Introduction

In the first book, we considered Allah's manifestations in the Qur'an as the All-Merciful and Most Merciful and saw proofs of His endless mercy. Through the Qur'an, we understand that Allah is generous to all people, and that He accepts their repentance, turns their evil into good, and accepts their prayers when they submit to Him sincerely. In addition, He shows endless mercy to believers who have much goodness in their hearts and do good works. All of these proofs give contentment, joy, and peace to the believers and further strengthen their faith and love for Him.

For those who carefully consider the name of Allah as All-Merciful and Most Merciful, the entire universe reveals Him plainly. We can find proofs of Allah's endless compassion everywhere, from the universe's formation to the creation of all living and non-living things, from the miracle of human creation to the perfect structure of each cell, to all animals, plants, fruits, and vegetables.

One does not need deep knowledge or expert training to see these proofs. It is enough to look at the universe with an understanding of Allah's name as All Merciful and Most Merciful, and to consider His endless love and generosity. Those who look at the world in this way encounter a world that is different from the one they see every day, and soon become aware that its every aspect is truly a proof of His mercy.

The Qur'an says that everything in existence is a manifestation of Allah's mercy: "So look at the effect of the mercy of Allah" (Surat ar-Rum, 50). Many other verses urge individuals to consider creation's beauty and think about the hardship and sense of deprivation they would experience without these blessings.

Allah asks us to consider why He created night and day, why He causes rain to fall and ships to float, why He feeds His servants with various foods, why birds stay in the air, and why animals, trees, wind, and lightening exist. In short, He calls upon us to consider the reason behind everything that exists, whether animate or inanimate. The Qur'an tells people to think again and again about the heavens' perfect creation:

… He Who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again – do you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your sight will return to you, dazzled and exhausted! (Surat al-Mulk, 3-4)

The section invites readers to consider His name All-Merciful and Most Merciful, Creator of humanity from nothing and Giver of innumerable blessings from His generosity. We will now study just a small portion of these proofs and learn just how great a generosity Allah's endless knowledge and artistry really are.

And, we must remember that Allah proclaims: "If you tried to number Allah's blessings, you could never count them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Surat an-Nahl, 18). In this section we will look at only a few of the millions of proofs that require long consideration.