Question:
Assalamu ‘alaikum Sheikh,
I put it together the following defintion of Allah’s Mercy from what I’ve read in tafasir (i.e. Tafsir Mafatih al-Ghayb by Imam al-Razi) and hadith commentaries (i.e. Imam Nawawi’s sharh of Sahih Muslim). Could you confirm if it is accurate Sheikh?
ارادته بتخليص الخلق المحتاج من أنواع الآفات و بايصال الخيرات إليهم
[Translation: His Will acting to eliminate all sorts of harm from His needy creatures and to connect them to all kinds of goodnesses.]
Wassalaam
Answer:
`Alaykum Salam,
Yes, this is close to what Ibn `Abd al-Salam said in al-Ishara ila Anwa` al-Majaz:
“According to the Shaykh [Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari], rahma means the willing (irada) of Allah, for His servant, of whatever one that shows mercy wills for the one who is shown mercy.”
Hajj Gibril Haddad
