We often hear that Allah is the Most Merciful, The Most Compassionate and that His mercy encompasses all things and there is no mercy greater that the Mercy of Allah.

So, then who is the beneficiary, who gets the mercy of Allah? The answer is given by Allah himself, all of creation, all humans, believers, and non-believers all get the Compassion of Allah. This is something that Allah mentions at the very beginning of the Quran when you open it. The very first thing that we read is:

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
‘In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

The scholars of Quran have explained that Compassion of Allah encompasses all of creation. However Allah has a special Mercy for his servants.

So, one might wonder that does the mercy of Allah encompass a sinner, someone that falls short? Is the mercy of Allah so vast that it encompasses all of humanity? The answer remains yes, as Allah says:
وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ
“My Mercy encompasses all things” Surah Al-A’raf [7:156]

Allah the Most Merciful begins his final revelation by mentioning two of His most important names, The Most Merciful and The Most Compassionate. It’s important to recognise that Allah has many names, and it’s common knowledge that He has 99 names and more. However, Allah begins the revelation with His name the Most Merciful, which signifies the importance of mercy as He Himself is directing our attention to it before talking about punishment, or anything else.
There is no doubt that Allah is the Most Merciful. Whether a person believes in Allah or not, Allah extends His Mercy to them. And that’s true mercy. Let’s think about this for a second, because if you and I were to reject our King or our Queen or the person appointed over us, and vehemently oppose them, defame them, insult them publicly and even take their rights (e.g. Tax’s), then you can pretty much be assured that they would not extend their mercy towards you, you’d be seen as a traitor or a defector, someone who is not worthy of the benefits of being a subject or a citizen.

However, Allah the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth extends his mercy to all creatures big and small and even those who vehemently oppose Him and even deny his existence. However, if you are a believer in the Most Merciful, then you are more likely to receive more Mercy than the one who doesn’t believe in Allah and rejects Allah.

When illness or injury strikes, the reasons may not be apparent, or perhaps even be beyond our understanding. However, Allah wants only good for humankind. We can therefore be sure that there is great wisdom behind the affliction and that it presents us with the opportunity to develop a closer relationship with Allah. As humans, of course we have free will and are free to choose our own course of action in any given situation, but the best reaction is patience and acceptance.

Allah’s mercy should never be underestimated. He asks us to seek forgiveness from Him. Prophet Mohammad ﷺ reminded us that Allah is waiting for us to turn to Him. In the last part of the night, when darkness lies heavily across the land, Allah descends to the lowest heaven and asks His slaves. “Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it to him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?” [Bukhari]

We are so fortunate to have such a merciful Allah, will we then not be grateful?