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" the beneficent, the merciful
"
commentary
:
the meaning of /ar-rahman/ `
the beneficent ' and /ar-rahim/ ` the
merciful ', together with their
broad sense of meaning and the
difference between them, was
explained at length while commenting on
/bism-il-lah/, the repetition
of which is not required.
a point that should be added
to the commentary, here, regarding
`ar-rahman' and `ar-rahim',
is that these two attributes, which are the
most significant attributes
of allah, are repeated at least 30 times,
every day, in our (5) daily
prayers; (twice in sura al-fatihah, and once
in the sura we recite after
it). in this way, we praise allah sixty times
as being ` mereiful ' each day.
this, indeed, is a lesson taught
to all human beings more than
anything else that they should
try to acquire this attribute, and practice
it in their daily lives and
activities. moreover, it points to the fact that
if we count ourselves among
the true, obedient servants of allah, we
should not follow or imitate
the manner in which tyrant slave owners
use against their servants when
dealing with our servants.
the history of slavery indicates
that the tyrant owners used to
treat their slaves in horrifyingly
cruel ways. for example, if a slave
moved a little slow in performing
services, he would receive harsh
punishments: i.e. be whipped,
put in chains or fetters, fastened to a
mill-stone and forced to turn
it, instructed to work in mines, imprisoned
in deep, dark, wet holes and,
if his faults were greater, he would be
hanged.
another reference in the history
of slavery also shows that
condemned slaves were put in
wild animal cages. if the slave succeeded
in staying alive, another animal
would be let in on him.
these are some examples of the
conduct of some owners with
their slaves. but, allah, the
lord of the worlds, has mentioned
repeatedly, in the holy qur'an,
that allah is oft-forgiving and most
merciful to the servants who
are repentant of their disobedience to
him. for example: sura az-zumar,
no. 39, verse 53 says: " say: `
o' my servants who have transgressed
against their souls! despair not of
the mercy of allah: for allah
forgives all sins, for he is oft-forgiving, most
merciful' ".
therefore, the terms `ar-rahman'
(the beneficent) and `ar-rahim'
(the merciful) used after the
phrase /rabb-il-`alamin/ `the lord of the
worlds' refer to the idea that,
he, with the absolute power he has, is
yet merciful to all his creatures.
this quality, which allah possesses,
attracts his servants to him
and they eagerly say:`ar-rahman-ir-rahim',
(the beneficent, the merciful).
it is here that one's attention
is drawn to the fact that the
behaviour of allah, the exalted,
toward his creatures is, by far,
different from that of masters
toward their servants, in particular,
during the horrible period of
slavery.
therefore, ` belief in allah
' is the first of the five principles of
islam.
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