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Legacies of
Mercy ... continued
If Allah embraces everyone in this unique mercy despite
being powerful enough to easily judge who is deserving of
mercy and also sufficiently punish them, should we not do
the same? Summed up beautifully by Rasulullah (saw)
himself, he said, “The Most Merciful shows mercy to those
who have mercy on others. Show mercy to those on earth,
and the One above the heaven will show mercy to you."
Muslim, tie him up and drop him in the middle of
the desert to be roasted by the heat. These were the
people who had fought against the Prophet on the
day of Uhud, killed his closest family (his uncle) and
maiming his body. These were the people who had
thrown rocks at him until he bled and had exacted
every form of punishment on him and his followers
because of their beliefs.
Ultimately, this brings me to my second and final
On the day of the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet
expansion, that mercy is love. In the cited Hadiths, we
rode in humbly with head bowed low and he said to
learn Rasulullah (saw) equated mercy with affection and
the Meccans as they stared at him with wide eyes
love. This ties back to the notion of molding our worship
so that it is in a state of continuous ibadah. Live life to love. humbled by their defeat, 'I will be as Yusuf (Joseph)
Live a love so pure it is solely a love for your Lord because was to his brothers.' and he forgave them (save a 9
love is the essence of our creation. Love all of creation
war-criminals), including the man and women who
because their existence reminds you of your Creator.
had killed and maimed his uncle.
Moreover, when you love someone, you want what is best
for them, and thus you strive to ensure that they do not
This is the tradition of mercy in Islamic history. Not
experience any type of pain. You work to ensure out of
only is it greater, more astounding to the mind than
your compassion nurtured by love that no one experiences that of Edward's faux show, but it sheds a light upon
punishment in the Akhira or discomfort in this Dunya....
the type of man that the Prophet Muhammad was, a
man so selfless that hurts done to him were
Know full well that every encounter with anyone, no
immediately forgiven, but so upright that oppressors
matter how insignificant, is an opportunity to ease a
of his followers would earn his wrath; and even
person’s worldly and otherworldly pain, and in doing so
then, he found a place in his expansive heart for
your life embodies mercy because you indiscriminately
forgiveness.
give, help, and love. In the process, you enter a perpetual
state of worship and also make continuous da'wah to
Islam. All this, because you have understood mercy – in
theory and in practice.
Numan Dugmeoglu is a junior student of
History and Political Science at Drexel
University, a teacher at the Turkish Cultural
Center in New Jersey and an Assistant
Coordinator at the Peace Islands Institute in
The course of history had led to a point where
western philosophies has slowly become the
standard by which we judge other philosophies. This
is not a negative thing. But once in a while, we
should question established thought and learn from
cultures not our own and perhaps we will find
therein, heroes who act like heroes and men and
women worthy of true praise.
As the prophet once said, “The strong is not the one
who overcomes the people by his strength, but the
strong is the one who controls himself while in
anger”.
Moderation, tolerance and mercy. Perhaps it is time
that Muslims return to their tradition.
Opinions from the editors:
Each Issue, we will attempt to discuss an islamic
concept from a different, non-traditional
prespective. We hope you enjoy our musings.
A MUNA Youth Publication