A Way to Earn the Mercy of Allah {SWT}

“He who is not merciful to mankind, Allah will not be merciful to him.”—Al-Bukhari

Abu Bakr Suli says that his grandmother used to narrate: I and three friends of mine were in the service of imam Ridha {R} for many years. The imam took very less work from us. 

One day we said to him, that the Mamun {the king} has sent us to serve you and not to live in comfort. 

The imam said:

“It is my service only that you fulfill the obligations of Allah {SWT}.”

The imam used to teach us the religious rules every day. Being in his service, I memorized nearly 400 traditions that I have now forgotten.

Most of the time, it so happened that the imam used to fill up a pot of water for ritual ablution; he kept it besides us and then awoke us in a very gentle way, saying:

“This is not the time to sleep; it is the time for Allah’s remembrance.”

We used to be ashamed of such affection of the imam.

When he was martyred, we were sent back to Mamun’s house. But in spite of all the facilities available there, I felt very lonely and the royal palaces seemed like dark dungeons.

I used to remember the imam and weep day and night.

This following statement from the imam is sufficient enough as the key lesson to take away from this article: “It is my service only that you fulfill the obligations of Allah {SWT}.”

May Allah {SWT} guide us right. Ameen.

PS: Please understand that imam as used on this blog denotes an Islamic community leader in the Sunni sense of the word. 

Reference: Morals and Manners of the Household of the Prophet {S}.