Four things that are necessary in order to perform mercy upon something

وما ارسلنك الا رحمة للعلمین

There are four things that are necessary in order to perform mercy upon something:

1. Firstly, the one being merciful must be alive and not dead because a dead person cannot be merciful, rather, he himself is in need of mercy. Hence, Allah forbid, if RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is not alive, then he cannot be a mercy for the worlds. When the verse proves that he is a mercy for the worlds, then it is also proven that he is alive.

2. Secondly, one cannot be a mercy for someone just by being alive. He must also have knowledge of the one he is merciful upon. This is because one who is unaware cannot have mercy on someone. This can be understood using an example:

Zayd is oppressed and wishes that someone has mercy on him and saves him from his oppressor. He has this wish in his heart and goes to Amr and asks him for mercy. Amr hears his request but knows nothing of his state. He does not know the difficulty that Zayd is in and what type of mercy he needs. Hence, he asks Zayd what the difficulty is and what type of mercy he needs. If Zayd does not tell Amr and continues to say, ‘Do not ask my state, just have mercy on me’; then can Amr have mercy on him? No, not at all. Until Zayd tells him the state he is in and Amr knows the full details of this, he certainly cannot have mercy upon him.

The verse says that RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is a mercy for the worlds. So, until RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam does not know the state of all things in this universe and the whole creation and everything apart from Allah ta’ala; he cannot be a mercy for the worlds. Until RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is proven to be a mercy for the worlds, it is also proven that he has knowledge of the states of everything in the worlds.

3. Thirdly, it is not enough for one to only have knowledge to have mercy upon someone until one also possesses the power and authority to exercise this mercy and blessing. For example, a person is staying with you and day and night, he performs the worship of Allah ta’ala. He is always busy in obeying Allah ta’ala and due to this, he has become so weak that even getting about and walking has become difficult for him. If such a person is accused of robbery and murder and is placed under a guillotine and at that time he makes a plea of mercy from you and says, ‘You know that I am innocent so why do you not have mercy upon me?’ We can only give the reply that indeed we are well aware of your innocence but what use is knowledge alone? We do not have the power and authority to save you from the guillotine. Until we have the power and authority to convey our mercy to you, we can do nothing. This shows that power and authority are also necessary for one to have mercy. When RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is an unconditional mercy for the entire creation and the whole universe, then he possesses the power and authority to communicate his mercy to every particle of the universe.

4. Fourthly, it is not sufficient to only possess power and authority. To have mercy upon someone, one must also be close to the person upon whom mercy is being bestowed. This can be understood through an example:

You are stood three furlongs away and a bloodthirsty enemy has attacked your friend and he shouts for your mercy. You run to his aid with utmost sincerity so that you may show him mercy but by the time you reach him, the enemy has killed him.

Let us examine this. You are alive, you can see your friend and also have knowledge of his state and also possess the power and authority to have mercy. You can bestow mercy using this authority but simply because you are far from your friend and he is far from you; despite being alive and having the power and authority, you cannot have mercy on him. We learn that for one to have mercy on someone, he must also be close to him.

When RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is proven to be a mercy for the universe and the entire creation, then it is also proven that RasulAllah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam is close to everything in the universe and to the whole of creation through his nuraniya [light] and ruhaniya [spirituality].

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Translated by Muhammad Aqdas