This article is about Islam as a religion of mercy.
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- Allah ﷻ created people and jinn and commanded them to worship Him alone. However, Allah ﷻ did not leave the people to discover Tawheed by themselves. Therefore, as a mercy to them of Allah ﷻ sent people to remind everyone about Tawheed. These people were His Messengers and Prophets. They invited people to Islam and showed them the correct way to worship Allah ﷻ . Allah ﷻ sent either a Messenger or Prophet to every nation. However, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent to teach everyone about Islam. Regarding this,
Allah ﷻ says in the Qur’aan:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا (سورة الاعراف : ١٥٨)
“Say (O Muhammad ): “O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all…” (Soorat Al-A’raaf:158)
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent to everyone. There is no difference made between people of different colors, backgrounds, or countries. Allah ﷻ sent him to guide the people and teach them how to worship Allah ﷻ alone in the correct way. All this is of the Mercy of Allah ﷻ and it is mentioned in the Qur’aan:
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ (سورة الانبياء : ١٠٧)
“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Soorat Al-Anbiyaa:107)
- Islam is so merciful that the Prophet ﷺ even taught the people to show kindness to animals. The following hadeeth is reported by ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger. (Reported by Al-Bukhaari) The moral of this hadeeth is the consequence of harming animals. If this is the result of hurting an animal, then the outcome of harming a human being is much worse.Islam is so merciful that it encourages moderation in everything. Islam is against going to extremes and instead insists on following the middle course in worship and every other matter. Muslims should not overburden themselves with anything that they do.
يُرِيدُ اللهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ ( سورة البقرة : ١٨٥)
“Allah says in the Qur’aan: Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for hardship…”. (Soorat Al-Baqarah:185)
- Allah also mentioned in the Qur’aan:
Allah does not charge a soul except (with that within) its capacity.(Soorat al-Baqarah:286)
لَا يُكْلفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ( سورة البقرة : ٢٨٦)
- These are a few examples from the Qur’aan and the Sunnah about the mercy of Islam.
What we learn from the lesson:
- People and jinn have been commanded to worship Allah alone.
- Islam is a religion of mercy.
- Islam is not oppressive in any way.
