The mercy of Allah the Almighty

First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah Whose mercy encompasses all things. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Servant of Allah and His Messenger. He sent him as a mercy to the worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad, his family and all of his companions, and all those who follow them till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows,

I urge you and myself, O Servants of Allah, to be aware that you are asked to obey Him the Most Exalted and High, in line with His orders, “but My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give Zakat and those who believe in Our verses.” (Al-Aaraf: 156).

Dear Muslims,

The beautiful names and attributes of Allah the Almighty include the “Most Compassionate” and the “Most Merciful”. The Most Exalted always reminds us in the His holy book that He is the Most Merciful. For instance, the Almighty says, “and your god is one God. There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.” (Al-Baqara: 163). Allah the Almighty has ordained mercy on Himself for He says, “your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy.” (Al-Anaam: 54). Moreover, not only the Almighty’s mercy is vast, but it also overcomes His wrath as illustrated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh in this Hadith: “When Allah had finished His creation, He wrote over his Throne: My Mercy preceded My Anger.”

Out of His supreme generosity, Allah the Almighty has opened for His believing servants the doorways of His mercy and He engulfed all His creation with it. The Prophet pbuh said in this regard, “Allah divided Mercy into one hundred parts. He kept ninety nine parts with Him and sent down one part to the earth, and because of that one single 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 trample on it.”

Indeed, Allah is the Most Merciful in this life and in the Hereafter. He is even more merciful toward His servants than the mother toward her children. On this account, it was narrated that the Prophet pbuh once saw a woman breastfeeding her child, so he said, “Do you think that this lady can throw her son in the fire?” His companions replied, “No.” The Prophet pbuh then said, “Allah is more merciful to His servants than this lady to her son.”

In an indication to the importance of mercy, the holy Quran is alive with the meanings of mercy and kindness. For instance, Allah the Almighty says, “O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.” (Yunus: 57). For this reason, the angels who are close to Allah ask His forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], “Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire.” (Ghafir: 7). Truly, with His mercy, the Most Exalted and Sublime protects us, for He says, “but Allah is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of the merciful.” (Yusuf: 64).

Furthermore, it is by Allah’s mercy that He overlooks our flaws, for His forgiveness is firmly associated with His mercy and kindness. The Exalted is He says, “and, [O Muhammad], say, ‘My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of the merciful’.” (Al-Muminoon: 118).

In fact the mercy of Allah the Almighty is abundant. One aspect of His mercy is that He sent us our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, for the Almighty says, “and We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 107). As such, the Messenger of Allah pbuh was the gifted mercy, showing clemency toward all the people, the younger and the elder amongst them. He demonstrated empathy with the weak and less fortunate, to those who are close to him and others that are furthest, no matter whether they were Muslims or non-Muslims. He pbuh said, “But I have been sent as mercy.”

Not only the Prophet pbuh has set example in being kind and compassionate, but also instilled the values of mercy in the hearts of his companions. Thus, mercy was the foundation of their relationships and dealings, earning thereby the praise of Allah the Most High Who described them saying, “merciful among themselves.” (Al-Fath: 29).

O Servants of Allah,

It is good to know that embracing the quality of mercy is amongst the aspects of faith, for Allah the Almighty has placed it in the hearts of His believing servants. Thus, the true believer exhibits clemency and leniency in his dealings to all the creation of Allah. In this sense, they would wish for others that which they wishes for themselves and perform righteous acts that may earn them the mercy of their Lord. True believers are, really, a source of goodness, kindness and peace for the whole world.

Emphasising the great status of mercy, the Prophet pbuh said, “You will not enter Paradise until you are merciful to others.” His companions said, “O Messenger of Allah, all of us are merciful.” Thereupon, he pbuh said, “It is not only mercy amongst yourselves, but rather it is mercy to the entire people.” Indeed, with mercy and kindness the world will become a better place to live in, people will be happy, hearts become closer to each other and the members of the community will become firmly bonded, enforcing one another.

O Merciful Believers,

Please also know that in order to attain the mercy of Allah the Almighty, one should possess certain qualities and perform righteous deeds. The Most Exalted has associated His righteous servants with His name, the “Most Merciful”, for He describes them saying, “and the servants of the Most Merciful.” (Al Furqan: 63). The reason is that their hearts are full of mercy, kindness and compassion toward all Allah’s creation. So, Allah’s mercy is best earned by His righteous servant. The Exalted is He says, “and We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed, they were of the righteous.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 86). Truly, the closest servant to his Lord’s mercy is the doer of good, for the Almighty says, “indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.” (Al-Aaraf: 56).

Other acts that are conducive to draw the believer closer to attain the abundant mercy of their Lord is to listen attentively to the recitation of the holy Quran and adhere to its teachings. Allah the Almighty says, “so when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.” (Al-Aaraf: 204). The Most Compassionate also says, “and this [Quran] is a Book We have revealed [which is] blessed, so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy.” (Al-Anaam: 155).

In like manner, those who turn to Allah the Almighty, hold fast to His rope and rely on Him will certainly attain His mercy. The Most Merciful says, “so those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him - He will admit them to mercy from Himself and bounty.” (An-Nisaa: 175). Similarly, those who earnestly ask their Lord for forgiveness, are most likely to earn the greatest share of His mercy. The Most High urges His servants to seek his forgiveness, for He says “why do you not seek forgiveness of Allah that you may receive mercy?” (An-Naml: 46).

Undoubtedly, the believers who strive in pursuing the mercy of their Lord will attain it, and thus cherish happiness in this world and in the Hereafter for it is a favour from the Most Merciful. The Almighty says, “indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, ‘Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful’.” (Al-Muminoon: 109).

Bearing this in mind, let us pray to Allah, the Most Merciful, to guide us to that which warrants His mercy, and that which will determine His forgiveness, and the spoils (fruits) of every righteous deed, and safety from every sin, and admit us to His Paradise.

O Allah, we seek Your favour to guide us all to obey You and obey Your Messenger Muhammad pbuh and obey those You have commanded us to obey in line with Your orders: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority amongst you.” (An-Nisaa: 59).

May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no deity save Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon ou­­r Master Muhammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

I urge you, O Servants of Allah, and myself to be aware that you are asked to obey Him, the Most Exalted and Sublime.

O Worshipers,

Mercy is a quality of Allah, the Most High, which He granted to His Creation. The Most Merciful, likes amongst His Creation those who embrace His merits. As such, whoever treats others in kindness and shows mercy to them, he will, by Allah’s favour, attain His mercy. This was accentuated by the Prophet pubh when he said, “The merciful are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful). Be merciful toward those who are in the earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens.”

In this sense, one quality of the believer is that he should be merciful toward himself as well as his parents. As such, he strives to touch his parents’ hearts with happiness and invoke Allah the Almighty to show mercy on them. Allah, the Almighty ordered us to show dutifulness towards our parents, for He says, “and lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, ‘My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.” (Al-Israa: 24).

Other aspects of mercy that earns the believer Allah’ satisfaction include being merciful toward his family, showing kindness to them and taking care of their needs. In like manner, the believer should be kind to his relatives, ask about their conditions and strive to fulfil their needs and spend on them whenever required. Such qualities are conducive to lead the believer to doorways of Paradise as the Messenger of Allah pbuh said, “The people who will enter Paradise are of three kinds, and he mentioned of them: A man who shows mercy to all his relatives.”

More to this, schools also carry an important role in instilling the value of mercy in the community. Teachers are responsible to show mercy towards students by treating them kindly, giving them good advice and knowledge, and showing patience and leniency toward them. From this perspective, Allah the Most Wise has given priority to mercy over knowledge, for He says, “to whom we had given mercy from us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge.” (Al-Kahf: 65).

Another important aspect of mercy is that which is shown by the doctor toward their patients. They cure their illness, alleviate their pains and open the horizons of hope for them. Likewise, workplace is another institution where the character of mercy should stand out. So, an employee is expected to show clemency with the customers, facilitate their transactions and be lenient with them. Similarly, the merchant should be merciful towards people by being trustworthy in their trading affairs as illustrated by the Prophet pbuh when he said, “May Allah’s mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money.”

In fact, mercy should be a key character of the Muslim in treating all the creatures and organisms in this world, including plants, animals and birds. In return, Allah the Most Compassionate appreciates such character and reward their owners by forgiving their misdeeds. On this account, it was reported that Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet pbuh said, “A man felt very thirsty while he was on the way, there he came across a well. He went down the well, quenched his thirst and came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, ‘This dog is suffering from thirst as I did.’ So, he went down the well again and filled his shoe with water and watered it. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him.” The people said, “O Allah's Messenger pbuh! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?” He pbuh replied: “Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate (living being).”

That is said, please bear in mind that you are instructed to invoke peace and blessings on the Prophet pbuh. Allah, the Most Sublime, says, “indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” (Al-Ahzab: 56).

On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, “For everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.”

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and all of the noble Companions.

O Allah, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allah, please forgive us all.

O Allah, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allah we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful.

O Lord, we beseech You to bless all of the Muslim countries and the whole world with stability, cure from any illness and peace.

May Allah grant success and continued health and care to all of us, Muslims and all the world.

O Allah, please forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead.

O Lord, forgive and show mercy on them and bless them with Your kindness and satisfaction. O Lord, forgive and show mercy on our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.

We pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to continue blessing our country with stability and welfare and bless its provisions. O Allah, please continue blessing our country with safety and security.

O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, relieve us! O Allah, give us from the blessings of the sky and grow for us from the blessings of the earth.

O Allah: we turn to Your name through which nothing is harmed in the earth and the heavens. That we not be afflicted through disease or calamity. Or that disease or epidemic may befall us, O Allah: hear this supplication. We ask you Allah for constancy of wellbeing. For ourselves and for all of the people around us. Save us from the evil of epidemics and diseases. Remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful of His benevolence and He will increase His blessings to you.

O Allah, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muhammad pbuh, his family and all of the companions.