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By Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
Everyone seeks forgiveness, lacking as we do in our present form, the state of perfection… We all depend upon divine grace, and we should never despair of the infinite mercy of the Almighty!
Consider for a moment; Prophet Jesus’ famous rebuttal, to a group of people who’s hearts had become so hardened, they couldn’t wait to stone a woman for an alleged act of adultery…
“He that is without sin among you,
let him first cast a stone at her”
John 8:7
He that is without sin? Other than the Almighty, only the prophets and angels are without sin, something Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, was well aware! One after another, the people left… Then Jesus, peace be upon him, said:
“Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?” She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
John 8:10-11
The greatness of showing mercy, is emphasised time and time again, throughout religious scriptures and by all of God’s messengers and sages. Being merciful is an attribute of the Almighty, as God says in the Holy Qur’an:
“My Mercy embraces all things…”
Holy Qur’an 7:156
God sent prophets and revealed His revelations to them, out of His divine mercy for humankind. As God reveals about Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him…
“And We have sent you not but as a mercy to all the worlds.”
Holy Qur’an 21:107
People who show mercy in the face of adversity, demonstrate true strength. Those who consistently have mercy and compassion towards others, will always have clean hearts. Whereas those who bear grudges, are vengeful or worse, will find out in the end, they’ve only harmed their own souls.
“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.”
Proverbs 11:17
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, is reported to have said:
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:7-8
If we desire forgiveness for our own sins, we must be merciful towards others. Our forgiveness is connected to how we treat others… Those who are merciful shall obtain mercy. But how can we rightfully expect God to bestow upon us mercy, if we’ve never been merciful towards others?
“Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.”
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira.
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 26
“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
James 2:13
Above all though, God’s mercy reigns supreme! As narrated in a hadith by Abu Huraira: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
“When Allah created creation, He wrote a book, which is with Him above the Throne, saying: My mercy overcomes My wrath.”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 416
Anas bin Malik, may Allah accept him, reported Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, had said, “None of you is a (true) believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]
40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi, Hadith Number 13
The Blessed Saint Mary (Maryam al-Muqaddasa) is a sensational film of the life of Saint Mary, the Virgin mother of Jesus, based on classical Islamic texts. The film begins with the birth of Mary and ends with the birth of Jesus, skilfully recreating the major events which Mary went through as well as that of Prophet Zachariah, Mary’s guardian and a righteous Prophet of God.
This two hour presentation is a glorious illustration and depiction of the lofty station held by Mary in Islam, as well as the great stature of Prophet Zacharias.
“And spend in the cause of Allah; and do not cast yourselves into destruction with your own hands; and adopt righteousness. Verily, Allah loves the righteous.”
Holy Qur’an 2:195 “Irfan-Ul Qur’an” (Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri)
“And hold fast to the rope of Allah all of you together and do not generate dissension and factions. But call to mind the blessing of Allah upon you when you were enemies (one to another). Then He created the bond of love among your hearts, and by His blessing you became brothers. And you (had reached) the brink of a pit of Fire (of Hell) but He rescued you from it. That is how Allah elaborates His Signs to you so that you may take guidance to the right path.”
Holy Qur’an 3:103 “Irfan-Ul Qur’an” (Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri)
“O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you, in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware.”
Holy Qur’an 49:13 (Muhammad Asad)
“Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance. And if ye do catch them out catch them out no worse than they catch you out: but if ye show patience that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient. And do thou be patient for thy patience is but from Allah; nor grieve over them: and distress not thyself because of their plots. For Allah is with those who restrain themselves and those who do good.”
Holy Qur’an 16:125-128 (Yusuf Ali)
“Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
Holy Bible, 1Peter 2:12-17, RSV
“[Prophet], do you not see how God makes comparisons? A good word is like a good tree whose root is firm and whose branches are high in the sky, yielding constant fruit by it’s Lord’s leave – God makes such comparisons for people so that they may reflect – but an evil word is like a rotten tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, with no power to endure. God will give firmness to those who believe in the firmly rooted word, both in this world and the Hereafter, but the evildoers He leaves to stray: God does whatever He will.”
Holy Qur’an 14:24-27 (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem)
“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “
Holy Bible, Matthew 7:16-23 (NKJV)
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year!
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Matthew (7:7-8) KJV
Narrated Anas
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, ‘Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Then they will go to Adam and say, ‘O Adam! Don’t you see the people (people’s condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Adam will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking’ and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.’ They will go to Noah who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention the mistake which he made, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.’
They will go to Abraham who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly.’ They will go to Moses who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘You’d better go to Jesus, Allah’s slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.’ They will go to Jesus who will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking, but you’d better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).’ So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise.
I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise, I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, ‘O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise. I will come back and say, ‘O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur’an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.’ “
The Prophet added, “There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ (There is no god but God) and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain. Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah,’ and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant).”
Volume 9 number 507, Sahih Al-Bukhari
“No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.
Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.
Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left.
So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come. Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.
Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns.
But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late. Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.”
Matthew (24:36-51) CEV
“So, my disciples, always be ready! You don’t know the day or the time when all this will happen.”
Matthew (25:13) CEV
