How Merciful is Allah to Me? | Allah’s Names | Dr. Omar Suleiman | Ep. 1

Introduction: The Most Merciful

The Most Merciful. He taught the Qur'an. He created man.

You see, before He even made you, He gave you a very specific way to know Him. Think about how much first impressions matter. What are the first few words at the top of your profile? Because those few words tell the whole world what you want to be known as and known for. And 113 surahs in the Qur'an begin with this header from Allah Himself.

And even before the Qur'an was revealed to us, Sulayman alayhis salam introduces Allah this way to a pagan queen and nation.

Verily, it is from Sulayman and it begins in the name of Allah, the entirely merciful, the especially merciful. Out of all of his names, he chose الرَّحْمَٰن and الرَّحِيم because mercy is the first door to get to know Him.

Mercy Written Above the Throne

And before even Sulayman wrote it in his letter, it was written by Allah above the throne.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 97, Hadith 2)

Verily, my mercy prevails over my wrath. And you'll notice that the only name that Allah pairs with his throne is الرَّحْمَٰن.

It's as if to say that his mercy is the governing principle of everything beneath his throne which serves as the roof of all of creation.

So what does that functionally mean? Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah said, it means he made forgiveness more beloved to him than vengeance. وَالرَّحْمَةَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْعُقُوبَةِ And mercy more beloved to him than punishment. And grace more beloved to him than justice. And giving more beloved to him than withholding.

Mercy Frames Creation

So he framed his entire creation with his mercy. And then not only that, his mercy frames all of his other names and attributes. الرَّحْمَٰن can be added to every other name because he's merciful with his knowledge. He's merciful with his sight. He's merciful with his power.

So he introduces himself as الرَّحْمَٰن before الْعَزِيزِ الْجَبَّارِ وَالْقَهَّارِ. Because even when his might shows, he never stops being the most merciful.

Mercy Programmed into Humanity

And after he wrote mercy on himself, and then into the scheme of the cosmos, he then programmed it into our very creation. When the soul of Adam عليه السلام entered his body for the very first time, he sneezed. And the very first words he heard from his Lord, يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ - May Allah have mercy on you.

So mercy was humanity's welcome into existence. And then before he sent us to earth, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created these sacred bonds of families from the throne. And he hung them and he said, I am the most merciful. And I created the sacred ties of the womb.

Then he placed you in that womb, which he calls الرَّحِم because it's derived from his رَحْمَٰن. It's a sanctuary of mercy, where every single one of your needs is being met without you having to do anything for yourself. Your mother gives you everything she's got to sustain you with nothing in return from you. It's the selfless, one-sided love. That's the closest thing that reflects Allah's mercy on his creation.

The 100 Portions of Mercy

And then you come out of the womb into this world. And Allah immediately and perpetually surrounds you with a mercy that encompasses everything. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Verily, Allah created 100 portions of mercy. And he sent down to this earth just one of those portions. Through that 1% of mercy, the entire world is sustained. And it includes the entirety of mercy that creation is capable of showing to each other. Whether it's human beings, jinn, or even animals.

I want you to imagine the ocean's depth. 35,000 feet down. Which, by the way, is the same altitude that your plane flies at. And in the darkness of that ocean, there's a fish that's cleaning the parasites off of another fish. While Allah is adjusting the temperature of the water itself. And then in the height of the open sky, a bird is signaling danger to another bird. While all along, no one is holding them up except for the most merciful.

Then think about your own life. And every interaction of mercy that you've ever known. Whether it was your mother's embrace, or maybe a friend's forgiveness. Or even the random act of kindness from a stranger. All of that is from one drop of Allah's mercy.

Why Is There Still Cruelty?

But then someone says, well, why is there still so much cruelty on earth? And it's for the same reason that hunger exists in a world that's overflowing with food. Not because we have a shortage, but because we fail to share. We're not short of Allah's mercy. We're short of the mirrors to reflect that mercy.

Allah sent 1% of mercy to this earth. And we're supposed to be the trustees of that mercy. And where the trustees fail, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala stores the debt for the day where he saved the remaining 99 portions of his mercy to be dispersed.

And still look around, even in the midst of the worst human cruelty that we see. His mercy keeps manifesting. What more powerful imagery than the famous story of a mother who runs between swords to pick up her child after battle. Then she holds that baby tight and she starts to nurse him. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم captures the moment. And he says to the companions, see that mom with her baby? Allah is more merciful to you than she is to that child.

You know why? Because the one who created the mother's mercy is certainly more merciful than her. Her love is just a tiny drop of his mercy. And that's why Hamad ibn Salama said to Sufyan al-Thawri, if I had to choose between my parents or Allah judging me on the Day of Judgment, I would choose Allah. Because he is even more merciful to me than my parents.

Mercy and Justice

And someone says, wait a minute. Then how come that merciful Lord does throw people into hell? Because Allah is not limited in his mercy or by his mercy. Even that mother on the Day of Judgment would flee from her child at some point out of fear for herself. And his mercy doesn't cancel his justice.

Think about it. Wouldn't it be cruel to the victims in Gaza and Sudan and elsewhere if the oppressor and the oppressed were treated the exact same way? So no, Allah is not going to treat them the same. Not because his mercy is limited, but because it's perfect.

So when someone says, how can a merciful God throw people into hell? Respond and say, why would people choose hell over a merciful God? As Umar ibn Abdul Aziz rahimahullah said:

Verily, only a loser misses out on the mercy of Allah that encompasses all things.

How bad do you have to be to be punished by الرَّحْمَٰن? And that's why Ibrahim alayhi salam said to his father:

I'm afraid you're going to be punished by الرَّحْمَٰن. He didn't say الْجَبَّار, he used the name الرَّحْمَٰن. To say, to get to a point where you're punished even by الرَّحْمَٰن is a scary spiritual place.

And you know who's in that place?

Verily, the Shaytan was disobedient to الرَّحْمَٰن, a Lord so merciful to him. And subhanAllah, al-Harith ibn Suwayd, he says that at some point on the Day of Judgment, even that Shaytan himself will prop his neck up and look up, hoping that the mercy of Allah will reach him despite all the evil that he's done. But he's disqualified himself.

The Difference Between Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem

So if that's how much mercy Allah has to where even the worst disbeliever would still think he has a chance, then how do you think Allah will treat his believers on the Day of Judgment? And that's when you get to encounter another layer of mercy, but this time from الرَّحِيم, where the 99% of his mercy is reserved for you.

You see, الرَّحْمَٰن is the entirely merciful. الرَّحِيم is the especially merciful. الرَّحْمَٰن pours his mercy all over creation in this dunya. Then الرَّحِيم personalizes that mercy for the believers in the hereafter. While الرَّحْمَٰن is for the deserving and the undeserving, الرَّحِيم is exclusively for the righteous.

And he is رَحِيم to the believers. الرَّحْمَٰن is mentioned in the Qur'an 57 times. الرَّحِيم, 114 times. Exactly twice that. As if to say, الرَّحْمَٰن is for all creation. الرَّحِيم doubles the mercy for those who believe. And he does so when they want and need it most in the hereafter where they can enjoy it forever.

The Special Mercy of Ar-Ra'oof

But someone might say, is there a special exclusive mercy for the believer in this life as well? And the answer is yes. And that is the meaning of his name, الرَّؤُوف. The tenderly merciful.

The scholars say that رَأْفَة is the highest form of mercy in the Arabic language. And الرَّؤُوف has a special care for the believers even while they're still here.

Al-Ghazali explains that رَأْفَة is when Allah protects you before you even know you needed protection. Like a parent who places a coat on a child before the cold sets in. It's Allah averting something from hitting you. Or maybe making you miss a turn so that you don't turn into something that would have hurt you.

It's the small things that are happening inside your body or maybe in the environment around you to make things pleasant for you with processes you have no idea are even happening. It's the highest intensity of mercy but it operates silently in the background out of Allah's love for the believer.

الرَّحِيم has a different layer of mercy in the hereafter for you. الرَّؤُوف has a deeper layer of mercy for you even while you're still here. He is رَؤُوف with his decree in this life and رَحِيم with his reward in the next.

There's the mercy that guards before and the mercy that heals after. And that's why almost every time the name الرَّؤُوف is mentioned in the Quran it's paired with الرَّحِيم.

Reflecting Allah's Mercy

Now how much you're going to receive of any of these names depends on how much you're going to reflect of those names.

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 43, Hadith 6)

The merciful will be shown mercy by الرَّحْمَٰن. And if you want more mercy then Ibn Al-Qayyim says that the nearest to Allah are those who combine the traits of رَؤُوف and رَحِيم.

So look at the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

He was sent as a mercy to the world but then he was described as:

Uniquely tender and merciful to the believers. Reflect of Allah's mercy what you want of it. Mercy surrounded you before you could even speak. So speak with mercy and act with mercy. And beg for his mercy.

A Beautiful Du'a of Appeal

Thank الرَّؤُوف for the mercies you never even noticed. And ask الرَّحِيم for the mercies you can't even yet imagine. And then when all that fails resort back to الرَّحْمَٰن.

There's this beautiful story of a man that was appealing to Allah's mercy after feeling so unworthy and so broken. He makes this du'a and he says, Ya Rab, O my Lord, you say:

That whoever repents after his wrongdoing, Allah accepts his repentance and Allah is forgiving and merciful. And here I am repenting for my wrongdoings. So Ya Allah, ارْحَمْنِي. So O my Lord, ارْحَمْنِي, have mercy on me.

And if you don't find me worthy of that category, well you say, Ya Allah:

That you are especially merciful to the believers. And Ya Rab, أَنَا مُؤْمِن, I am a believer, فَارْحَمْنِي, so have mercy on me.

And if you don't find me to fit in that category either, well you say, Ya Allah:

And my mercy encompasses all things. وَأَنَا شَيْء, and I am something. فَارْحَمْنِي, so have mercy on me.

And if I fail to even achieve that, meaning I am a nobody, I am nothing, then what a tragedy it is. But Ya Allah, you said:

Those who when afflicted with a tragedy say, we belong to Allah and to Him we return. We send upon them the blessings of their Lord and His mercy. So here I am saying, إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, فَارْحَمْنِي, so have mercy on me.

Conclusion: Mercy is His Constant Name

You see dear brothers and sisters, mercy is not Allah's mood. It's His constant name. And wherever you are right now, it's not out of your reach. Because you are something. And His mercy encompasses everything.

Ya Rahman, from your throne you wrote mercy upon yourself. You were merciful before there was anyone to receive mercy. Embrace every part of me with that mercy. My past with its scars, my present with its needs, my future with its uncertainties.

Ya Raheem, let me taste the mercy you keep for those who return. Reward me with the mercy I have yet to know. And raise me to the highest place in paradise despite my lows.

Ya Ra'oof, cover me from storms I don't see coming. Mend me before I break. Spare me from trials of every kind. Let your mercy reach me in ways I'll only understand when I finally meet you.