Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

28 between two wrongs, the justice between injustices and so we see that Islam offers the moderate approach in all life’s affairs. It also warns of the two perversions, exag- geration and negligence, and in the noble Hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) forbids exaggerations and extremism or negligence and tells all people to beware of these things before destruction occurs. The term mercy is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an 268 times. The first verse begins with: “In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful,” and there are many collections of verses of mercy in the Qur’an, for instance: “Mercy to the world,” “My mercy encom- passes all things,” “Say to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and earth, say to God, He has decreed upon himself mercy.” These Qur’anic verses and many others affirm that the mercy of God encompasses everything. It encompasses even those who are sinful and have strayed from the right path who should feel themselves called upon not to despair of the mercy of God the Almighty. Additionally, Islam requires humans to be compas- sionate to each other in order to be availed the mercy of God, for the Prophet (PBUH) said that the compassion- ate ones have mercy on those who are merciful. If you show mercy to those on earth, He who is in the heaven will show mercy to you. Hence mercy in Islam is not merely a characteristic of God, but builds a bridge in human relations between the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the abled and those in need. God the Almighty has laid down the law of Almsgiving as a tool for being merciful towards the poor and the stranger in need. Here I would like to refer to the fact that one of God’s names is peace, so believing in peace and work- ing to achieve it is one of the main pillars of the Islamic creed. It is also the duty of every Muslim to work for peace between all peoples. Peace is but a noble expres- sion of mercy because a society devoid of mercy cannot be a society of peace, nor can it believe in peace since peace and mercy are two faces of the same coin. The Islamic tradition is rich in many examples of mercy among which are the commands of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), directed to the Muslim soldiers, not to harm any old person or woman or child during fighting and to respect the sanctity of churches and mon- asteries where the name of God is worshipped and to respect the clergymen and monks and provide them with aid even during war and conflict. The commands of the Prophet (PBUH) go as far as forbidding the destruction of churches and forbidding forced conversion to Islam. The Prophet (PBUH) thus demonstrated the main aim of his noble prophethood when saying: “I am but a gift of mercy,” and “I was sent to perfect good manners.” Observing the words and deeds of the Prophet (PBUH) in warfare, it becomes very evident that at the core of his message is the need for good manners. The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and his Companions, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, have advised not to kill or even to harm women or children or an aged or an infirm person, not to cut down fruit bearing trees, not to destroy inhabited places, not to slaughter sheep except for food, not to burn bees and not scatter them. The Prophet (PBUH) adhered to his life of good manners and ethics in war and peace until he met his creator. He was truthful, loyal and generous, he was austere, cou- rageous, humble, merciful, reverent, wise, trustworthy, loyal and a worshipper. Above all this, his ethics were unwavering despite the hardships and changes during his life. He was able to hold steady to ethical conduct in all of his crucial, historical moments. Thus, he is an exemplar of his conduct which arises from a clear approach and not from a reaction imposed by circum- stance or pressure. HE Grand Mufti Abdelateef Deriane in conversation with Sheikh Dr. Abdalrahman Allowaihiq THE FOUNDAT IONS OF MERCY