✨Means of Attaining Mercy

Be conscious of Allah and reflect upon the names and attributes of your Lord, to boost your iman (faith) and conviction and increase your love, magnification, fear and reverence of Allah Almighty, and boost your trust in and reliance upon Allah.

And from His most beautiful names are Ar Rahman (Entirely Merciful), Ar Raheem (Especially Merciful). And these two names indicate a great attribute from the attributes of Allah which is the attribute of mercy.

And it is from the greatest attributes and we witness its effect in everything. For there is no blessing in the heavens or the earth except that it is from the effect of the mercy of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty said:
An Nahl (16) 18: And if you should count the favors of Allāh, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.

And from the mercy and generosity of Allah is that He gave his servants glad tidings about Himself:
Al An’am (6) 12: He has decreed upon Himself mercy.

And He gave glad tidings that His mercy prevailed over His wrath. The Prophet ﷺsaid:
When Allah created the creation, He wrote with Him above His throne: My mercy prevails over My wrath. [Bukhari 7422, Muslim 2751c]

And from the manifestations of His Mercy preceding His wrath is that He accepts repentance, forgives sins, pardons misdeeds, gives opportunity to the sinners and does not hasten the punishment and forgives the one realizing tawhid even if he has earthful of sins.

Indeed the mercy of Allah is wide to the point that it encompasses everything. Allah Almighty said:
Al Araf (7) 156: But My mercy encompasses all things.

So these verses show that the general mercy of Allah encompasses everything. It accommodates all that is in the heavens and the earth and what is between them. It encompasses the righteous and pious. And it encompasses the sinner and evil doer. It encompasses the genuine believer and it encompasses the denying disbeliever. It even encompasses the inanimate objects. So there is no creation except that it is encompassed by the general mercy of Allah and covered with His grace and kindness.

But Allah has a special and specific mercy that is not for everybody. He gives to whom He wills of His servants. This mercy is required for happiness in this world and the hereafter. So he gives them success through it for having iman (faith) and performing righteous deeds. And He favors them because of it in the hereafter with gardens of everlasting bliss. And this mercy has many means that Allah has made clear to His servants so that they may race and compete for it.

From the means of triumphing with mercy is guarding against and refraining from shirk (associating others with Allah) as well as other sins, both major and minor. Allah Almighty said:
Al Araf (7) 156: But My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it for those who guard themselves against evil.

Ibn Abbas said that it means that I will decree it for those who guard against shirk (associating others with Allah).

And from the means of triumphing with the exclusive mercy is iman (faith), emigration for the sake of Allah and striving in the way of Allah. Allah Almighty said:
Al Baqarah (2) 218: Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and strived in way of Allah – those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

And from the means of triumphing with this special mercy is obeying Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. By performing what Allah and His messenger commanded and refraining from what Allah and His messenger prohibited. Allah Almighty said:
Al Imran (3) 132: And obey Allāh and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.

And among the means for attaining this specific mercy is establishing and maintaining the five daily prayers and paying the Zakat if required to do so. Allah Almighty said:
An Noor (24) 56: And establish prayer and give zakāh and obey the Messenger – that you may receive mercy.

And from what attains the Mercy of Allah is loving and cooperating with the believers, and supporting them in the truth with the truth, and enjoining good and forbidding evil. Allah Almighty said:
At Tawbah (9) 71: The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakāh and obey Allāh and His Messenger. Those – Allāh will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise.

Among the doors of Allah’s mercy is seeking forgiveness plentifully while being genuine. For seeking forgiveness is the key to the doors of mercies and blessings in this world and the hereafter. Allah Almighty said in the narrative of the Prophet Saleh, peace be upon him:
An Naml (27) 46: He said, O my people, why are you impatient for evil before [i.e., instead of] good? Why do you not seek forgiveness of Allāh that you may receive mercy?

Among the mercy that springs from seeking forgiveness is forgiveness of sins, lifting the punishment, abundance of livelihood, physical strength and being granted children.

And what brings the mercy off Allah is recitation of the Noble Quran and listening intently if it is recited and acted upon it. For the Quran is mercy and the one reciting it and the one listening intently to it receive mercy if they act upon it. Allah Almighty said:
An An’am (6) 155: And this [Qur’ān] is a Book We have revealed [which is] blessed, so follow it and fear Allāh that you may receive mercy.

And Allah Almighty said:
Al Araf (7) 204: So when the Qur’ān is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.

And among the means of attaining the mercy of Allah is striving to reconcile between the believers when conflicts and quarrels arise between them. Allah Almighty said:
Al Hujurat (49) 10: The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allāh that you may receive mercy.

And among the means of securing the mercy of Allah is to be patient when calamities befall. So one should not say or do except what pleases Allah. Allah Almighty said:
Al Baqarah (2) 155-157: (155) But give good tidings to the patient, (156) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return. (157) Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.

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