Al-Azhar Grand Imam said that raḩmah (mercy) for a person is a state of heartfelt pity or compassion that leads him to help others and stand by them in their ordeal until their need is fulfilled. Then, such state of mercy experienced by this compassionate human being can be fulfilled and thus come to an end. His Eminence explained that this state of mercy is accompanied by a state of pain. The compassionate person sympathizes with the one who needs help. The sympathizer is affected by the problem or the need that befell the other person, so he experiences a temporal state of pity for that person.

 

During the fifth episode of his Ramadan program, Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence explained that mercy in this sense cannot be one of the attributes of Allah Almighty, because the state of compassion does not exist in the first place, then it exists and lasts for some time, and then it disappears after the need has been fulfilled. It is related to a state that occurs and then disappears, and it is also related to the feeling of pain and the feeling of being affected. It is impossible to ascribe such states to Allah, Exalted be He. One of the attributes of Allah Almighty is that He is above every characteristic of His servants and creatures because their characteristics may be complete in one aspect, but they are incomplete in in many others. Therefore, it is impossible to attribute such characteristics to Allah Almighty because He is perfect, free from imperfections and nothing is like Him. Allah Almighty is Gracious and Merciful to His servants. He is not inflicted by pain that exists and then disappears when a specific need is fulfilled.

 

The Grand Imam added that scholars emphasized that mercy from humans to those in distress is not without compensation, so it cannot be shown in return for nothing, unlike Allah’s mercy.  When an individual feels the pain of another or the problem of others, he has a feeling of pity towards them, begins to help them, but he feels pain. Therefore, when he seeks to relieve the need of others and help them end their pain, he tries to end his own pain as well. It is as if he was fulfilling the need of others in return for ending his own pain. This is a sort of barter; he pays something in return for something else. This does not apply to Allah, Exalted be He, because He Almighty shows mercy to His servants for nothing in return.

 

The Grand Imam made it clear that the name Ar-Raḩmān (Most Gracious) does not apply to Allah’s servant, but he can have a share of this name by extending his mercy to other people, and having a continuous connection of fraternity between himself and them. This fraternity is not exclusive to believers, but the Muslim should expand the circle of mercy, fraternity and compassion to include all people. His Eminence cited the Almighty’s saying: “O people, surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you races and tribes so that you may know each other” (Qur’an, 49:13). People know each other for mutual acquaintance and benefits. He also mentioned that the Prophet (pbuh) would say after his prayer: “Oh Allah, our Lord and Lord of everything, I am a witness that Your servants are all brothers.” He explained that the word servants includes believers, unbelievers, enemies and others, which confirms that the logic of brotherhood and its meaning requires holistic mercy towards people, especially the poor and the sick. If a Muslim has money, for example, he should help others with his money, and if he has authority or knowledge such as medicine, he should use it to help the needy. Thus, everyone shows mercy to others by helping them in the way he can.

 

The Grand Imam revealed that a person should be merciful even to the disobedient or the sinners. He should realize that sin is a kind of disease, and that sinners are afflicted with this disease. The merciful person’s attitude should be that of the doctor toward his patients. He should have recourse to mercy, rather than vengeance, reproach, or violence. His Eminence denounced the preachers who yell at and criticize sinners, instead of thanking Allah that they were not afflicted with the same sins. They should treat sins as though they were curable diseases, rather than mistakes that deserve reproach and criticism.