Is it at all possible that the Lord of this realm, who has endless mercy and compassion with the witnessing of His visible activities, will not reward His genuine slaves in a way that fits His mercy and compassion? Reward is virtually non-existent here; there must be a place of reward somewhere else so that His mercy will be manifest there.

We will examine this proof under two headings: Under the first heading, our eyes will make a small trip in this visible realm and see the mercy and compassion that rule the world; and we will prove the existence of the being, who is “ar-Rahim” (the All Compassionate); under the second heading, we will show that the mercy and compassion necessitate the hereafter.

Who is the Owner of the Mercy Manifest in this Realm?

God is ar-Rahim. Ar-Rahim means the one who shows mercy, feels pity for and shows compassion to the creatures that He created. He has encompassed all of the realms with His mercy.

• He created this realm out of nothing with His mercy

• He clothed each being with a dress peculiar to each being

• He educated each being in different forms

• He taught them their duties

• He equipped them with the tools that are necessary for them to maintain their lives

• He met their material and spiritual needs with compassion.

Let us see some drops from that sea of mercy together!

If you saw a great fire being extinguished by water coming out of a hose but if you did not see the hand that held the hose, would you think the hose itself extinguished the fire? Of course not! The doer of the deed of extinguishing must have attributes like life, knowledge and power. A being that is lifeless, that does not know what fire is and that cannot hold the hose cannot extinguish the fire.

Above all, extinguishing originates from mercy; a being without mercy cannot be the doer of that deed. If everybody came together, they could not make us believe that the hose itself extinguished that fire.

Who sends water down in drops from the clouds that are like a hose in order to extinguish the fire of the earth and to soothe the temperature of life?

Doubtlessly, lifeless and unconscious clouds cannot be the doer of the deed that make us feel this mercy and compassion. Then, who is holding the hose? Let the Quran answer the question:

{He is the One that sends down rain (even) after (men) have given up all hope and scatters His Mercy (far and wide). And He is the Protector Worthy Of all Praise.} (42: 28)

Each drop that comes down in the form of rain is the manifestation of the name ar-Rahim. And other manifestations of mercy!

To make curative and sweet honey in the abdomen of a poisonous insect and to serve that honey with the hands of that insect cannot be the deed of that insect. That is, what makes honey is not the insect but the mercy of God.

In the season of spring, to clothe all of the trees in the best clothes like the houris of Paradise and to decorate them with flowers and fruits and to feed us through dry branches that are like hands with fruits of different flavors, colors, aromas and shapes is definitely a manifestation of mercy. Otherwise, those dry trees would not know us and would not show mercy on us.

To clothe us in a very soft dress like silk through a handless insect is the outcome of mercy. Otherwise, that handless insect would not eat the green mulberry leaves and produce white silk for us.

What about animals like cows, camels, sheep and goats? It is the deed of mercy to make them eat green grass and produce white nourishing milk out of blood and flesh and to make those animals like a milk plant.

And to make that huge sun a stove and lamp for the world, to make the moon a candle and a calendar and to decorate the sky with stars is definitely a manifestation of mercy.

Now, let us have a look at a partial manifestation of mercy in man:

What would we do if we did not have eyes? A completely dark realm!

What if we did not have ears? A silent realm!

What if we did not have a tongue and it did not have the sense of tasting? A realm with no speech and flavor!

What if we did not have a nose? A realm with no smell!

Of course, it would be very difficult to live in a realm like that. What would we do if we did not have material gifts like hands, feet and fingers and spiritual gifts like the mind, fear, compassion and love? It means a manifestation of mercy is visible in the grant of every organ.

God, who decorated man with such material and spiritual organs and feelings, equipped animals with the organs that are necessary for them in order to be able make use of this realm. He equipped birds with wings and taught them to fly; He equipped fish with fins and taught them to swim; He gave each being a body and organs that are necessary for them to maintain their lives, treating them with His mercy.

The Name Ar-Rahim Necessitates The Hereafter

1. Endless mercy and compassion are visible in this realm. This mercy and compassion have encompassed everything everywhere, from a fly to planets.

2. Since deeds cannot be without doers, this mercy and compassion must have an owner. Blind power, unconscious nature, fictitious laws and lifeless causes cannot be the doer of this mercy and compassion. The doer of those deeds can only be God Almighty, who is ar-Rahim and al-Karim (the Generous).

3. Since God Almighty has endless mercy, there must be the hereafter, too. Endless mercy wants to grant and show mercy that fits it. However, this mercy is too big for this ephemeral world and this mercy cannot be manifest fully in this world. That is, eternal places and houses are necessary for this mercy to be manifest fully. Those eternal places are present only in the hereafter and in Paradise.

4. It is necessary to deny God, who is ar-Rahim, in order to be able to deny the hereafter. A person who cannot deny God and His name ar-Rahim cannot deny the hereafter because the existence of mercy and compassion necessitate the existence of the hereafter as we have proved.

The Being who has endless mercy and generosity will never transform His mercy into mercilessness and His compassion into ruthlessness; He will not transform those manifestations into mocking. The only way to do it is through the hereafter. As it will be proved later, to bring the hereafter and to create Paradise is as easy as to create a flower for His power.