Page 50 - Perfected Faith

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PERFECTED FAITH

The Understanding of Compassion by
The People of Perfected Faith

"...To be one of those who have faith and urge each other
to steadfastness and urge each other to compassion."
(Surat al-Balad, 17)

Man is, by nature, inclined to take pleasure from living by the val-
ues of the Qur'an and feels at ease with this set of ethics: "So as a pure
natural believer, stand firm in your devotion to the true faith,
Allah's natural pattern on which He made mankind …" (Surat ar-
Rum, 30) This being the case, a man of perfected faith naturally pos-
sesses the kind of compassion and mercy enjoined by the Qur'an.
When believers adhere to the values of the Qur'an, He makes mani-
fest His beautiful names, ar-Ra'uf (the Kind) and ar-Rahman (the All
Merciful) to them. Allah is the Most Merciful of the merciful, and the
Most Compassionate. Allah draws attention to His infinite mercy and
compassion:
… He is All-Gentle, Most Merciful to them. (Surat at-Tawba,
117)
… He is the Most Merciful of the merciful. (Surah Yusuf, 92)
… Allah is All-Compassionate to mankind and Most Merciful.
(Surat al-Hajj, 65)
Allah's Messenger (saas) described Allah's compassion to believers
in this way:
"Allah shows compassion only to those among His slaves who are com-
passionate." (Bukhari, Muslim)
The people of perfected faith, having this moral perfection, are
compassionate and merciful towards people. But their understanding
of compassion is very different from that which is prevalent in society.
Since their compassion is a manifestation of Allah's compassion, it
takes a form that is worthy of Allah's pleasure and is in compliance