Mercy in Christianity and Islam (Part Three)

Commentators see another similarity in the way Christians and Muslims understand God’s mercy. They say that in both religions the mercy of God has a quality of infinite patience and a constant reaching out to wayward human beings.

As evidence of this similarity these interfaith experts cite Pope Francis’ frequent use of the story of the prodigal son and the merciful father in the gospel of Luke and a frequently-cited saying of the Prophet Muhammad. The bible narrates the touching story of a wayward son who after a life of sexual indulgence returns home to his father in utter humility. In the story emphasis is placed on the father running out to meet his son and embraced him tenderly and lovingly kissed him.

Muslims believe that this beautiful picture of the merciful father is considered similar in the words of the prophet who said, “God says: When a servant of mine draws nearer to me by the length of a hand, I draw toward him an arm’s length, I draw near to him the distance of a wingspan; and if he comes to me walking, I go to him running.”

Another similarity in Islam is found in the motherly quality of God’s mercy that speaks to God’s creation and sustaining of the universe. Ibn Arabi, a Muslim spiritual master or sufi made a felicitous statement that God creator and sustainer of everything that exists “mercified” the universe into existence! As a consequence God’s compassion (Qur’an 7:156) embraces the while world (as a mother’s womb), and his attributes are partially made manifests in his creatures particularly humans.

So Muslims believe that God’s mercy was expressed through messengers. These include many figures that are familiar to Christians, such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, of whom God says in the Qur’an, “We have not sent you [Muhammad] but as a mercy for the universe” (Qur’an 21:107).

For the followers of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is the model of merciful living. They look to his example of RAHMAH towards animals, the elderly, his grandchildren and everyone as a blueprint or guide for their own lives, striving to emulate his caring nature and to be a mercy to their own universe.

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