Mercy and Humility

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Having mercy is among the excellent qualities of Islam, which take one towards the broad path of uprightness until they prepare the possessor of the qualities for the greatest generosity.

The one who is merciful to Allah's creatures for Allah’s sake, Allah is merciful to him. This person will receive a great portion of the Mercy of Allah, Al-Rahman, because recompense is in accordance to a work.

We should examine our mercy towards Allah's creation--people, animals, even plants and inanimate objects.

So, don't be kicking the chairs or the tires or throw/break dishes or yell at donkeys or throw rocks at dogs. Don't uproot a plant/tree for no good reason or wound a tree by improperly cutting a large limb that tear away a long strip of bark. Care for your plants and don't let it die because you didn't water it for weeks. When you slaughter an animal, show kindness to the animal to be slaughtered, and that is, one use sharp blade and one does not fell it to the ground cruelly or harshly, nor drag it from one place to another. It also includes facing it towards the Qibla and taking the name of Allah upon it, and cleanly and quickly cutting the throat and the two jugular veins, and then leaving it until it has turned cold.

Sayyid Ahmad Ar-Rifai (may Allah be pleased with him) (born 512 AH), was known as Sultanul Awliya in his era and he was a relative of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) and were also good friends.

Shaykh Ahmad Ar-Rifai had his tariqa Rafaiyya in the same era as Abdul Qadir Jilani and was established independently while the Qadri took its root in Baghdad. However, even though Shaykh Ahmad Ar-Rifai was such a strong Qutb (pole) he bowed himself to give his shoulders to Abdul Qadir Jilani who said: “This foot of mine is on the shoulders of all the saints of Allah”.

His way of walking and speaking made people convert to Islam and he showed respect to all creatures, specially those who were weak. Shaykh Ahmad Ar-Rifai though being a great sufi saint and very rich, lived his life with humbleness and simplicity. He liked loneliness and peace for meditation.

One Friday, Sayyid Ahmad Ar-Rifa'i was sleeping and woke to find that it was time for prayer. However, there was a cat asleep on his robe. He asked his wife for some scissors, cut off the part of his robe where the cat lay, stood up and went to prayers. When he returned, the cat had awakened and left, so he asked his wife for thread to sew the robe back together. When he saw his wife's displeasure at what he had done to his robe, he said "Do not worry, nothing but goodness happened and I did not suffer because of this; this was a good thing."

Once, Sayyid Ahmad Ar-Rifa'i spent forty days caring for a dog with leprosy in the wilderness. When he returned and was asked why he had spent so much time caring for an unclean beast, he replied, "When I die and meet my Maker, what would I have said if He asked me why I hadn't helped one of His creatures?"

He helped the blind find their shoes after worship, and also helped guide them to the places that they wanted to go. He respected old people and recommended respecting them. He always used to quote the words of our Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace, “If a person shows respect to old people and those in need, Allah will assign people who will respect them when they are old.”

Sayyid Ahmad Ar-Rifa'i used to go to the houses of the leprous and bedridden, wash their clothes, bring their meals, sit and eat with them, and pray for them. When he heard that the people of his city were sick in a far-off city, he used to visit them. He also cured wounded animals, and said, “Compassion for the creatures of Allah is one of the qualities that bring human beings closer to Allah.”

He was very kind and compassionate to orphans. He would cry for the poor, grow merry with their joy, and behave very modestly towards them. He considered himself as one of them.

Great people in Sayyid Ahmad Ar-Rifa'i's time said, “The most important reason for his reaching his high station was his great kindness to all creatures and his humility.”

May Allah grant us humility and a merciful heart. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

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