is none in the heavens and the earth, but bound to come to Al-Rahman as a slave” (Maryam 19:93)

يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ۬ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلدَّاعِىَ لَا عِوَجَ لَهُ ۥ‌ۖ وَخَشَعَتِ ٱلۡأَصۡوَاتُ لِلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ فَلَا تَسۡمَعُ إِلَّا هَمۡسً۬ا [طه]

“That day they will follow the caller without any deviation. And the voices will turn low in awe for Al-Rahman. So, nothing will you hear but whispering” (Taha 20:108)

Because of the comprehensive nature of Allah’s name Al-Rahman, it cannot be translated by one word since its meaning depends on the attribute that is relevant for the circumstance. While Allah is the proper name of the Creator, Al-Rahman could be considered as the title of Allah and not merely an attribute. Therefore, in the following sections, I’ll only use the Arabic name, Al-Rahman.

The Prophet (PBUH) narrated a divine (Qudsi) Hadith on behalf of Allah who said:

عن عبد الرحمن بن عوف رضي الله عنه قال : سمعت رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – يقول : (قال الله تبارك وتعالى : أنا الله وأنا الرحمن ، خلقت الرَّحِم ، وشققت لها من اسمي ، فمن وصلها وصلته ، ومن قطعها بتَتُّه ) رواه الترمذي وأبو داود وأحمد

“I am Allah, and I am Al-Rahman. I created the “Rahim” (womb) (الرحم) and extracted its name from My name. So, whoever connects with it (family ties), I will keep ties with him and whoever severs it (family ties), I’ll sever ties with him.” (Tirmidhi, Ahmad and Abu Dauod)

In this hadith, Allah as Al-Rahman, is linking the connection to Him to family relationships. He threatens those who sever their relationship with their family and give good news that He will bond with those who maintain the relationship with their family members. This hadith emphasizes the critical importance of maintaining the relationship with family members.

Allah’s name, Al-Rahman is unique to Him, and no one can use it as name for someone, other than being named Abdulrahman (i.e., slave of Al-Rahman). Those whose name is Abdulrahman should not abbreviate their name by dropping the tile Abd (slave) and calling themselves Rahman. The one person, Musaylimah, whose is recorded to us in history who called himself Rahman Al-Yammah (Al-Yammah is the name of the place where he was born) became condemned in history by the name “Musaylimah the liar” and became an example for lying. So those who name is Abdulrahman must prevent anyone from calling them Rahman.

Elements to Adopt in our Character

When we realize that Allah’s name Al-Rahman is a comprehensive attribute that includes all the other attributes of Allah, we learn that to adopt elements of this name in our character, we must have a well-balanced personality that integrates elements of many attributes.

While we need to develop our personality around being merciful, kind, forgiving, trusting, empathetic, trustworthy, unbiased, reliable, supportive, Noble, knowledgeable, visionary, and creative, we must also realize that we need be firm, resolute, restrained, enforcers and decisive.
Some of these traits may appear to be contrary to each other and thus we must have knowledge and wisdom to ensure that we know the time and place to apply each trait as well as the extent of the application.

Unlike Al-Rahman, the other names of Allah represent specific attributes that we should strive to adopt elements of them as we develop our well-balanced character. In the next sections we will discuss most of the 99 names of Allah and highlight the elements of each name that we need to adopt in our character.

DUA

Stop and ask the group for two minutes break before we discuss Al-Rahime.

الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

Al-Rahime (ٱلرَّحِيمِ) (The Most Merciful)

We will continue in this talk by studying the names of Allah as part of our answer to the fourth question in the series of the topic entitled:” Your Life in Light of Eternity”, as a reminder, this topic addresses the following four questions:

What is the purpose of our lives on earth? The answer was to prepare us for eternity when we return to Allah who will assess whether we are worthy of being in His company in Paradise forever or He will send us to another place as punishment for our failure
What is the nature of this life on earth? The answer was that our life on earth is a temporary assignment, it is a test, and it is a trust.
What is our role on earth to fulfil the purpose of our lives on it? The answer was to worship Allah and we defined worship as total obedience to Allah’s commands motivated by our love and gratitude to Him and by our trust in Him that all His commands are intended for our benefits.
What are the traits and qualities that we must possess to fulfill our role and achieve our purpose on earth? The answer was Adopting in our character elements of the Names/Attributes of Allah.

We already discussed the two unique names, Allah and Al-Rahman and in this talk we will, Insha’Allah, discuss Allah’s name Al-Rahime (الرحيم) (The Most Merciful)

Al-Rahime (ٱلرَّحِيمِ) (The Most Merciful)

Allah’s name Al-Rahime (الرحيم) (The Most Merciful) and indefinite form Rahime (رحيم) (Most Merciful) came in the Quran in reference to Allah 114 times. It came 6 times associated with Allah’s Name Al-Rahman and the rest associated with other names.

One of the key miracles of the Quran is the brevity and focus from the first sentence on its core message which is teaching mankind about Allah. The Quran starts with one verse that encompasses all Allah’s names and attributes. And this verse is the first one in Surat Al-Fatiha (the Opening):

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

“In the name of Allah, the Rahman, the Rahime” (Al-Fatiha 1:1)

In this one verse the proper and personal name Allah is given, the integrated name of all His attributes, Al-Rahman, is given and all these attributes are encompassed with the key attribute of being merciful (Rahime). While Allah’s name Al-Rahman reflects the attributes of imposing severe punishment that instills fear in the heart of the disbelievers and installs an awe in the heart of the believers for His power and absolute control over everything that exist, all of this is motivated by His key attribute of mercy, as Allah says:

عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاءُ وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

“I impose my punishment on whom I will, but My mercy embraces all things” (Al-Araf 7:156).

The prophet (PBUH) said:

أبا هريرة قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول إنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ كِتابًا قَبْلَ أنْ يَخْلُقَ الخَلْقَ: إنَّ رَحْمَتي سَبَقَتْ غَضَبِي، فَهو مَكْتُوبٌ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ العَرْشِ “.| البخاري[

“Allah has written above his throne, “My mercy takes precedence over my wrath”. (Bukhari)

The Prophet (PBUH) also said:

أبا هريرة قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول جعل الله الرحمة مائة جزء فأمسك عنده تسعة وتسعين جزءا وأنزل في الأرض جزءا واحدا فمن ذلك الجزء يتراحم الخلق حتى ترفع الفرس حافرها عن ولدها خشية أن تصيبه “.| البخاري[

“Allah divided Mercy into one-hundred parts, and He kept its ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down its one part on the earth, and because of that one part, His creations are Merciful to each other, so that even the mare lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal, lest it should harm it.” (Bukhari)

A key aspect of Allah’s mercy is that He instituted repentance to forgive people who make mistakes and commit sins. He said:

قُلۡ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسۡرَفُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُواْ مِن رَّحۡمَةِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغۡفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ هُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ (٥٣)

Say: “O my righteous slaves who have transgressed against their own selves, do not despair of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is the Forgiver, the Merciful. (Al-Zumur 39:53)

Allah’s name Al Rahime (the Most Merciful) came most often associated with Al-Aghafour (The forgiver), it came in 74 verses. But the name Al-Rahime (The Most Merciful) also came 13 times associated with the name Al-Aziz (the all-Mighty), to know that Allah’s mercy and forgiveness are not a blank check for people to do whatever evil they want to commit without being held accountable. While Allah can forgive all sins, He identified one sin that He will never forgive which is associating others with Him, as He said:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغۡفِرُ أَن يُشۡرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغۡفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٲلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ‌ۚ وَمَن يُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰٓ إِثۡمًا عَظِيمًا (٤٨)

“Allah does not forgive associating a partner with Him and He forgives anything else to whom He wills; whoever sets a partner with Allah commits a sin that is most heinous indeed.” (Al-Nisa 4:48)

وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ) الزمر(

And verily it has been revealed to you and to those before you that if you were to associate any partner to Allah, all your (good) deeds will be utterly futile and you would be among the losers. (Al-Zumur 39:65)

Another key aspect of Allah’s mercy is that He rewards ten folds the value of each good deed but only accounts one time for the impact of each evil deed. Allah said:

مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ) الأنعام(

“Whoever comes (to the day of Judgment) with a good deed shall have ten times the like of it in reward and whoever comes with bad deed he will only be requited with no more than the like of it and they shall not be wronged”. (Al-An’am 6: 160)

But it even goes beyond this generous reward system, when we do a bad deed and follow it with a good deed, the bad deed will be erased as Allah says:

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ) هود(

“And establish prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with bad deeds. That is a reminder or those who remember.” (Hud 11:114)

But it even goes more than that, actually our bad deed can be replaced with good deeds. In Surah Al-Fourqan, Allah says following his description of “وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ” The righteous slaves of Al-Rahman”:

فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمۡ حَسَنَـٰتٍ۬‌ۗ

Allah will substitute their evil deeds with good deeds.” (Al-Furqan 25:70)

So, Allah tells us that when one does a good deed, it will be accounted as 10. In addition, it will either erase his bad deed or will cause the bad deed to be substituted with a good deed.

But we must be careful of two actions that can erase the rewards of good deeds. These two actions are the (مَنِّ) which is boasting about the good deed or harming the person to whom you have done the good deed. Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُمْ بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَى) البقرة(

“O you who believe, do not nullify your charity with boastful reminders and harm (Al-Baqara 2:264)

Another important element of Allah’s mercy that goes beyond the ten-time rewards is that He rewards for the intention. If one is intending to commit a bad deed but did not do it, Allah rewards him for not doing it. And if one is intending to do a good deed but was not able to do it, Allah will reward him for his intention as if he did it. In a divine (Qudsi) hadith, the prophet (PBUH) narrated on behalf of Allah who said:

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : قال الله عز وجل : ( إذا تحدث عبدي بأن يعمل حسنة فأنا أكتبها له حسنة ما لم يعمل ، فإذا عملها فأنا أكتبها بعشر أمثالها ، وإذا تحدث بأن يعمل سيئة فأنا أغفرها له ما لم يعملها ، فإذا عملها فأنا أكتبها له بمثلها ، وقال رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – قالت الملائكة : رب ذاك عبدك يريد أن يعمل سيئة وهو أبصر به ، فقال : ارقبوه ، فإن عملها فاكتبوها له بمثلها ، وإن تركها فاكتبوها له حسنة ، فإنما تركها من جرَّاي ) ]رواه الشيخان ، وهذه رواية مسلم[

If My slave intended to do a good deed but he does not do it, I will record it for him as one good, but if he does it, I will record it or him as ten good deeds. And if he intended to do an evil deed, but he does not commit it, I will forgive that. But if he commits it, I will record it against him as one evil.

The angels said: Our Lord, your slave was intending to commit the evil, but obviously Allah is more aware than them. Allah said: Watch him; if he commits it (evil), write it against him by its equivalent but if he refrains from doing it for My sake, write it for him as one good deed. [Bukhari and Muslim]

This hadith represents a great gift from Allah if we take advantage of it with pure intention. You may say, if Allah grants me this money, I’ll give half of it as charity. Even if you do not get the money Allah will grant you the reward for spending the money, though in reality you did not. The same thing for any good deed whether it is fasting, memorizing the Quran, helping people, etc. The important issue is the sincere intention to do these good deeds.

The same principle has been reported in the record of past prophets. The following has been reported in records from the time of Prophet Musa (Moses) (PBUH)

قد جاء في الأثر أنه قد أصاب بني إسرائيل زمن موسى عليه السلام فاقة ومجاعة، وأنَّ راعياً بسيطاً نظرَ إلى الجبال حيث يرعى غنم الناس، وقال: اللهم إنك تعلمُ أنه لو كان لي مثل هذه الجبال ذهباً لتصدقتُ بها على عبادك! فأوحى الله تعالى إلى موسى عليه السلام أن يا موسى قُلْ لعبدي أني قبلتُ منه صدقته!

“During the time of Prophet Musa (Moses), the children of Bani Israel suffered poverty and famine. A simple shepherd looked at the mountains where he was grazing the sheep of the people, and said: O Allah, You know that if I had such mountains of gold, I would have given it all as charity to help Your slaves. Allah revealed to Musa (PBUH) to tell this slave (the Shepard) that Allah accepted his charity.”

Mercy is the hallmark of Islam; Allah described the mission of the Prophet (PBUH) by saying:

وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةً۬ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٠٧)

“We have not sent you, but as a mercy for all creatures.” (Al-Anbia (21:107)

And the Prophet (PBUH) emphasized the importance of mercy in many of his sayings, as example, He (PBUH) said:

حديث أبي هريرة قال رسول الله ﷺ يا أيُّها النَّاسُ إنَّما أنا رحمةٌ مُهداةٌ] البخاري[

“O People, I am but a guided Mercy” (Bukhari)

حديث أبي هريرة قال رسول الله ﷺ من لا يَرحم لا يُرحم [أخرجه البخاري، ومسلم.[

“Who does not show mercy will not be shown mercy (by Allah).”

But more that sayings, the Prophet (PBUH) demonstrated by actions throughout his life that he (PBUH) is a walking mercy. A clear example is what the Prophet (PBUH) said after the battle of Uhud when the army from Quraysh came to attack him and his followers in Madina, During the battle several of his companions were killed including his uncle and major supporter Hamza and he was severely injured including breaking his lower Jaw. The companions asked him to supplicate to Allah against the people of Quraysh. Instead, he (PBUH) said: (اللَّهمَّ اغفر لقومي فإنَّهم لا يعلمونَ) “O Allah forgive my people, they just do not know”. Also, when he (PBUH) gained major victory against the people of Quraysh, instead of taking revenge from them for all the harm and the suffering they caused him and Him companions for 20 years, instead he (PBUH) forgave all of them.

There are many examples of the applications of Allah’s name Al-Rahime (The Most Merciful). If we are to incorporate Allah’s name Al-Rahime in our character, our share of this name needs to at least include the following three elements:

Anchoring our action with mercy even when someone do injustice to us.
Showing mercy to the negligent and disobedient by demonstrating commitment to help them eliminate their negligence towards Allah to secure His mercy.
Never turning away from any needy person and committing to meet his/her needs to the extent of our ability. Even if we cannot offer the needed help, we should show sympathy and love and assist them by our prayers to Allah to satisfy their needs.

We pray to Allah to help us incorporate Mercy in all our actions and thoughts.

Next time, we will inshallah cover other names of Allah staring with the names given at the end of Surah Al-Hashr (59) in verses 23 and 24. These two verses provide a list of 11 names.

DUA