(The Mercy of Allah (God   
      
   "Limitless is your Lord in His mercy..." Qur'an 6:147   
      
      
   God Almighty is full of love and kindness to His creation. All blessings and   
   goodness in this world and the next are clear proofs of His Mercy. Indeed,   
   Islam teaches that God is more merciful toward us than our own mothers. How   
   can it be otherwise, when    
   some of God's names and attributes include:    
      
       
      
   The Acceptor of Repentance;   
   The Compassionate;   
   The Loving;   
   The Forbearing One;   
   The Most Gracious;   
   The Most Merciful;   
   The Source of Goodness;   
   The Most Generous;   
   The Bestower   
   These names all indicate that God is characterised by mercy, goodness and   
   generosity. They testify to the vastness and perfection of His Mercy, which He   
   blesses all of His creation. This same creation is addressed by God, when He   
   says, "O son of Adam,    
   were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you   
   then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness   
   nearly as great as the earth."   
      
   Examples of Allah's Mercy & blessings   
   "Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you deny?" Qur'an 55:13   
   Throughout life, people continually receive Allah's blessings, be it good   
   health, sight, hearing, nourishment, clean air, children, wealth and countless   
   others. Some use their God-given gifts of intelligence and reasoning to   
   acknowledge these blessings,    
   grasp the purpose of their existence, and thereby submit themselves to Allah.   
   Others, however, do not appreciate the Mercy of Allah toward their own selves,   
   even though He feeds and sustains them despite their disobedience toward Him.   
   They are given    
   mobility, enjoyment, freedom of thought and action, despite their outright   
   denial of Him. Their very existence would not be, were it not for the Mercy of   
   Allah.   
      
   Ultimately, everyone has the free will to acknowledge their blessings, use   
   them in a manner ordained by Allah (the Lord of mankind) and worship Him   
   alone. Below, we have outlined a glimpse of such blessings, because "... if   
   you were to try and count the    
   favours of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and   
   Merciful." Qur'an 16:18   
      
   Guidance Through Divine Scriptures & Prophets   
   "It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Qur'an) to you (Muhammad) with   
   truth, confirming what came before it. And He sent down the Taurah and the   
   Injeel (the original revelations revealed to Prophets Moses and Jesus   
   respectively)." Qur'an 3:3   
   From the beginning of creation, man was not left to face the struggles of life   
   alone. Due to God's Mercy, man received revelation through Prophets, who   
   conveyed and taught it to their people to guide and protect them. The most   
   perfect and merciful of    
   revelations was the Qur'an and the last of the prophets was Muhammad (peace be   
   upon him).   
   The Qur'an - the final revelation - superseded and abrogated previous   
   revelations, and is the ultimate mercy and guidance for mankind. Just as God   
   sent Messengers in the past, He also sent mankind a living, perfect and   
   practical example of how the Qur'an'   
   s teachings of mercy and justice should be practically applied in our daily   
   lives. This example was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - a mercy to   
   mankind.   
      
   "And We (God) have not sent you (Muhammad) except as a mercy for mankind."   
   Qur'an 21:107   
   Following are just some of the Prophet's sayings which are indicative of his   
   mercy, kindness, tolerance and beautiful teachings:   
      
   "Kindness is not found in anything except that it adds to its beauty, and is   
   not withdrawn from anything except that it makes it deficient."   
   "The most perfect of believers in belief is the best of them in character."   
   "He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his fill while his neighbour goes hungry."   
   "Allah will not show mercy to him who does not show mercy to others."   
   How desperately do we, as a society, and in these times, need such beautiful   
   advice?   
      
   Mercy Towards The Creation   
   TThe creation of human beings and all their faculties is a great mercy in   
   itself. The fact that we can get out of bed, work, eat, play and sleep should   
   make us grateful.   
   "And out of His Mercy He made for you the night and the day that you may rest   
   therein and [by day] seek from His Bounty and [that] perhaps you will be   
   grateful." Qur'an 28:73   
   A spouse is one of the greatest of mercies, a means to tranquillity and   
   affection.   
   "And of His signs is that He created for you, from yourselves, mates that you   
   may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy.   
   Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought."Qur'an 30:21   
   Another mercy is the fact that He created us sinless and will not hold us to   
   account until the age of maturity and decision making. This is in stark   
   contrast to the "Original Sin" concept in Christianity.   
      
   Forgiveness of sins is another example of Allah's Mercy, as Allah knows we are   
   imperfect and commit mistakes. The fact that believers commit sins does not   
   mean that we should lose hope of Allah's Mercy or that we have exhausted   
   Allah's Forgiveness.   
      
   "O My servants who have transgressed against their souls! Do not despair of   
   the Mercy of God: for God forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most   
   Merciful." Qur'an 39:53   
   Even animals are not exempt from Allah's Mercy. They have faculties of hearing   
   and sight, are provided with sustenance and offspring, and are granted many   
   other blessings. Allah's Mercy envelops them to the point that because of one   
   single portion of    
   Allah's Mercy sent to earth, "...His creatures are merciful to each other, so   
   that even the mare lifts up its hoof away from its baby animal, lest it should   
   trample on it."   
   The Merciful Creator ensures that every creation is looked after - from the   
   fish in the depths of the ocean, to the insects in the earth, and the birds in   
   the skies - all are sustained by Him.   
   How to increase Allah's Mercy upon us   
   "Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good." Qur'an 7:56   
   Due to God's Mercy, He has promised to forgive and pardon whosoever follows   
   the appropriate means as mentioned in the following verse:   
      
   "And surely, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My   
   Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good   
   deeds, and then remains constant in doing them." Qur'an 20:82   
   Part and parcel of having the correct belief is believing and obeying the   
   final Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him).   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)