FRIDAY, JULY 27: The beginning of Ramadan is mercy and as we leave the first 10 days of Ramadan we should not leave the mercy that it represents.
If we are to emulate the likeness of our creator we must strive to reflect and project this particular attribute known as mercy.
Allah is known as Ar-Rahmaan which translates to mean ‘the Merciful’. We must strive to show mercy unto one another if we truly desire to represent our Lord.
What is mercy? Collins’ Dictionary says defines it as: “1. compassionate treatment of or attitude towards an offender or enemy who is in one’s power. 2. The power to show mercy.”
Simply put, mercy means to show compassion, kindness and gentleness. When a person is kind, compassionate and tender hearted towards the other this is showing mercy.
For sure all of us can use a bit of mercy. Throughout the Quran God’s mercy is shown, in fact each chapter or surah of the Quran except for one starts with the words ‘Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem’ which means ‘in the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful’.
God in His mercy sent us two examples of how we should live our lives to attain paradise and tranquillity by sending us the Quran and sending us our beloved prophet Muhammad who was described as a mercy for all humanity. Prophet Muhammad was the most perfect example — his character should be emulated by us all.
He was known for his mercy and compassion. Prophet Muhammad taught us that Allah shows mercy to those who show mercy. If we desire mercy from God we need to show mercy to His creation, which includes people, animals, and the earth.
Sometimes we are very hard on one another and keep bad vibes alive. We show no mercy or forgiveness.
I had a misunderstanding with someone who had done a kind thing for me, but I did not understand the terms, and so I messed up. Well the other day I saw her and she cut her eyes at me. In fact, the old saying holds true in this case “if looks could kill I would have been dead”.
I have apologized over and over, but to no avail. I still hope and pray though, for her forgiveness and mercy.
Sometimes, we become judgmental forgetting the many mistakes we have made.
We should strive to put things into perspective and hate the sin or the deed and not the sinner or the doer.
Prophet Isa (Jesus, pbuh) reminded us, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone”. Instead we should remember that we all make mistakes and that no one is perfect.
If most of us would reflect on what we have attained in life, we would have to say that it was because others were merciful to us.
You and I have all made mistakes and we need other people to be merciful to us. We need to return this to others, starting with ourselves, our families, and our communities; this should have some effect on changing our world for the better.
But as my Mom, Ismay Ming, always taught me: “if it is to be — it’s up to me!”
Today, let us focus on doing at least one good deed that reflects the characteristic of mercy.
These past Bermudaful days though they have been hot, hot, hot. Allah has shown His mercy by sending the cooling rain! Supanallah.
Indeed, His mercy is in everything and so it behooves us to show mercy to one another. Ameen.
Ramadan Mubarak!