Allah, the Gentle

Allah, the Gentle

All praises be to Allah, the First, the Last, the Ascendant, the Most Intimate. Thanks are due to Allah, the Bestower, Free of need, the Firm, All-powerful. I bear witness that there’s no god except Allah, the Forgiving, the Affectionate, the Near, the Kind, the Merciful, the Responsive. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger, the seal of the prophets and the greatest of the pious, May the myriad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, his family and companions.

And After:

I advise you and myself to be righteous. There’s nothing like righteousness to own as a provision. Allah said: (And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah.) [Al-Baqarah: 197] And there’s no cloth better than righteousness to wear and adorn with. Allah said: (But the clothing of righteousness - that is best.) [Al-Aaraaf: 26].

Slaves of the Merciful, here’s a hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim:

'A'isha reported that a group of Jews came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and sought his audience and said:

As-Sam-u-'Alaikum. A'isha said in response: As-Sam-u-'Alaikum (death be upon you) and curse also, whereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: 'A'isha, verily Allah loves kindness in every matter. She said: Did you bear what they said? Thereupon he said: Did you not hear that I said (to them): Wa 'Alaikum (same to you).

Allah’s the greatest… this hadith has so many lessons… and among the greatest lessons is that being soft and kind to people constitutes the best of high Islamic morals. It’s one of the qualities of perfection.

One of the greatest benefits of this hadith is the affirmation of one of the best names of Allah, i.e., “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle).

O’ my friends, scholars say that every name of Allah carries an attribute. So, Al-Rafeeq (the Gentle) is one of the names of Allah and Al-rifq (Gentleness) is one of His attributes. So, come let’s ponder over some of the things that are attached with this noble name.

Shaikh Sa’di (May Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Among His names is Al-Rafeeq (the Gentle), i.e., the Gentle in His acts and law.” He added: “The one who contemplates about the creatures and ponders over the Divine Laws will not be able to bring a greater wonder than this proof.” This is the end of the statement by Shaikh Sa’di (May Allah have mercy on him).

Yes, It’s His gentleness that He created all creatures gradually according to His wisdom and created the creatures in stages even though He’s capable of creating them at once in a moment. It’s a proof of Allah’s patience, wisdom, knowledge and gentleness.

Among the phenomena of Allah’s gentleness with His slaves is that He’s gentle with them in laws and order & prohibition. Kindly note that the legislation of these laws took place in thirty-three years.

It’s the gentleness of Allah, the Exalted in His Laws that He does not charge a soul beyond its capacity.

Among the phenomena of Allah’s gentleness with His slaves is that he ordained for them religious concessions which save them from difficulty and hardship.

Among the gentleness of Allah is that He grants respite to the perpetrator of the mistakes and sins even the one who’s extravagant in his sins and does not punish him so that he may turn to Allah, repent his sins and return to his senses. Allah said: (And your Lord is the Forgiving, the possessor of mercy. If He were to impose blame upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened for them the punishment.) [Al-Kahaf: 58].

Among the gentleness of Allah, the Exalted is that he ordered and exhorted His slaves to be gentle. This is His gentle prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who says in a hadith narrated by Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whenever forbearance is added to something, it adorns it; and whenever it is withdrawn from something, it leaves it defective.” This hadith has been narrated by Imam Muslim. The prophet said it once in the story of the stubborn camel, which tells about the lawful desirability of gentleness with animals. The prophet said it another time in the story of a group of Jews.

According to another hadith: (He who is deprived of tenderly feelings is in fact deprived of good.). This hadith has been narrated by Imam Muslim. According to a third hadith: ("Allah is Forbearer and loves forbearance in all matters.”). (This hadith has been narrated by Imam Ahmad. Albaani has declared it to be of Sahih grade). According to a fourth hadith: ("O Allah! Treat harshly those who rule over my Ummah with harshness, and treat gently those who rule over my Ummah with gentleness."). This hadith has been narrated by Imam Muslim. There are other hadiths as well of the same sense.

As for the instances of our prophet regarding gentleness, they are many.

May Allah benefit you and us from the Book and the Sunnah and from the guidance and wisdom they contain. Seek forgiveness of Allah, He’s the Most Forgiving.

The Second Sermon

All praises be to Allah, the One, and blessings and peace be upon His prophet and slave, his family and companions. And after:

Brothers in belief, having belief in the name of Allah “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle) has many impacts on a Muslim. Among them are:

• The love, reverence and majesty of Allah as the manifestations of His affection and gentleness with His slaves are well reflected in His creation and laws despite the fact that He’s all-powerful and free from any kind of need from His creation.

• Among the effects of the belief in the name of Allah “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle) is: adopting the quality of gentleness and prudence with the self. So, he embarks on a gradual journey in the paths of worship. According to a hadith: “Indeed, this religion is strong. So, be thoroughly gentle in it.” Albaani has categorised it as Hasan. According to another hadith: "The religion (of Islam) is easy, and whoever makes the religion a rigour, it will overpower him. So, follow a middle course (in worship); if you can't do this, do something near to it and give glad tidings.” This hadith has been narrated by Imam Bukhari.

• Among the effects of believing in the name of Allah “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle) is: dealing gently with people, believers or disbelievers, in speech and action. The story of the prophet with the Jews has come before. The prophet said: ("Whenever forbearance is added to something, it adorns it; and whenever it is withdrawn from something, it leaves it defective.). This hadith has been narrated by Imam Muslim.

The family and relatives deserve to be treated gently the most. The prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When Allah, the Exalted wants to do good to the residents of a house, He brings in gentleness among them.” This hadith has been narrated by Imam Ahmad and Albaani has declared it to be of Sahih grade.

• Among the effects of belief in the name of Allah “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle) is: forming the habit of being gentle with the animals and not oppressing them. The story of the woman who entered hell due to a cat which she held captive, is well known. Rather, gentleness has been ordained on us even at the time of slaughtering and killing. According to a hadith: (So when you kill, you must make the killing in the best manner; when you slaughter, make your slaughter in the best manner. Let one of you sharpen his knife and give ease to his animal (in order to reduce his pain).

• Among the effects of the belief in Allah’s name “Al-Rafeeq” (the Gentle) is: thanking and praising Allah for His magnanimous shariah and gentleness with His slaves.

To conclude: Our Lord is Gentle and our religion is gentleness and ease. Our prophet is the leader and ideal of all gentle persons. We ought to adorn ourselves with gentleness in our affairs and train ourselves on that. Allah, the One having no partner is the source of strength.

Send out the blessings and peace…