On Friday, imams across the country will discuss the importance of mercy and being merciful. In the sermon, worshippers will hear that mercy is a noble quality that reflects the kindness of the heart and the compassion of the soul, which leads to being forgiving and beneficent.
“It is one of the greatest virtues that has the best positive impact on the community. This is why, out of His generosity and kindness, Allah, the Most Exalted, promised to show mercy on His creation. The Almighty says, ‘Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy.’ (Al-Anaam: 54)
“That is to say, He pledged Himself to be merciful,” the sermon will say.
“Indeed, Allah, the Most Compassionate, is the most merciful of the merciful. His mercy embraces all his creation in this world and in the Heavens as illustrated in the Almighty’s saying, but My mercy encompasses all things.” (Al-Aaraf: 156)
This means Allah’s mercy is unlimited, for it encompasses all mankind and animals. He also placed part of His mercy in them. In fact, all living creatures in existence, even beasts of prey, have some parental affection towards their offspring.
The Prophet said: “There are 100 (parts of) mercy for Allah and He has sent down out of these one part of mercy upon the jinn and human beings and animals and the insects, and it is because of this (one part) that they love one another, show kindness to one another, and even the beast treats its young one with affection. And Allah has reserved 99 parts of mercy with which He would treat His servants on the day of resurrection.”
During the sermon, the imam will discuss in detail how to be merciful not just with family, but also in the workplace and with the rest of society.
“We should also be kind with and show mercy towards the workers who exert remarkable efforts to ensure comfort and convenience of the community members. In fact, mercy should be our basic characteristic in treating all the creatures and organisms in this world, including plants, animals and birds.”
