Page 11 - The Mercy of Believers

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INTRODUCTION

set forth in the Qur'an. He fulfils Allah's orders regarding
mercy. Real mercy is manifested when one fully complies
with these commands of the Qur'an. That is because the
Qur'an is the very source that describes, in the most accu-

rate way, what real compassion means and what a com-
passionate human being should do. There are numerous
verses in the Qur'an which guide people to act with true
mercy.
However, there is an important difference between
the love felt for Allah and a feeling of compassion. This
difference results from the fact that love for Allah is sin-
cere and pure. Compassion embraces love mixed with
feelings of mercy that is felt for someone because of his
weaknesses. Whereas, there is no compassion in the love
felt for Allah, because Allah is far from all kinds of in-
completeness, weaknesses and defects. The feeling for
one's own Creator can only be a powerful feeling of
"love", which inspires enthusiasm, excitement, admira-
tion and adoration. Hence, sincere and pure love can be
felt only for Allah, whereas compassion can be felt for be-

ings created by Allah to be weak and powerless.
The Qur'an provides a detailed description of true
mercy, the attributes of a compassionate person, the kind
of differences compassion brings forth in one's morality
and finally the positive influence compassionate people
have on their environment. Allah also gives an account of
cruelty originating from a lack of compassion and mercy.
Accordingly, the good and the bad, the unjust and the
compassionate have been distinguished from one other.
Believers, by nature, are those who enjoy the sublime