Be Mercy To All
We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations. (Qur’an, 21:107).
As the Qur’an says,
In the Apostle of God there is certainly for you a good exemplar, (Qur’an, 33:21).
And you should try your best to be like him. You should know his manner, behavior and his correctors and follow them. This is the way of salvation.
One of the characters of the Prophet was His love for all people. He was a mercy for all creatures. Almighty God says,
“We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations.” (Qur’an, 21:107).
Moreover, says,
“There has certainly come to you an apostle from among yourselves. Grievous to him is your distress; he is full of concern for you and most kind and merciful to the faithful.” (Qur’an, 9:128).
Holy Prophet was so concern - not just for believers and his companions, but also for non-believers - that Almighty God told him:
“Perhaps you will torment yourself in grief over them, because they will not believe in this saying at all.” (Qur’an, 18:6).
Polytheists persecuted him and beat him with stones, but the Prophet prayed for them and said, “O My Lord, forgive my people; they do not know.”1
It is easy to love people that are just like us; People that look like us, dress like us, worship like us. That does not take a lot of effort, but what about people that are different from us? People that we do not understand, we do not agree with. It is easy to size them up from the exterior, put them in a box, and think, “they are not for me. They are odd. I am going to keep distance.”
However, holy prophet’s love is not exclusive; it is inclusive. He loves not just faithful but is kind to non-believers too. Of course, He has a special love and mercy to believers.
“Muhammad, the Apostle of God, and those who are with him are hard against the faithless and merciful amongst themselves.” (Qur’an, 48:29).
There is in traditions that there was a Jewish who annoyed the prophet. Every day she saved all the garbage in a basket, placed it on the roof of her house and threw all the garbage on Prophet, when he passed by. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) did not say anything and continued on his way. One day, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) did not find the woman to be on the roof with the basket.
This worried him; he asked about her and they said she is sick. Holy Prophet with some of his companions visited her. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) entered the house and visited her. This made her feel very guilty for being so cruel to him in the past and she apologized for her mean behavior and converted to Islam.
These are the kindness and mercy of the Prophet. After the conquest of Mecca He forgave all his enemies; they tortured him for years but magnanimous Prophet forgave all of them. He told them: “I say to you what my brother Joseph said to his brothers:
There shall be no reproach on you today. God will forgive you, and He is the most merciful of the merciful.” (Qur’an, 12:92).
This is the Prophet, but what about us? How do we behave with others? How do we behave with believers, with Muslims, with our brothers and sisters? The Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) said, “The believers, in their mutual love, compassion and mercy, are like one body; if one part of it is suffering, the rest of the parts of the body join it in its fever and sleeplessness.”2
Moreover, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said, “Let your mercy and compassion come to your people, all of them because there are two kinds of people: those who have the same religion as you have; they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, but they are human beings like you.” Then said, “Let them pardon and forgive as you like God to forgive you.”3 Qur’an says,
“Let them pardon and forgive. Would you not like God to forgive you? And God is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Qur’an, 24:22).
You should be kind to people as your prophet did, and as your Lord, Almighty God does. You are the successor of Almighty God and should try your best to be like your Lord.
He has made mercy incumbent upon Himself. (Qur’an, 6:12).
Indeed God is most kind and merciful to mankind. (Qur’an, 2:143).
So be kind to them. Of course God has a special mercy that is for believers and virtuous. He says,
“My mercy embraces all things. Soon I shall appoint it for those who are God wary and give the zakat and those who believe in Our signs.” (Qur’an, 7:156).
You should be like Almighty God. You should be kind to people. God’s love is not exclusive; it is inclusive. It does not exclude people that are different. It does not write people off because they are not where they should be in life. It does not ignore someone because they are not meeting our standards. It is unconditional love and mercy.
Unconditional mercy says, “I am going to love you even if I do not agree with you. I may not agree with your lifestyle, your doctrine, how you are raising your children, the friends you are choosing, but I know this: you are made in the image of Almighty God and the spirit of God is in you and I am not called to judge you. I am called to love you, to be kind with you. Yes I may disagree with your behavior, with your lifestyle, but I love you and because of that I will try my best to help you to get rid of it.”
If you think he is sick, then you need to cure him. It is the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy. Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) was a doctor for others and he found sick people and cured them. He said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed.”4
A man enquired, “O Messenger of God! I help him when he is oppressed, but how can I help him when he is an oppressor?” He (peace be upon him and his pure progeny) said, “You can keep him from committing oppression. That will be your help to him.”
You have to realize every person is on a journey. Where they are right now is not where they are going to end up. They are not a finished product. They are still on the potter’s wheel. However, so often you judge people for where they are today. You may write them off and think they are a mess; they are done. No, God will use you to plant seeds in their heart.
Your love, your friendship, your encouragement is a part of the plan God has designed for their life. God is counting on you to make a difference. Do not have a holier than thou attitude. Take off the judgmental classes. If not for the grace of God, you could be right where they are. The same things that you are tempted to be judgmental and critical about, if not for God’s goodness, you could be struggling with as well. Moreover, if you had walked in their shoes, been raised in their family, fought the battles that they fought, you would understand why they are where they are.
The areas that you are strong in, you did not just happen to be strong; that is the mercy of God on your life. So
do not turn your face away from people out of arrogance; nor walk in the street exultingly; verily, God does not like any self-conceited Boaster. (Qur’an, 31:18).
When you show this unconditional love, people may not respond right away. It may not seem like it is doing any good. They keep making poor choices. However, here is the key: Those seeds never die. The seeds of hope, mercy, encouragement that you plant in other people they never die. It may look like it is not doing any good, but the reason it is not growing, is the soil of their heart; it is hard and rocky.
That seed could not take root. The good news is the seed is still alive, and at the right time, God will soften their heart, loosing up that soil, and the seed you have sown will take root and bring a harvest. Nothing you are doing has been wasted. Every time you show love, you are sowing these seeds. However, sometimes you think that you have to convict people. You have to tell them what they are doing wrong, point out all their faults; make sure they really feel guilty. No, and because of this spying is forbidden in Islam. Qur’an says,
“O, you who have faith! Avoid much suspicion. Indeed some suspicions are sins. Moreover, do not spy on or backbite one another. Will any of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And be wary of God; indeed God is all-clement, all-merciful.” (Qur’an, 49:12).
You just keep sowing these seeds, showing unconditional love, and at the right time, they will come to life and God will make it grow. Qur’an says,
“Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who make it grow, or are We the grower?” (Qur’an, 56:63-64).
When you show love, you are showing God. When you are merciful, understanding, accepting that heals or that restores, that brings new life. You have been good at telling people what you do not like. However, do not be known just for what you are against; be known for what you are for. You are for people. You are for new beginnings. You are for second chances.
Your attitude should be “if you have good morals or no morals, I am still going to love you. If you are clean and sober or you are strung-out and addicted, I am still going to love you. If you are black or white, Muslims or Christian, believer or atheist, I am still going to love you. And I will try my best to help you, to save you.”
What would this world be like if instead of judging people you really start loving people? So maybe they do not look like you but they are not supposed to. God made them different. Maybe they are not where they should be in life right now. That is okay. They are on a journey. They are not a finished product. Do not shut them out. Your God is the God of the whole earth. He is not a white God, a black God. However, so many times you may have this narrow view of God.
You may have your little circle of what you believe, and who you think is right, and then exclude everyone else. You point out their faults, what they are doing wrong, where you do not agree. Nobody is correct 100 percent. Do not say, “They do not pray like we pray.” Do not focus on the things that separate you. The longer I live, the more I realize how big God’s circle is; how wide his mercy extends.
Indeed, God is most kind and merciful towards mankind. (Qur’an, 22:65).
Say, “My love for you is bigger than a theological difference. It is bigger than what faith you practice. It is even bigger than a political or a philosophical difference. If you draw a circle to shut me out, I am going to draw a bigger circle to shut you in.” When you love unconditionally, you have a wide circle. You are not judging everybody to see if they fit into your little box.
You can say, “Where would we be without the mercy of God?” when you did not deserve it. When you made mistakes, God showed you his unconditional love. He is asking you to show this same love to other people. He says,
“Lower your wing to the faithful and be courteous and Supportive to them.” (Qur’an, 15:88).
Do not look at them through eyes of judgment; look at them through eyes of mercy. Almighty God freely gave you mercy; let us freely give other people mercy. Holy Prophet said, “He who is not merciful to people, God will not be merciful to him.”5
It means he will not receive the special mercy of God. Moreover, he said, “A person does not enter Paradise unless he be compassionate towards all people not just his family.” On the other hand, said, “Have mercy to those on earth, so who is in heaven gives you mercy.”6
It is easy to cover people with judgment, covering them with condemnation, cover with guilt, but let us start covering people with love. Create in your mind and heart kindness, compassion and love for people and your subjects. Do not behave towards them as if you are a voracious and ravenous beast and as if your success lies in devouring them. Because amongst your subjects there are two kinds of people: those who have the same religion as you have; they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, they are human beings like you.7 Cover people with love; love heals. Love brings down barriers.
Love puts people back on their feet. You may not understand someone but that is okay. Have a wide circle of love. Remember, they are on a journey. Where they are is not where they are going to end up. God is counting on them to make a difference, to push them forward and show them mercy. If you will have this unconditional love, not only will you help others, but also your own life will improve. You will have more joy and better relationships.
Ask Almighty God and say, “O, God help us to have mercy on others and not judge people by the exterior, by what they wear, by the mistakes they have made. God let us see people through eyes of love. O, God help us to love and follow Prophet Muhammad and His progeny (peace be upon them) and to be merciful to all creatures.
