Many times, confusion overwhelms us; we pause to reflect on that awe-inspiring question: “Will Allah have mercy on us, or will He punish us for what we have done?!”
The answer to this question is entirely based on truly knowing our Lord, The One Whom we worship and The One to Whom we all shall return. Out of His mercy for His servants, Allah has given us signs all around to enlighten the heart and mind with true knowledge of Him—such as the ayahs of the Qur’an, His Beautiful Names and Attributes, and some significant stories filled with divine teachings, and meanings for us to learn. Through them, the believer’s heart finds reassurance, and his soul finds the power to continue its path toward Allah.
Searching for the answer to such a question in the Qur’an—the Noble Book of Allah—we find many ayahs that fill our hearts with hope in the vastness of His mercy that encompasses all. Yet, we also find ayahs warning us from Allah’s severe punishment, and His mighty power against those who belittle His majesty!
As for His Beautiful Names and Attributes, we can find “the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, the Most Kind,” but we also find “the Avenger, the Compeller, the Subduer” above His servants. Then, our question echoes inside us once again: “Will Allah have mercy on us, or will He punish us for what we have done?!”
To answer such a critical question, we must first understand—with an attentive mind and a sound heart—some principal points and considerations:
Whom Will Allah Punish?
Without a doubt, the heart trembles in fear of Allah’s punishment once listening to those solemn ayahs describing His severe punishment and prevailing might! But firstly, we must take a closer look at the ayahs of Allah’s punishment, and underline its clear connection to those who truly deserve it! As they, by themselves, chose to keep going on the dark paths of blatant transgression, the explicit deviation, the constant denial of all blessings, the shameless tyranny, the patent disbelief, and the consistent inclination toward falsehood despite the clarity of the truth, and despite the many chances their Lord granted them repeatedly to return to the right path! Here are some examples:
· [They denied Our signs, all of them, so We seized them with a seizure of one Exalted in Might and Perfect in Ability.] [Qamar: 42]
· […But whoever transgresses after that-will have a painful punishment.] [Al-Baqarah: 178].
· [Indeed, those who purchase disbelief [in exchange] for faith – never will they harm Allāh at all, and for them is a painful punishment.] [Al Imran: 177]
· [And whoever disobeys Allāh and His Messenger and transgresses His limits – He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.] [An-Nisaa: 14].
There are lots of ayahs that bear witness to the wrongdoing of such ignorant people—wronging themselves and others, straying away from the truth, and even insisting on injustice, transgression, and disbelief; they associate partners with Allah, and deny His blessings, His signs, His messengers, His scriptures, and all the guiding signs for the straight path. They wasted and discarded every clear proof Allah gave them and missed every opportunity to return to Him and to the truth. Thus, Allah’s judgment regarding them is fair enough, for they wronged themselves by the choices they kept making on their own.
· [… And Allāh has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.] [Al-Imran: 117].
What About Those to Whom the Message Didn’t Reach out?
This controversial question always causes a debate. Yet, after reflecting on these ayahs and clearly making sure of Allah’s justice in His punishment, then, it is not befitting for a true Muslim to think badly of Allah—He is The Most Just, The Most Merciful, how could He punish someone to whom the message of monotheism never reached?! He will not do injustice to His servants!
Rather, Allah’s justice and mercy are evident in His ayahs in the Noble Qur’an: Allah does not punish anyone unjustly—far be He above that! He has stated this explicitly in His Book:
· [And never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother [i.e., principal city] a messenger reciting to them Our ayahs…] [Al-Qasas: 59]
So, receiving the message and the clear ayahs is the criteria. It is also the proof, whether for the servant or against him. Allah has given us the trust of the mind and heart to help us choose on our own, and then take the responsibility of our choices and face their consequences. So, it is up to everyone whether to save themselves from falsehood or to wrong themselves by deviating from the truth.
· [Whoever does righteousness – it is for his [own] soul; and whoever does evil [does so] against it. And your Lord is not ever unjust to [His] servants.] [Fussilat: 46].
Therefore, we say—thinking good of Allah, The Most Merciful—that He will not punish those to whom the message never reached, for what they did in this worldly life. Rather, Allah has His own wisdom, and their matter is only in Allah’s Hands. As the majority of scholars have agreed that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will test and judge them then with His perfect justice and wisdom in His own way that’s beyond our little knowledge.
So, such people are under a certain judgment of Allah, the Exalted— Who is never unjust to His servants, Whose mercy encompasses all. Their reckoning is His alone, and to Him is their final return. As for us—as Muslims—our duty is only to strive, with our maximum efforts, to convey Allah’s message to His creation so that they may be saved in this life and the next. The scales of judgment and wisdom belong only to Allah; it is not us to judge them, but Allah, and Allah alone.
Allah’s Mercy upon the Believers, even with Their Sins:
Compared to the ayahs of Allah’s punishment and torment, we can find the outpouring of Allah’s mercy flowing throughout other ayahs of His Noble Book—bringing good news to those who believe in Him and granting reassurance to those hoping for His gentleness toward His servants. The mercy of the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, toward His servant is beyond what any human mind can imagine and beyond what any mortal soul can contain. It is a divine, limitless, endless pardon, and a true promise from the One Who never breaks His promises. The Qur’an was sent as a reminder and mercy, and His Messenger was sent as a guide and mercy—all of Islam is actually a comprehensive mercy for us.
· [So those who believe in Allāh and hold fast to Him – He will admit them to mercy from Himself and bounty and guide them to Himself on a straight path.] [Al-Nisaa: 175].
· [… but My mercy encompasses all things.” So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakāh and those who believe in Our ayahs] [Al-A’raf: 156].
· [And We have not sent you, [O Muḥammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.] [Al Anbyaa: 107].
With all these crystal-clear signs of mercy, some still despair and imagine that Allah’s mercy runs dry?! Or that His anger precedes His mercy?! How could that be?! On the contrary, in the sacred (Qudsi) hadith, it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may God be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
“When God completed the creation, He wrote in a book which is with Him above His Throne: ‘My mercy has preceded My wrath.’”
Narrated by al-Bukhari (7453) and Muslim (2751).
Allah’s Mercy on the 100-Killer!
That’s a deeply inspiring story and a meaningful lesson that was recorded by our Messenger’s Sunnah. In this story, Allah’s mercy on His servants is abundantly granted once showing their good side, and their true intention to return to Him in sincere repentance, genuine fear from His punishment, and pure hope for His mercy:
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) said: “There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk.
He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative, and the man killed him also completing one hundred.
He then asked about the most learned man on earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and wondered, ‘Who stands between you and repentance?! Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.’
So he went away, and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, ‘This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,’ and the angels of punishment argued, ‘He never did a virtuous deed in his life.’
Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being, and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, ‘Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.’ They measured and found him slightly closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy got his soul”. It was narrated that Allah ordered the good land to draw his body nearer to it, and away from the evil land out of Allah’s mercy, so the man could be among the good ones.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
What Would Allah Do with Your Punishment?!
Some people think that if they sin many times, or go too far in disobedience, wronging themselves, or wronging others, Allah will never let them go without severe punishment—no matter how much they repent, return to Him, and set things right! How could that be?! He is the Oft-Returning, the Most Merciful! Actually, He is The One Who promised forgiveness and mercy in His Noble Book, for those who sincerely repent, and get back to the right track:
· [But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms,indeed, Allāh will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.] [Al-Ma’ida: 39]
· [Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”] [Az-Zumr: 53]
So, linking Allah’s punishment inevitably to our sins is not always a must, as Allah never shuts His doors of repentance in the face of those sinners who seek His mercy and forgiveness. So, our human calculations for Allah’s punishment and mercy are totally incomplete and not working. Allah has divine measures of His own and He is the Self-Sufficient, in no need for our punishment, for sure. Rather, we are the ones in need of our guidance, our faith in Him, and our repentance to Him. Allah does not want for us anything but repentance, goodness and righteousness:
· [What would Allāh do with [i.e., gain from] your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allāh Appreciative and Knowing.] [An-Nisaa: 147]
· [Allāh wants to accept your repentance, but those who follow [their] passions want you to digress [into] a great deviation.] [An-Nisaa: 27]
Finally, we invoke Allah: “O Allah, don’t let our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us Your mercy, as You are The Bestower.”
