Allah has sent only one part of His a hundred parts of mercy to the earth. Can you explain the issue of this hundred parts of mercy?

Dear Brother / Sister,

There are hadith narrations reported from Abu Hurayra, Ibn Abbas and Hasan al-Basri regarding the issue:

“There are one hundred parts of mercy of Allah and He has sent down one part of His mercy to the people of the earth and distributed among them; it will be enough for them until they die. He has reserved ninety-nine parts of mercy for His saints and friends on the Day of Judgment.” (see Bukhari, Riqaq,19; Muslim, Tawba, 18-21)

“Allah created mercy as one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down one part to the earth, and because of that one single part, creatures are merciful to one another so that even the mare lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal lest it should trample on it.” (Bukhari, Adab 19)

It is stated in similar hadiths that Allah reserved ninety-nine parts of His mercy for the Day of Judgment, that He sent one part of it to the earth, that human beings, jinn, animals and insects show mercy to one another, that mothers love their babies with this mercy and that wild animals and birds show mercy to one another with that one part. (Muslim, Tawba 19-21)

Haythami, who included the narrations by Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, regarded that hadith narration as sound. (see Majmauz-Zawaid, 10/385)

Scholars have different opinions regarding the issue. It will be useful to consider some points here.

a. What is meant by mercy (rahmah) in the hadith is not the mercy that is Allah’s pre-eternal attribute but the blessings He bestows upon His creatures in the universe. That is, the mercy mentioned in the hadith is not essential mercy but actual mercy. There are a hundred types of those blessings - the real nature of whose distribution we do not know - in general. All of the blessings in the world are only one part, one kind of them. Ninety-nine parts will be given to the believers in Paradise in the hereafter. It is possible to understand that actual mercy (blessings) from the statement “Allah created one hundred parts of mercy” included in some narrations.

b. What is meant by mercy (rahmah) in the hadith is Allah’s infinite mercy. The division as “one hundred parts” aims to make it easy for people to understand it; and it expresses plenitude. It is a lesson given to people so that they will preserve the balance of hope and fear. A person who considers thousands of blessings such as Islam, the Quran, prayer and compassion and mercy gushing forth from the hearts that come from the manifestation of only one part of mercy can easily understand that there will be innumerable blessings in the hereafter. (see Nawawi, Ibn Hajar, the explanation of the hadith in question)

Ubbi, who is one of the explainers Sahih Muslim, states that this division expresses the plenitude of Allah’s mercy. However, it is possible for that division to be the real distribution of the types of mercy. Accordingly, Allah knows the other types of mercy. 

The reason why mare (horse) is chosen among animals is that it is the best example for the mercy that is emphasized. The horse is the harshest one among domestic animals; it moves very fast. However, it lifts up its hoof so as not to harm its baby. (Ibn Hajar, the explanation of the hadith in question)

There are also those who say that those hadiths are metaphorical because Allah’s mercy is not limited. Therefore, it is not possible to divide it. Those hadiths tell us that the mercy we are given is very little and the mercy with Allah is very much. (see Davudoğlu, Ahmet, Sahîh-i Muslim Tercüme ve Şerhi, Istanbul, 1977.XI, p. 101)

Those narrations, almost all of which have the same meaning and display the same fact, show that the compassionate and merciful acts we see among the creatures in the world are the result of only a very small part of Allah’s infinite mercy. The reason why it is stated that His mercy is divided into one hundred parts is to give use an idea about the issue. Besides, those expressions tell us that it is not possible to set bounds to the mercy of our sublime Lord.

It is the greatest guarantee for us that divine mercy will become manifest fully on that horrible the Day of Judgment. The following is stated in another narration regarding the issue in Bukhari: “If the unbeliever knew of all the Mercy in the Hands of Allah, he would never lose hope of entering Paradise” (Riqaq 19). Thus, the limits, or rather the limitlessness, of the hope regarding the issue are shown to us.

Accordingly:

1. Allah’s mercy is limitless.

2. A very small part of that limitless mercy has been given to us. The source of the compassion and mercy seen in worldly life is that mercy of one percent.

3. Allah will treat His slaves with His limitless mercy on the Day of Judgment.

4. It is necessary to live with hope all the time in order to be able to gain the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord, who has infinite mercy.

Note: We advise you read the article written by Yusuf Güneş titled “Concept of Mercy in Hadiths”:

Concepts of Rahmah (Mercy), Rahman (Most Gracious/Compassionate), Rahim (Most Merciful) and Rahm (Womb)

Rahmah:

Rahmah lexically means grace, pity, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and pardoning. The words tarahhum and tarhim derived from the root rahmah mean asking for Allah’s mercy for someone. The word istirham derived from the same root also means asking for and wishing rahmah (mercy). (Ibn Manzur, XII, 230)

The word rahmah (mercy) is translated as “pitying” and “protecting” but those words do not exactly explain rahmah. Pitying is a feeling that does not have depth and that exists only in humans. When we say “Allah has rahmah”, meanings like the one that forgives, meets our needs and cures come to mind. If it is permissible to use the word “pitying” for Allah, complementary meanings such as the one that forgives because of pitying, grants because of pitying and cures because of pitying naturally exist in rahmah. In that case, it is definitely not appropriate to translate rahmah as pitying only. If we do so, we narrow the meaning of rahmah.

It is not appropriate to translate the word rahmah as “protecting” either. It means protecting and guarding. Therefore, let alone translation, the word protecting cannot even be interpretation of rahmah. (Elmalılı, I, 32- 33).

Tafsir scholars do not regard using words like ‘pitying’ and ‘protecting’, which express weakness, for Allah; therefore, they state the following: “The necessity of the inclination of the soul and the reason for granting blessings are to want goodness. In that case, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim mean Allah, who wants goodness for people.” However, in that case, it is necessary to think like that for the other attributes of Allah too.

For instance, Allah has the attributes of Basar and Sam’. Allah is Basir and Sami’. That is, Allah sees and hears. Seeing and hearing that occur through some organs/means cannot be attributed to Allah. In human beings, seeing occurs with the help of sun rays and based on a distance. There are things that we can see and things that we cannot see. Hearing occurs based on some causes too. Therefore, seeing and hearing that occur based on those causes cannot be attributed to Allah.

Seeing and hearing like that are not attributed to God Almighty; similarly, Rahmaniyyah and Rahimiyyah, which become manifest in the form of the inclination of the soul and tenderness of the heart in human beings, cannot be attributed to Allah in that sense. In return for the inclination of the soul and tenderness of the heart in us, those meanings exist in Him sacredly. His seeing and hearing are completely different from ours. Therefore, regarding those attributes as metaphors and interpreting them will make things complicated; then, we will deem it necessary to interpret one thousand and one names of Allah. Therefore, when we say “Rahman, Rahim, Mu’min, Muhaymin, Razzaq, etc”, we mean their meanings related to Allah.

People’s rahmah (mercy) to one another can be explained as the tenderness of the heart and compassion. Allah’s rahmah means Allah’s pitying His slaves, showing compassion to them, granting them blessings and sending them plentiful sustenance.

Rahman is a special name with a general meaning. Rahman Allah gives sustenance to all beings without discrimination. Rahim (since it is also used for other beings than Allah) is a general name with a special meaning. Rahim Allah allocates His rahmah only to believers.

The scope of the meaning of the word rahmah is very wide. One of the meanings may come to the forefront based on the context. For instance, the following is stated for the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a verse: “He is a Mercy to those of you who believe.” (at-Tawba, 9/61) He is called mercy in the verse because he is a means of belief for believers.

Rahmah means sustenance in the following verse: “If We give man a taste of Mercy from Ourselves, and then withdraw it from him, behold! he is in despair and (falls into) blasphemy.” (Hud, 11/9)

Rahmah expresses abundance and boom after scarcity in the following verse: “When We make mankind taste of some mercy after adversity hath touched them, behold! they take to plotting against Our Signs! Say: “Swifter to plan is Allah.” Verily, Our messengers record all the plots that ye make!” (Yunus, 10/21)

“But Allah will choose for His special Mercy whom He will.” (al-Baqara, 2/105) We see that prophethood is expressed in the verse above with the word rahmah (Ibn Manzur, XII, 231, 230.) The following verse addressing the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) supports that meaning: “We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.” (al-Anbiya, 21/107)

Rahman and Rahim:

Rahman and Rahim are two words derived from the root rahmah. The majority of scholars agree that the word Rahman is derived from rahmah and that it expresses unmatched and unique rahmah. (Ibn Hajar, XIII, 371)

The name Rahman is a proper noun used only for Allah. However, it is not a noun of essence, but attribute. Rahman is lexically an adjective derived from rahm and rahmah, meaning being very merciful and having excessive mercy. In that case, it seems possible for a being having that attribute to be called ar-Rahman by analogy. However, it has never been used like that. Since it is allocated to a meaning with infinite rahmah and a giver of blessings pre-eternally and in the real sense, no being except Allah has been and can be called Rahman.

Since the word Rahman is actually an adjective, it can be interpreted as very merciful, extremely merciful, etc., but it is not translated because of its characteristic and because it is a proper noun. Proper nouns are not translated. To translate a proper noun means to change it. To sum up, Rahman can be interpreted as “very merciful” in an insufficient way but it cannot be translated (Elmalılı, I, 31-32). We need to memorize that proper noun as it is and try to understand it from the concept of rahmah, not from its translation or interpretation. We define this name in this way and try to understand it from the concept of mercy, not with its translation, but with its interpretation.

Rahim is an adjective in the form of a noun. We have stated that Rahman can be interpreted as “very merciful” though it is not sufficient. Rahim can be interpreted as “the one showing mercy”. It is one of the attributes of Allah Almighty. However, it is used only as an adjective; it is not used alone without a noun. Therefore, it is not a word that is generally used as an adjective like Rahman and it is not a proper noun; it can be used for beings other than Allah too. (Ibnul-Athir, II, 210)

There are a few nuances between Rahman and Rahim. The name Rahman is more comprehensive and broader. Rahman expresses Allah Almighty’s mercy to all beings: living-non-living, big-small, angel-devil, human-animal, believer-unbeliever, pious-sinner, etc. All beings are encompassed by His rahmah. Their coming into being and their first creation occurred with manifestation of the rahmah of Rahman. In that case, no being is excluded from the manifestation of that rahmah. No being deprived of that rahmah is thinkable. But for His rahmah, no being would come into being. Therefore, Rahmaniyyah is related to pre-eternity, that is the past without a beginning, and the world. (Elmalılı, I, 34-35)

The name Rahim is special; it is peculiar to believers. The following verse expresses it: “And He (Allah) is Full of Mercy to the Believers.” (al-Ahzab, 33/43). The place of manifestation of that special rahmah is the hereafter. In other words, God Almighty, who makes His rahmah become manifest comprehensively on both believers and unbelievers in the world with His name Rahman, will make His rahmah become manifest only on believers in the hereafter with His name Rahim. In that case, Rahmaniyyah is related to pre-eternity while Rahimiyyah is related to the hereafter, which is eternal. Due to that difference, some scholars describe Allah as “Rahman of the world and Rahim of the hereafter”. (Canan, VI, 272)

The name Rahim is special; it is peculiar to believers. The following verse expresses it: “He is Full of Mercy to the Believers.” The place of manifestation of that special rahmah is the hereafter. In other words, God Almighty, who makes His rahmah become manifest comprehensively on both believers and unbelievers in the world with His name Rahman, will make His rahmah become manifest only on believers in the hereafter with His name Rahim.

To sum up, Rahman is a proper noun (in terms of not being used for anyone but Allah) with a general meaning. Rahman Allah, bestows sustenance on all beings in the world without any discrimination. Rahim is a common noun (in terms of being used also for beings other than Allah) with a special meaning. Rahim Allah makes His rahmah peculiar to believers. (Ahmad Sharbasi, I, 37)

Rahm (Womb)

Rahm is the organ of women and female animals in which a baby grows. It is called “womb” and also “uterus”. The plural form of it is “arham”. Rahm also expresses the tie of kinship among the people who were grown in the same womb.

“Rahmah” in Hadiths

When we look at the hadiths related to rahmah in general, we see that rahmah is used within the framework of the lexical meanings we have mentioned above. In those hadiths, rahmah is used in the sense of the broadness and endlessness of Allah’s rahmah, tenderness of the heart, compassion, showing mercy, pitying, rain, abundant sustenance, and abundant blessings. We will deal with some examples of those hadiths and try to explain them.

Vastness of Allah’s rahmah (mercy):

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following: “When Allah created the Creation, He wrote in His Book - and He wrote about Himself, and it is placed with Him on the Throne - ‘Verily My mercy overcomes My wrath.’“ (Bukhari, Tawhid 15, 55) The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in another hadith with different words but the same meaning: “Before Allah created the creations, He wrote a Book (wherein He wrote): My mercy has preceded my wrath.” (Bukhari, Tawhid 55; Muslim, Tawba 15)

His Mercy’s preceding or overcoming His wrath mentioned in hadiths is related to   Allah’s mercy. Allah’s mercy related to anything comes before His wrath because mercy is the characteristic of Allah’s essence. As for His mercy, it occurs due to a crime committed by the slave.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following: “Allah created mercy as one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down one part to the earth, and because of that one single part, creatures are merciful to one another so that even the mare (in some narrations, the word “animal” is used) lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal lest it should trample on it.”

Nawawi (d. 676 H) states the following related to those hadiths: Scholars state that Allah’s wrath and consent are related to His attribute of will. If He wants to give thawabs to a slave who obeys Him, it is called consent; if He wants to punish a slave who disobeys Him, it is called wrath. What is meant by preceding and overcoming is the abundance and comprehensiveness of Allah’s mercy. (Nawawi, XIIV, 74)

Encouragement to Show Mercy:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) encourages believers to show mercy to all beings in the universe whether living or non-living. He states the following in one of those hadiths:

“Allah shows mercy to those who are merciful. Be merciful on the earth, and you will be shown mercy by those in the heavens...” (Tirmidhi, Birr 16)

It is remarkable that the phrases “those who are merciful” and “be merciful” are general phrases. There is no specific expression stating to whom to show mercy. It means we are advised to show mercy to all creatures. Mercy to all people whether they are righteous or mischievous, all animals, wild and domestic, and all beings; it is emphasized that Allah will show mercy to those who are merciful to all beings. Allah’s treating people with mercy should be understood as granting abundantly, pardoning and forgiving them. However, showing mercy is based on the Book and the Sunnah. Those who act contrarily to the Book and the Sunnah and those who commit crimes are not shown mercy. Punishing them is not contrary to mercy. On the contrary, it is necessary to punish them for the peace of society and for returning the rights of those who are wronged.

What is meant by those in the heavens in the hadith is the angels because they ask forgiveness for believers. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse:

“Those who sustain the Throne (of Allah) and those around it Sing Glory and Praise to their Lord; believe in Him; and implore Forgiveness for those who believe: “Our Lord! Thy Reach is over all things, in Mercy and Knowledge. Forgive, then, those who turn in Repentance, and follow Thy Path; and preserve them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.” (al-Mu’min, 40/7)

Hadith explainers mention a person himself among those to whom mercy and compassion will be shown and state that man should show mercy to himself before others. What is more, the mercy a person shows to others returns to himself. The following is stated in a verse: “If ye did well, ye did well for yourselves” (al-Isra, 17/7). (Ibn Hajar, X, 455)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following to encourage people to show mercy: “Allah does not show mercy to a person who does not show mercy to others.” (Bukhari, Adab 27) “Mercy is removed from the heart of a shaqiyy (wretched person).” (Abu Dawud, Adab 66)

A shaqiyy is a person who is an eternal loser, who loses his eternal bliss. Since only a person who is deprived of belief can be regarded as a shaqiyy, what is meant by shaqiyy in the hadith must be a person who is an unbeliever. Tibi (d. 743 H) states the following regarding the issue: Mercy toward creatures comes from tenderness of the heart. Tenderness of the heart is a sign of belief. In that case, he who is deprived of that tenderness is a shaqiyy. (Canan, VI, 279)

When Aqra’ Ibn Harith saw the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) kissing one of his grandchildren, he said, “I have ten children; I have not kissed any of them.” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to Aqra’ Ibn Harith, “Mercy is not shown to a person who does not show mercy to others.” (Bukhari, Adab 18; Muslim, Fadail 65) In another narration, a Bedouin (it is said that this person can be Aqra’ Ibn Harith too, see Ibn Hajar, X, 444) said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) “You kiss your children; we do not kiss our children.” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “What can I do if mercy has been removed from your heart?” (Bukhari, Adab 18)

Ibn Abi Jamra (d. 695 H) interprets that hadith as follows: “A person who does not do a favor to anyone will not get any thawabs.” The following is stated in a verse: “Is there any Reward for Good - other than Good?” (ar-Rahman, 55/60) In that case, we can deduce the following from the hadith: “If a person does not have the mercy of belief in the world, he will not be shown mercy.” “If a person does not show mercy to himself by obeying Allah’s commands and avoiding His prohibitions, Allah will not show mercy to him because there is no promise or guarantee given to him in the sight of Allah.”

We see in a narration reported through Ibn Mas’ud that being merciful is regarded as part of a perfect belief. The Prophet (pbuh) said to his Companions, “You will not be regarded as believers unless you are merciful.” The Companions said, “We are merciful people.” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “That mercy is not the mercy that one of you shows to his friend. The mercy I mean is to show mercy to all humans and all beings.” (Haythami, VIII, 187)

The statement of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about the importance of showing mercy to children “He who does not show mercy to children is not one of us” (Tirmidhi, Birr 15) is important in all ages but more important in this age, in which children do not receive enough care from their parents.

Allah’s Creating Mercy of One Hundred Parts:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following:

“Allah created mercy as one hundred parts. He kept ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down one part to the earth, and because of that one single part, creatures are merciful to one another so that even the mare (in some narrations, the word “animal” is used) lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal lest it should trample on it.” (Bukhari, Adab 19)

It is stated in similar hadiths that Allah reserved ninety-nine parts of His mercy for the Day of Judgment, that He sent one part of it to the earth, that human beings, jinn, animals and insects show mercy to one another, that mothers love their babies with that mercy and that wild animals and birds show mercy to one another with that one part. (Muslim, Tawba 19-21)

Nawawi (d. 676 H) states the following related to those hadiths: Scholars state that Allah’s wrath and consent are related to His attribute of will. If He wants to give thawabs to a slave who obeys Him, it is called consent; if He wants to punish a slave who disobeys Him, it is called wrath. What is meant by preceding and overcoming is the abundance and comprehensiveness of Allah’s mercy. (Nawawi, XIIV, 74)

Ubbi, who is one of the explainers Sahih Muslim, states that this division expresses the plenitude of Allah’s mercy. However, it is possible for that division to be the real distribution the types of mercy. Accordingly, Allah knows the other types of mercy.

There are also those who say that those hadiths are metaphorical because Allah’s mercy is not limited. Therefore, it is not possible to divide it. Those hadiths tell us that the mercy we are given is very little and the mercy with Allah is very much. (Davudoğlu, XI, 101)

The reason why mare (horse) is chosen among animals is that it is the best example for the mercy that is emphasized. The horse is the harshest one among domestic animals; it moves very fast. However, it lifts up its hoof so as not to harm its baby. (Ibn Hajar, X, 447)

Hadiths Related to Sila ar-Rahm:

Sila means gift, compassion and mercy. It is a grant and mercy of Allah to His slaves. Sila ar-rahm means to visit one’s relatives, to ask about their health, to help them if necessary, to communicate with them if they are far away and to send greetings to them so as not to cut off the ties with them. Qat’ ar-rahm, which means to cut off the ties with one’s relatives is a major sin. (Ayni, XVIII, 129)

Before dealing with the hadiths related to sila ar-rahm, it will be useful to mention the verse expressing the importance of it. Allah Almighty states the following in the chapter of an-Nisa:

“O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women; - reverence Allah, through whom ye demand your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (That bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.” (an-Nisa, 4/1)

The word rahm means love, mercy, compassion and pitying; they are the building blocks of the creation of women. Therefore, it is necessary to pity women, to treat them with compassion, to protect their honor and dignity as a necessity of their creation, to protect them from rape and unchaste deeds that will harm the purpose of marriage; it is also necessary to nurture a kind love that befits the grace of kinship for the members of the family, children and relatives. In all of them, it is necessary to accept fear of Allah as the basis and consider the good and the bad from this point of view; therefore, the ambition and conceit of the soul of neither the woman nor the man contrary to the purpose of creation and perpetuation of the human species, nor the desires and inclinations of the relatives contrary to Allah’s commands should be taken into consideration in those relations. It is necessary to act according to the necessity of fulfilling Allah’s decree in all issues. The phrase “reverence your Guardian-Lord” includes avoiding harming the general brotherhood among people and misusing the sexual tendencies between men and women; the phrase “reverence Allah” includes avoiding harming the rights of the family and relatives, and the relationships with them. (Elmalılı, II, 1276-1278) There are many hadiths regarding the issue. We will deal with some of them and try to explain them.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following in hadith narrated by Abu Hurayra:

“When Allah created the creations, ar-Rahm (the womb) stood up and said, “This place is the place of the one that seeks refuge with You from all those who sever sila ar-rahm (the ties of kinship). Allah said, ‘Yes. Do you not want I will keep good relations with the one who will keep good relations with you, and I will sever the relation with the one who will sever the relations with you?’ The womb said, ‘Yes, O my Lord.’ Allah said, ‘Your wish will be fulfilled.” Then, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned to his Companions and told them to read the following verse of the Quran if they wished:

“Then, is it to be expected of you (munafiqs), if ye were put in authority, that ye will do mischief in the land, and break your ties of kith and kin?” (Muhammad, 47/22) (Bukhari, Adab 13; Muslim, Birr 16)

It is stated in some other hadiths that silah clings to the Throne and says, “May Allah bestow upon him who observes me and May He stop bestowing upon him who severs me!” (Muslim, Birr 17)

Sila ar-rahm also expresses ties of neighborhood, friendship and humanity along with ties of kinship. Thus, the hadith states that this tie has been given to people as a sign of mercy and it is a tie clamped together with mercy; thus, it is stated that it is connected with ar-Rahman, who is the real owner of mercy. According to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in the hadith, he who keeps this tie by acting in compliance with it keeps his tie with Allah’s mercy; he who breaks off this sila ar-rahm is severed from Allah’s mercy (Canan, VI, 279).

According to Ibn Abi Jamra (d. 695 H) silah occurs through financial help, meeting needs, protecting from harm, smiling and praying. To sum up, silah means to help and do favors to relatives and keeping bad deeds away from them as much as one can. That is done to believing relatives. If a relative is a member of another religion or has no religion, silah includes giving him advice and telling him about the religion of Islam. If he does not accept Islam, silah continues by praying for him. (Ibn Hajar, X, 432). Our religion wants us to keep contact even with our relatives who are not believers.

Asma bint Abi Bakr’s mother, who was a polytheist, came to visit her. Asma asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) if she was allowed to talk to her; the Messenger of Allah stated that she could talk to her mother. (Bukhari, Adab 7)

Sufyan Ibn Uyayna shows the following verse of the Quran as an evidence for keeping contact with our relatives with different religions: “Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.” (al-Mumtahina, 60/8) (Bukhari, Adab 7) Hz. Umar was sent a garment by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to give as a gift to someone; Umar gave it to his brother who had not become a Muslim yet. (Bukhari, Adab 9) It shows that he kept human relations with his polytheist brother.

The word “sijna” mentioned in the hadith is used for blood vessels clamped with others or a thin way in a valley. It is stated how much importance God Almighty gives to the humane and spiritual ties with people and relatives and what a close connection the attribute Rahman has with rahm. The hadith virtually states that rahm is a part of Rahman to express its importance. The hadith states that the word Rahm is derived from the same root as Rahman, attracting attention to the fact that this common characteristic will help people understand the importance of rahm. (Ibn Hajar, X, 431-432)

Explainers of hadiths state that the womb’s clinging to the Throne and talking to Allah Almighty is metaphorical. (Ayni, XVIII, 129) According to Qadi Iyad (d. 544 H), rahm consists of kinship and lineage; the womb brings them together and adds to one another. The rahm is not expected to stand up and talk. What is meant by such hadiths is to praise those who visit their relatives and do not sever their ties with them and to express their merit, and to state what a major sin those who sever their ties with their relatives commit. (Nawawi, XIV, 347-348)

In addition to the hadiths mentioned above, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) expresses the importance of silah ar-rahm with some other statements: Two of them are as follows: “He who severs silah ar-rahm cannot enter Paradise.” (Bukhari, Adab 11) “He who wants his sustenance to become abundant and his death to delay should keep good relations with his kith and kin.” (Bukhari, Adab 12)

The reason why a person who abandons visiting his relatives cannot enter Paradise is due to regarding it as halal. A person who regards severing ties with relatives as halal becomes an unbeliever and can never enter Paradise. If a person does not believe like that but does not visit his relatives, he will not be able to enter Paradise at first with those who enter it at the beginning; he will enter Paradise after being punished in Hell (Davudoğlu, X, 498).

Some Issues Described with Mercy:

Allah Almighty describes prophethood (al-Baqara, 2/105) and the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) (al-Anbiya, 21/107) with mercy.

When Hz. Aisha asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about plague, he said, “Plague is a punishment which Allah sends on whom He wishes, but Allah has made it a blessing for the believers. If a person remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr if he dies there.” (Bukhari, Tibb 31)

As it is understood from the hadith, a person who remains in the region where plague breaks out so as not to spread the disease as the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states is given a reward similar to that of a martyr if he dies there. It is valid for believers. As for those who deny Allah, plague is a penalty for them given in this world before their penalty in the hereafter. As for the sinful believers, acting upon the verse “What! Do those who seek after evil ways think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous deeds,- that equal will be their life and their death? Ill is the judgment that they make” (al-Jasiya, 45/21), Ibn Hajar, holds the view that plague cannot be regarded as martyrdom for them. (Ibn Hajar, X, 203)

We see in the statements of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) that Paradise (Bukhari, Tawhid 25), rain (Muslim, Istithqa 14), being in congregation (society’s being in unity) (Musnad, IV, 278, 375) and tears shed upon the death of a person (Bukhari, Janaiz 32, 43) are described as mercy.

Some of the things described as mercy are mercy in terms of their results. For instance, rain is mercy in terms of its results like growing plants, watering the soil and filling the dams. Razi (d. 606 H) mentions the issue and states the following:

Events are divided into two: The first one is the events that are thought to be mercy though they are not; they are actually punishment and misfortune. The second one is the events that are thought to be punishment and misfortune though they are grace, grant and mercy. (Razi, I, 233)

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