Ar-Rahim (The All-Compassionate)
Ar-Rahim means the one who shows mercy, feels pity for and shows compassion to the creatures that He created. Allah (God) is ar-Rahim;He encompasses all realms with His compassion.
* He created this realm out of nothing with His mercy,
* He clothed each being with a dress peculiar to each being,
* He educated each being in different ways,
* He taught them their duties,
* He equipped them with the tools that are necessary for them to maintain their lives,
* He met their material and spiritual needs with compassion.
Let us see some drops from that sea of mercy together!
If you saw a great fire being extinguished by water coming out of a hose but if you did not see the hand that held the hose, would you think the hose itself extinguished the fire? Of course not! The doer of the deed of extinguishing must have attributes like life, knowledge and power. A being that is lifeless, that does not know what fire is and that cannot hold the hose cannot extinguish the fire. Above all, extinguishing originates from mercy; a being without mercy cannot be the doer of that deed. If everybody came together, they could not make us believe that the hose itself extinguished that fire.
Who sends water down in drops from the clouds that are like a hose in order to extinguish the fire of the earth and to soothe the temperature of life?
Doubtlessly, lifeless and unconscious clouds cannot be the doer of the deed that makes us feel this mercy and compassion. Then, who is holding the hose? Let the Quran answer the question:
“He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope and scatters His Mercy (far and wide). And He is the Protector Worthy Of all Praise.” (ash-Shura 28)
Each drop that comes down in the form of rain is the manifestation of the name ar-Rahim. And other manifestations of mercy!
To make curative and sweet honey in the abdomen of a poisonous insect and to serve that honey with the hands of that insect cannot be the deed of that insect. That is, what makes honey is not the insect but the mercy of Allah.
In the season of spring, to clothe all of the trees in the best clothes like the houris of Paradise and to decorate them with flowers and fruits and to feed us through dry branches that are like hands with fruits of different flavors, colors, aromas and shapes is definitely a manifestation of mercy. Otherwise, those dry trees would not know us and would not show mercy on us.
To clothe us in a very soft dress like silk through a handless insect is the outcome of mercy. Otherwise, that handless insect would not eat the green mulberry leaves and produce white silk for us.
What about animals like cows, camels, sheep and goats? It is the deed of mercy to make them eat green grass and produce white nourishing milk out of blood and flesh and to make those animals like a milk factory.
And to make that huge sun a stove and lamp for the world, to make the moon a candle and a calendar and to decorate the sky with stars is definitely a manifestation of mercy.
Now, let us have a look at a partial manifestation of mercy in man:
What would we do if we did not have eyes? A completely dark realm!
What if we did not have ears? A silent realm!
What if we did not have a tongue and it did not have the sense of tasting? A realm with no speech and flavor!
What if we did not have a nose? A realm with no smell!
Of course, it would be very difficult to live in a realm like that. What would we do if we did not have material gifts like hands, feet and fingers and spiritual gifts like the mind, fear, compassion and love? It means a manifestation of mercy is visible in the grant of every organ.
Allah, who decorated man with such material and spiritual organs and feelings, equipped animals with the organs that are necessary for them in order to be able make use of this realm. He equipped birds with wings and taught them to fly; He equipped fish with fins and taught them to swim; He gave each being a body and organs that are necessary for them to maintain their lives, treating them with His mercy. The mercy of Allah has encompassed everything like that.
Now, we will watch a film. What do you think this frog is doing? Why is it trying to dig the earth? Why is it putting up with this difficulty? Let us find out the reason by watching. Yes, endeavoring in order to protect its tadpoles from death and to make them attain water. It is apparent that this frog shows mercy and compassion to its tadpoles; I wonder who gave the feeling of compassion to the frog to show to its tadpoles. Definitely Allah did.The compassion of the mother frog to its tadpoles is a manifestation Allah’s mercy. Is showing compassion and mercy to baby animals peculiar to this frog only? Now, let us have a look at the mercy of wildest animals to their babies and meditate on Allah's mercy by watching it.
One of the greatest manifestations of the name ar-Rahim in this realm is our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Our Lord stated the following for our Prophet (pbuh), who is the harbinger of the endless bliss, the announcer of the endless treasures of mercy and the promulgator of the sultanate of Allah:
"We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures." al-Anbiya: 107
Yes, with the light of the truth he brought, he transformed the night of the humanity into day and the winter into spring; he changed the shape of the realm with the revolutions he introduced and made it have a luminous form. Thanks to that light, the universe ceased to be meaningless and be a toy in the hands of coincidence and was elevated to the level of a divine school.
Almighty Allah wants to make Himself known through His name, ar-Rahim with His works of mercy.
Here are the duties of man! :
* Seeing the name of ar-Rahim in the mirrors of mercy of which we have mentioned and have not been able to mention.
* Contemplating and praising Allah with this name.
* Being grateful and rendering thanks for His benefactions.
* Putting the manifestation of mercy into the heart and showing mercy to all creatures for the sake of Allah.
As man performs these duties, he will be worthy of being called the perfect man and will be honored with the mercy of Allah along with reaching the eternal happiness in the hereafter.
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