The Qur’an

“The Mercy of Allah”

Sura 2

The Cow

163. And your God is one God! there is no god but He; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful.

243. Have you not considered those who went forth from their homes, for fear of death, and they were thousands, then Allah said to them, Die; again He gave them life; most surely Allah is Gracious to people, but most people are not grateful.

Sura 4

The Women

29. O you who believe! do not devour your property among yourselves falsely, except that it be trading by your mutual consent; and do not kill your people; surely Allah is Merciful to you.

Sura 7

The Elevated Places

23. They said: Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.

Sura 9

The Immunity

71. And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Apostle; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Sura 10

Jonah

60. And what will be the thought of those who forge lies against Allah on the day of resurrection? Most surely Allah is the Lord of grace towards men, but most of them do not give thanks.

Sura 11

The Holy Prophet

3. And you that ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him; He will provide you with a goodly provision to an appointed term and bestow His grace on every one endowed with grace, and if you turn back, then surely I fear for you the chastisement of a great day.

Sura 17

The Children of Israel

54. Your Lord knows you best; He will have mercy on you if He pleases, or He will chastise you if He pleases; and We have not sent you as being in charge of them.

Sura 19

Marium

96. Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love.

Sura 20

Ta Ha

36. He said: You are indeed granted your petition, O Musa. And certainly We bestowed on you a favor at another time;
38. When We revealed to your mother what was revealed;
39. Saying: Put him into a chest, then cast it down into the river, then the river shall throw him on the shore; there shall take him up one who is an enemy to Me and enemy to him, and I cast down upon you love from Me, and that you might be brought up before My eyes;

Sura 25

The Distinction

25. And on the day when the heaven shall burst asunder with the clouds, and the angels shall be sent down descending (in ranks).
26. The kingdom on that day shall rightly belong to the Beneficent God, and a hard day shall it be for the unbelievers.

Sura 36

Yasin

23. What! shall I take other gods besides Him, if the Beneficent God should desire to afflict me with a harm, shall not avail me aught, nor shall they be able to deliver me?
24. In that case I shall most surely be in clear error:

The Bible

“The Love of God”

Deuteronomy

Chapter 23

5. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

First Kings

Chapter 10

9. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

Second Chronicles

Chapter 9

8. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

Jeremiah

Chapter 2

2. Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

Jeremiah

Chapter 31

3. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

20. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

Zephaniah

Chapter 3

17. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing

John

Chapter 3

14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  

Romans

Chapter 5

5. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans

Chapter 8

35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

First Corinthians

Chapter 13

1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing.
4. Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (love) envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8. Charity (love) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity (love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (love).

Second Corinthians

Chapter 13

11. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Ephesians

Chapter 2

4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;)
6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

First John

Chapter 3

1. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

First John

Chapter 4

7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

First John

Chapter 5

1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

COMMENTARY

In the Qur’an:

1. Allah’s character is most frequently referred to as being merciful, and He will decide to save us or to punish and condemn us. As the Creator, He is too far above His creatures to have personal contact with them. He demands obedience and offers a reward to those who submit themselves to Him. It resembles a relationship between a master and his slave.

In the Bible:

1. God is the supreme Creator Who made the human race for the purpose of having a close relationship with Him.  Because God gave us free choice, we can choose to either obey and believe in Him, thereby securing a place for us in His presence in heaven, or disobey Him and face the consequences of a life separated from God for all eternity. We lost this bond after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. God, in His great love for us, reached out to us not to condemn us, but to save us from our sin and to restore our broken relationship with Him. Since we cannot reach Him, He came down to meet His creation and to pay the ransom, the sacrifice for our sins, with His own blood on the cross. From that time on, His righteousness and holiness has been satisfied. The people who accept His ultimate sacrifice will enjoy His presence in eternity, not because we are good, but because His righteousness became our very own.