The sea is just a wetter version of the skies.

Love & Compassion in the Holy Quran

Let us become truly conscious of Allah s.w.t. by obeying His commands and refraining from His prohibitions. Let us remind ourselves that we will gain Allah’s love and we will be blessed with success in this world and the hereafter, when we understand, internalise and hold on strongly to teachings in the Holy Quran.

The Holy Quran is a complete guidance for us. It is comprehensive. It explains various aspects of human life that can guide us to be successful. But when we hear of the Quran, what comes to our mind? For some of us, we know it as the Holy Book which talks about faith, rituals and worship, halal and haram, and the prohibited acts.

Contrast this understanding, with the fact that the Holy Quran, is also full with verses and phrases of love and compassion. In fact, the variations of the word “rahmah” (i.e. mercy and compassion) can be found around 178 times in the Quran. We also know that each surah begins with the phrase ‘Bismillahirahmanirrahim’ which means “In the name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful.”

Know that Allah s.w.t. is most loving and compassionate towards His servants, and He promises to forgive us, so long as we show our full love to Allah s.w.t. by following His teachings with faith and taqwa. Allah s.w.t. says in surah Ali-‘Imran verse 31:

Which means: “Say, (O Prophet to mankind): If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

We often hear of Allah’s wrath and anger towards those who go against Him. At the same time, we must also remember that Allah s.w.t. is most Compassionate and Loving to those who always do good.  Allah s.w.t. says in surah al-A’raaf verse 56:

      

Which means: “The mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.”
 
Allah’s love and mercy is also a reminder to us to show our love and compassion to those around us, especially towards our children, when we teach them to do good. Look at how Allah s.w.t. describes the advice given by Luqman al-Hakim to his child to obey Allah s.w.t. This is as stated in surah Luqman verse 17:

Which means: ”O my dear son! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and forbid evil, and be patient with whatever may befall you.”

Remind ourselves that Allah s.w.t. showers His love and blessings to those who do good and show kindness to their parents, as He describes His messenger, Yahya a.s. in surah Maryam verses 13-14:

Which means: “And compassion from Our presence, and purity; and he was devout, And kind to his parents, and he was not overbearing or rebellious.”

Allah s.w.t. asks the same of us, that we should also be kind to our parents. He says in surah al-Israa’ verse 24:

Which means: “And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: O my Lord! have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little.”

In the Holy Quran, Allah s.w.t. teaches us to speak gently and wisely to those whom we invite to do good. This is even towards those who have transgressed and gone astray from the path of righteousness. Look at how Allah s.w.t. teaches His messengers Musa and Harun a.s. when they were asked to send the message of Allah s.w.t. to the Pharaoh. Allah s.w.t. says in surah Taha verses 43-44:

Which means: “Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds; Then speak to him a gentle word may he take warning or fear Allah.”
In the same manner, Allah s.w.t. describes the mercy and compassion of our beloved Prophet s.a.w. especially when he invited people to Islam.  Allah s.w.t. says in surah Ali ‘Imran verse 159:

Which means: “Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you.”

Based on all the above, I hope we can better understand and appreciate the message and essence of the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is replete with love and compassion, apart from warning and reminders of God’s wrath to those who go against His teachings. This approach, of both love and compassion, and reminders and warnings, has also been exemplified in the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Therefore, as his ummah and followers, we must seek to understand and exemplify this in our lives.

- Taken from last Friday’s sermon

I was listening to an audio lecture when the Ustaz said something which struck me as a surprise cos well, I didn’t really give much thought about it.

He said that in Islam, Allah left no stones unturned. Which in my opinion is true. Think about it, Allah gave us the Quran as His words and the hadith of the Rasul (pbuh) to guide us. It is just a matter of how willing you are to find for the answer. :D