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| On Mercy and being merciful |
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| UmmWafi |
| 03/30/04 at 03:14:04 |
| [slm] Bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem Muslims the world over begin all their tasks, small or big, with the utterance of Basmallah....In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful. The door to the revelations contained in the Holy Quraanul Kareem opens with the most beautiful of surahs, al-Faatihah. How fitting that we begin to try and fathom the words of Allah SWT by offering Him our praises for indeed al-Faatihah begins with "Praises be to Allah, Lord of all Worlds The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful". As His humble servants, we are the beneficiaries of this all-encompassing Mercy. We are the recipients of all the treasures bestowed by this all-encompassing Mercy. For indeed, it is with His Mercy that Allah SWT Created us the way we are. It is with His Mercy that He Created us with a mind to reflect the good and the evil and it is also with His Mercy that He Created us with a heart to temper the mind with kindness and compassion. How easy it is for us to take for granted the ni'mah He has Bestowed on us with His Mercy. How easy it is for us to take for granted His Mercy. His Mercy begins with our awakened senses, graciously awakened by His Will from a temporary death. His Mercy allowing us one more day of respite for us to enslave our love and actions to Him in atonement for our past sins. Throughout the course of the day, He Bless us further with pleasures we derive from being with our loved ones, pleasures we derive from enjoying what life has to offer. His Mercy is like Divine Breath..seeping through every pores of our being, filling us with a continuous flow of blessings after blessings, as natural as the flow of blood in our veins. Ultimately, His Mercy has allowed us to know Him and to accept Him as our Lord, His Mercy has Unveiled the many layers of ignorance covering our hearts with pride and conceit. Despite all the bountiful blessings we have received because of His Mercy, still, we raise our hands heavenwards after every solah, again and again, asking for His Mercy, asking for Forgiveness. Tears after tears we shed, despite sins after sins we commit, hoping for reprieve because we know Him to be The Most Merciful. We dare to go on everyday because we each hold steadfast in our heart the belief that Allah SWT will Bestow His Mercy on our reprobate soul. Yet how deprave are we, those amongst us who forgive not. How ungrateful are we, those amongst us who suppress our compassion for another. How undeserving are we, those amongst us who hope greedily for mercy from ar-Raheem and yet shamelessly withhold ours from others ? We each of us walk on this earth with heavy steps, every footprints deeply embedded on the soil of life, weighed down by the sins we dare not confess. For fear, for shame. Strangely, how shameless we suddenly become when we point our fingers to another's sin. How fearlessly we flout the sunnah of the Prophet in our unforgiving ways. How quick we are in denouncing others, as quickly as we seek mercy from Allah SWT. Indeed, for those of selfish nature only know of one thing, to receive but not to bestow. If only we know. If only we understand. If only His Mercy can be tasted on these lips of ours, the sweetest taste of divine nectar, then perhaps we will always utter hope and love where we used to utter recriminations and hatred. How can we ever hope to be close to the Most Merciful when being merciful is alien to us ? How can we ever hope to aspire towards the Most Merciful when we strive to keep mercy out of our hearts ? Indeed, Ibn al-'Arabi said it well when he said : "What do the Avenger, the Terrible in Punishment, and the Overpowering have in common with the Compassionate, the Forgiving, and the Gentle ? For the Avenger demands the occurence of vengeance in its object, while the Compassionate demands the removal of vengeance from the same object." (II 93.19) Ya Rabb, ya ar-Rahman ya ar-Raheem. I beg of You to place love in this heart, to place mercy in this heart, to place compassion in this heart. Ya Rabb, I beg of You to share Your Mercy with me, I beg of You to allow me to share my mercy with others. Ya Rabb, I beg of You to allow me to walk on your earth untrammelled by the shadow of my sins so that I can spread the light of love to my Ummah. Ya Rabb, I beg of You to make me worthy of your Love and your Mercy. Amin. Wassalam |
| 03/30/04 at 03:25:03 |
| UmmWafi |
| Re: On Mercy and being merciful |
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| Maliha |
| 03/30/04 at 17:21:46 |
| [slm] Mashaallah Ummwafi as usual this is beautiful:) The concept of Mercy is soo simple, yet why is it that the people who are most "into" the deen, seem to lack this quality? I wonder how someone can speak without this depth within, and self righteously proclaim things not noticing the echoes screaming from their hollow beings? then how, on those days we have had it, on those days that are gray, long, tired, those days that are moody, crappy, sullen, those infinite days that drag and wear and tear you down...bit by bit...how are we to manage maintaining this beautiful attribute of Rahma, when at times you are too sick and tired of just being? The sad part is, being merciful, having rahma, is not something that can be learned in a book, or downloaded off a website. It is not something that can be captured from without. It is rather a Blessing in itself, from the Most Merciful who opens our hearts to the showers of life, blossoming within..allowing us to give and nurture the best way we know how. Sometimes i feel my heart is overflowing...and at other times, i pass through long barren deserts within, where i feel so parched, so tired, so inept...i don't know what I would do were i to face Allah at those moments... except maybe pray for His Rahma towards this weary soul. Jazaki Allahu Khayran ya Shamsa :-* you never fail to inspire me:) [wlm] |
| Re: On Mercy and being merciful |
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| BroHanif |
| 03/31/04 at 18:25:48 |
| Salaams, Obi one(Nur_al_Layl) has taught you well young jedi. I feel the force is strong...the pull is towards the light that never dims, that is in the East and the West and one that we all yearn for. Masha-Allah very good. Obi one kanobe has been silent for some time, I wonder whats up... Salaams, Hanif |
| NS |
| Re: On Mercy and being merciful |
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| rkhan |
| 04/01/04 at 22:52:15 |
| [slm] Subhaanallaah Umm Wafi, thanks for that .... The Prophet SAW said man laa yarham, laa yurham ...meaning the one who shows no mercy will receive none ..or will be worthy of receiving none. Allaah swt says that He has made His Mercy precede His wrath (May Allaah hv mercy on us)....yet we, the ones who profess to follow the Prophet's example and Allaah's commandments are sometimes the quickest to forget... Forget our own complete dunking in a sea of sins... Forget that to angrily attack another's ignorance will only display our own... Forget that only *we* don't have the right of way on the Right Way... May Allaah swt reward you for this reminder...and May He shower His Mercy and bless us with it...in our lives and in our hearts...in this world and the Next. |
| Re: On Mercy and being merciful |
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| UmmWafi |
| 04/02/04 at 22:56:06 |
| [slm] Bro Hanif How did u know that I found Yoda the cutest character in the original Star Wars trilogy ? :D However, if I am to be a true Star Wars fan, I will have to renounce the title of Jedi because I doubt I have the wisdom to help myself let alone others. Indeed, to be a Jedi, one needs to have not only wisdom but patience and courage. Areas I am sadly lacking in :( Astarghfirullah. As far as learning from Obi aka Sis Nur al-Layl, I would not want to shame her with any associations to my silly doodlings ;) However, since she is Subhanallah an amazing writer, should you even see a semblance between us, then I count myself as indeed very fortunate. Alhamdulillah. Would love to catch up with you on situations in Britain because I caught a disturbing interview on the BBC with regards to Islam and Muslims in Britain. Inshaa Allah. Wassalam |
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