Mercy is linked to a law of universal reciprocity: Mercy will be shown to the merciful, and it will be withdrawn from the merciless. The positive side of this universal law is reflected in the words of the Tradition: "Be merciful to those on Earth, and He who is in Heaven will be merciful to you", a lesson often repeated in the Islamic scriptures. The Prophet taught: "Truly, God only shows Mercy to those of his servants who are themselves merciful" [Bukhari, Muslim] Here the complementary side of the law is clarified. The Prophet said elsewhere: "Whoever shows no mercy will be shown no mercy" [Bukhari, Muslim] In the same authoritative collections, we find: "God will show no mercy to those who show no mercy to humankind."
The Prophet warned his community: "Being merciful is only stripped away from the damned" [Tirmidhi] implying that mercy is the natural condition of the human soul and is only stripped away and exchanged for mercilessness in people with callous, unnatural hearts that can no longer received it.
A heart that no longer has the capacity to feel mercy cannot be a receptacle of salvation either or a container of true faith; to become ruthless and void of compassion is to carry the mark of divine wrath and bear the brand of damnation and is the sure sign of an evil end.
Thus the reciprocity of inherent in the universal law of mercy embodies another dimension: the fact that mercy is linked with faith and opens the door of salvation, while mercilessness is linked with the rejection of God and invites damnation.
Classical commentators explain that mercy springs from healthy heart: one that is spiritually alive and suitable for sincere faith. Utter lack of mercy, on the other hand, reflects a heart that is spiritually dead.
The implications are profound: Mercy and true belief do not cohabit hearts where hatred and the utter disregard for others reign.
... "Mercy: The Stamp of Creation", Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
(Photo courtesy of Ira Photo)
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