The-concept-of-Allah-in-Islam

the sun and the moon subservient (to His will): each runs to an assigned term; surely He is theMighty, the oft-Forgiving. (39:5)As regarding the verse saying, "Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, theMerciful" (Qura'n, 15:49), some companions of the Prophet were once indulged in laughter asthe Messenger of Allah passed by. He greeted them then said to them, "Do you laugh whilethe fire is before you?" They regretted and felt extremely depressed. He soon went back tothem and said, "Gabriel has just come to me and said that Allah asked why I caused some ofHis servants to lose hope in His mercy," then he repeated 39:5 quoted above.The lot of one who wishes to personify the Attribute "al-Ghafoor" is that he constantly seeksHis forgiveness; he forgives His servants time and over again. This is the key to obtaining theforgiveness of Allah as referred to in 24:22: "Do not let those among you who possess graceand abundance swear against giving to the near of kin and the poor and those who have fledin Allah's way; they should pardon and overlook. Do not you love that Allah would forgiveyou? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."36. "Al-Shakoor"Allah has said, "So that He may pay them back their rewards in full and give them more outof His grace: surely He is the Forgiving, the One Who multiplies the rewards" (Qura'n,35:30). Linguistically, "al-Shakoor" is derived from the root word shukr which conveys themeaning of: an increase. Arabs describe a land as such if its plants are abundant. Theydescribe an animal as such if it is fattened. Plants sustained by a little amount of water arecalled shakoor. Al-Shakoor thanks quite often, Who appreciates acts of righteousness, charityand kindness. A servant of Allah who is shakoor is one who perseveres to thank his Lord byobeying Him and by carrying out the obligations which He has mandated on him. Shukr isrecognition and propagation of goodness.Al-Shakoor, Allah, appreciates even the few good deeds His servants do, doubling Hisrewards for them. His way of thanking them is by giving them of His bounties though He wasthe One Who enabled them to do such good deeds in the first place. He planted in their heartsthe desire to do them, then He provided for them all the means to carry them out. He enablesHis servants to be grateful for the blessings which He bestows upon them, so He rewardsthem even for small acts of obedience to Him with an abundance of His good things. Hegrants for a few days' endeavor a bliss in the hereafter that never ends.Al-Shakoor accepts the little and Who gives a lot. Allah has called Himself al-Shakoor inorder to tell us that He rewards His servants for thanking Him; hence, the reward for suchgratitude is called shukr, just as the penalty for a bad deed is called bad; He has said, "And therecompense of evil is a like punishment" (Qura'n, 42:40).