It’s time to earn Allah’s mercy, forgiveness and protection

Muslims have generally held that Ramadhan is divided into three equal parts of ten days.

The first section is for mercy, followed by forgiveness and deliverance from Hell Fire.

This belief is based on a weak narration and therefore should never form a basis for Islamic beliefs or teachings.

This does not mean that a Muslim should not work towards receiving Allah’s favours.

In Ramadhan, Muslims strive to please their Creator and earn His mercy, which encompasses everything as stated in the Koran “…but My mercy encompasses all things. I shall ordain my mercy for those who are conscious of Allah and pay the prescribed alms (Zakat); who believe in Our Revelations.” Koran 7:156  

From the above verse, Allah says He ordains His mercy to those who have taqwa (Fear of God).

Ali Ibn Abi Talib defines taqwa as fear of the Greatest (Allah), to act upon the commandments in the Koran and Prophet’s teachings, to be satisfied with small amounts of provision and to prepare for the day you will leave this world, move on to the next, and stand in front of Allah.

Secondly, those who pay the prescribed alms also stand to earn Allah’s mercy.  

The two names of Allah — Ar-Rahmaan and ArRaheem — denote the vast mercy of our Lord and Creator.

These two names of Allah have the same root, which emphasises that Allah is The Most Merciful and that there is no one else who is more merciful than Allah.

Granted, fasting has its challenges. However, with this understanding that Allah is The Most Merciful and whatever He has made lawful or unlawful is for our sole benefit, fasting and other acts of worship bear a rich meaning.

Ramadhan without a doubt is an opportunity to earn Allah’s mercy and forgiveness; if fasted correctly accompanied with other virtuous acts and protecting it from anything that might nullify it guarantees one freedom from Hellfire.

Act of mercy Below are a few ways to earn us special mercy from Ar-Raheem as enumerated in the Koran and Prophet’s traditions: Obedience to Allah and His Messenger. “...and obey Allah and His Messenger so that you all may receive mercy.”

The Prophet (SAW) said: “May Allah have mercy on one who prays 4 raka’aat before the ‘Asr Prayer.”

[Narrated by at-Tirmidhi], listening to the Koran attentively and remaining silent.

“And when the Koran is recited, listen to it with attention, that you may receive mercy.” [7:204].

Koran should not be background noise or used to drown neighbourhood rattle. Ramadhan is the month of Koran: recitation, studying and meditating over its verses.

Set aside time to recite it and a time to study and ponder over its message and injunctions with an intention to implement its teachings.

Being merciful towards the creation of Allah. A hadith in Musnad Ahmad states, “Show mercy so that you may be shown mercy, forgive and Allah will forgive you.”

When the son of the Prophet (SAW) passed away and he began to cry, one of the companions said to him “what is this?” (referring to his crying) and he replied: “This is mercy which Allah has embedded in the hearts of whomever He wished of His slaves. And Allah does not bestow His mercy, except on the merciful among His slaves. [Bukhari]. In another hadith narrated in Sunan Abi Dawood, it states, “The merciful will be given mercy by the Most Merciful. Have mercy to those on earth and the one in the heavens will have mercy upon you.”

Also, Allah says in the Koran, “Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?”  [24:22] So if you want mercy, show mercy to others. Ramadhan is an opportune time to learn empathy and to show mercy to others.

Enjoining good, forbidding evil, praying and giving Zakaa.

The believers, men and women, are close protecting friends of one another; they enjoin good, and forbid from evil; they perform the prayer, and give the Zakaa, and obey Allah and His Messenger.

Allah will have His mercy on them.  The believers are nothing else than brothers.

So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. [49:10] Use Ramadhan as a time to reconcile with your parents and family. It is important to note that the Prophet describes the reciprocal relationship is not holding family ties.

“The upholder of kinship ties is not the one who is kind to them if they are kind to him, rather the upholder of kinship ties is the one who, if his relatives cut him off, he upholds the ties of kinship with them”.    

Leniency in Business. Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: Allah’s Apostle peace be upon him said, “May Allah’s mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money.” [Bukhari]

Therefore to earn Allah’s mercy one needs to fear Allah, act in accordance with His commandments, be satisfied with whatever provisions he has been blessed with and prepare for the day one departs from this world.

Ramadhan has been prescribed solely for taqwa so work on your taqwa as Allah’s mercy is nigh.”