This is a misconception of the Prophet’s teaching that is deeply set in Western attitudes toward Islam and
one that has no basis whatsoever. The Prophet (peace be upon him), who
was sent as a mercy to all creation, taught his followers that God has
many names which he has revealed to his creation. Of these, the Merciful
and Beneficent are the most cited attributes in the Qur’an and two of
the most important.
Every chapter (except one) in the Qur’an begins by the invocation:
“In the name of God the Merciful, the Beneficent.” In fact, the name
“Merciful” (Ar-Rahman) as a name for God was not known to the Arabs when
it was first revealed in the Qur’an. It was introduced to them by
revelation and when they asked what it referred to, it was revealed:
Say, “Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever [name] you call – to Him belong the best names.” (Al-Israa’ 17:110)
Moreover, the name “Merciful” is not just one of his many beautiful
names; it holds a very important place in Islam. It is an established
principle in Islam that God’s Mercy overrides His Wrath. Indeed, the
Prophet reported that God says, “My Mercy overcomes my Wrath.” There are
numerous verses and reports from the Prophet of Islam that establish
the centrality of God’s mercy and compassion. For example, the Prophet
states that “Allah is compassionate and loves compassion. He provides
for compassion in a way he does not for harshness.” (At-Tabarani)
In another report, the Prophet
states, “Allah has one hundred portions of mercy and He has sent one to
the world and divided it amongst his creation. So by it, they treat
each other with compassion and mercy. He has held back 99 portions with
Himself so that he may have mercy on his servants on the Day of
Judgment.” (Muslim)
The Qur’an has stated that the very sending of the Prophet Muhammad
to the world was a mercy to all of creation. Indeed God’s mercy not
only pervades the cosmos, but it is also a fundamental legal and ethical
principle in Islam. The scholars have shown that God’s mercy is
manifest in the legal rules that has been revealed to humanity.
One can also see mercy in the Prophet’s teaching of the hereafter,
that is heaven and hell. The very nature of hell as a place of human
suffering and punishment is often cited as a reason to support the
conclusion that God is vengeful. However, a closer analysis of the way
heaven and hell is described in the Qur’an, as well as their purpose,
will offer a glimpse of God’s mercy even in the world to come.
When God describes heaven and hell in the Qur’an, the descriptions of
hell are often very brief in comparison to those of heaven. For
instance, chapter 55 of the Noble Qur’an contains 22 beautiful and
eloquently detailed verses regarding heaven while only 7 of its verses
are concerned with hell.
Further, the Qur’an
indicates that hell has not been created for arbitrary reasons. Rather,
the Qur’an, while describing hellfire, often complements the
descriptions with reasons as to why its dwellers ended up there in the
first place.
In many places the reasons concern one’s social behavior, such as
being uncharitable to the poor or unjustly exploiting people. It is
interesting to note that many of these sins involve the wrongdoer and
other people, and are not just “sins against God.”
Therefore, punishment and hellfire itself are related to justice, and
by extension, God’s mercy. Should a merciful God allow for criminals to
go unpunished? Should He allow for the wrongs perpetrated against
victims to go unaddressed? Of course not! Therefore, hell and punishment
is in itself a mercy to the victims of wrongdoing, and a necessary
aspect of justice.
Keeping within the parameters of justice, the Prophet was clear to
note that punishment will not take place until all the procedures of a
fair trial are complete: records will be presented, witnesses will be
called, even our eyes, ears and joints will give testimony. No one shall
be wronged. Moreover, while God through His mercy will reward in great
abundance those that are righteous to exponential degrees, He will not
punish the wrongdoers except for their crimes and bad deeds – no more.
The Qur’an states:
Whoever
comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than
it; and whoever comes with an evil deed – then those who did evil deeds
will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do. (Al-Qasas 28:84)
Even while the Qur’an speaks about punishment and hellfire, it often
concludes the statements with ideas of God’s mercy and forgiveness,
usually mentioning that “He is the most Merciful, the Most Forgiving.”
Even when addressing wrongdoers and criminals, God encourages them not
to despair from His infinite Mercy and forgiveness. As God states:
Say, “O My
servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not
despair of the mercy of Allah . Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed,
it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Az-Zumar 39:53)
In this light, the Prophet’s teachings show that punishment can even
be seen as a merciful action of God. There are Prophetic traditions that
indicate that for many people entering hell, it would prove to become a
mode of purification, whereby sinners will finally enter heaven after
paying for their evil deeds. Without hell, it would be unjust for these
people to enter heaven, and yet without hell, they could not have had
the opportunity to taste and appreciate heaven –again showing the
merciful reasons behind God’s creation of hell.
Therefore, from the above, one can see that Prophet Muhammad’s teachings show God not to be vengeful, but Merciful and Compassionate, in this world and the next.
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Source: Taken from the author’s book “Ten Questions and Answers about the Prophet Muhammad.”
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