Page 14 - The Mercy of Believers

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THE MERCY OF BELIEVERS

real mercy. That is because he thinks about himself alone,
loves himself and gives importance solely to his own
wishes and interests. That is why he never considers the
needs of others. He deems other people worthless and
unimportant. Consequently, he fails to have feelings of
compassion and affection.
Another reason why believers are committed to show-
ing compassion is their earnest desire to embody the
morality deemed good by Allah. As explained in numer-
ous verses, Allah is "the Most Merciful of the merciful".
For that reason, believers strive to experience compassion
to the best of their ability.
As Allah revealed in the Qur'an, "If it had not been
for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy, (you
would have suffered many difficult situations)." (Surat
an-Nur: 20) The above verse shows the extent to which
believers are in need of the compassion and mercy of
Allah. Since they themselves seek to obtain Allah's Mercy,
they try to be as compassionate as possible towards other
believers.
As is true of all other issues, the unique guide that
sheds light on the kind of mercy they have to show is the
Qur'an. Thus, believers only show mercy and compassion
in situations deemed to be proper by Allah and towards
people specified by Allah.
Mercy as described in the Qur'an emerges as being
quite distinct from other kinds of mercy. But the majority
of those who are distant from religion possess a rather
flawed understanding of the subject. Faced with unto-
ward happenings, they are seized by an ill-defined feel-