Never Lose Hope in Allah’s Mercy

Allah Almighty is full of love and kindness to His creation. All blessings and goodness in this world and the next are clear proofs of His mercy. Indeed, Islam teaches that Allah is merciful toward us than our mothers. How can it be otherwise when some of Allah’s names and attributes include:

The Acceptor of Repentance;

The Compassionate;

The Loving;

The Forbearing One;

The Most Gracious;

The Most Merciful;

The Source of Goodness;

The Most Generous;

The Bestower

Never Lose Hope in Allah’s Mercy

These names indicate that Allah SWT is characterized by mercy, goodness, and generosity. They testify to the vastness and perfection of His mercy, which blesses all His creation. Allah SWT addresses the same creation when He says, « O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as the earth. »

The state of today’s condition can sometimes drive us to depression and hopelessness, or even our mistakes and human errors of judgment and the dis-compassionate attitude that unfortunately prevails in our commercial, business, social and political realm. The Qur’an reminds us never to lose hope in God’s mercy. It is another reminder of God’s mercy and gives humanity hope despite the sorry state we and societies may be going through.

The verse of Mercy. Arja Aya ‘The verse of the greatest hope: Say oh my worshippers who have transgressed against himself never lose hope in the mercy of Allah’. (Surah Zummar 53)

Mercy is thus an essential Divine attribute emphasized in verse ‘In the name of God the Most Gracious the Most Merciful. Mercy is necessary to God’s essential nature, which is why it was revealed 114 times in the Qur’an. Belief, life, creation, prophets, and revelation manifest His Mercy and are embodiments of mercy.

Believers are encouraged to embody this Divine attribute within themselves and towards all of creation. The Prophet Muhammad encouraged mercy ‘Be merciful to those on the earth, and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you.

Quran begins with Bismillah I Rahman I Raheem to emphasize the essence of our Lord is Mercy – the essence of our Prophet is mercy, and the essence of Islam is mercy.

Mercy is to counterbalance the chaotic nature of our world today and focus on a real light that enables us to see and find this attribute of our Lord/ Divine and also to live and manifest this attribute as the Prophets and saints have done in all our traditions.

Before the Hijrah, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his followers faced the most brutal and ruthless persecution and hostilities at the hands of Quraish, the Prophet’s tribe. The Prophet, however, never lost hope in disseminating the noble message of Islam. Instead, he encouraged his followers to keep patient and forbearing in the most challenging and difficult times while anticipating Allah’s help and assistance.

The Prophet’s Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah shows how much his heart was filled with hope and trust in Allah. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) and his closest friend, Abu Bakr, left for Madinah, the people of Quraish decided to block all roads leading out of Makkah and imposed heavy armed surveillance over all potential exits. A reward of 100 camels each was set for capturing Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr and bringing them back to Makkah. Horse riders, infantry, and expert track tracers scoured the city’s outskirts. 

Once, they even managed to reach the mouth of the cave where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr were hiding. When Abu Bakr saw the enemy at a very close distance, he whispered to the Prophet, « If any of them looked under his feet, he would see us. » He (peace and blessings be upon him) calmed him down, saying, « O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two (persons), the third of whom is Allah? » (Al-Bukhari)

The Hijrah, as such, implants real and unshaken hope in our hearts. Let us, therefore, reflect upon these experiences and work hard to change, improve ourselves, and help those around us. This is possible, God willing, with faith and perseverance. We should never give up on ourselves or those around us. More importantly, we should never despair in Allah’s eternal mercy, grace, and forgiveness. This is a powerful lesson we can walk away with from the Prophet’s blessed migration from Makkah to Medina.