Mystic mantra: God's mercy & compassion

Describing the day of reckoning, the Quran says, “Your soul is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day.” While we are alive, we collect and benefit from God’s bounties, but often forget that we receive is not really meant just for us alone. We are like cashiers that have to distribute from the bounties received, as in the end the receivers will have to account for the goods. Those who are selfish and lack in showing compassion, remain in danger of being rejected from God’s boundless mercy.

Shaykh Ibn al Arabi, the great 12th century Sufi scholar once said, “There is no higher reward that a human being can achieve from God than the felicity awarded to whoever shows compassion to humanity.” According to him, the essence of morality is compassion. On advising how to reach a high station with God, he writes how we need to evaluate on a daily basis, not just our actions but feelings and thoughts as well.

Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com