(218) “Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and striven in Allah’s cause—it is they who hope for Allah’s mercy. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
These three deeds are the hallmark of felicity and the axis around which servitude to Allah turns. By them, a person’s gain or loss is known. As for faith, do not even ask how great its merit is. How could one ask about something that distinguishes the people of felicity from the people of wretchedness, and the people of Paradise from the people of the Fire? When a servant possesses it, his righteous deeds are accepted; when he lacks it, nothing whatsoever is accepted from him—neither obligatory nor voluntary deeds.
As for migration, it means leaving behind what one loves and is accustomed to, seeking the pleasure of Allah Most High. Thus, the emigrant leaves his homeland, wealth, family, and close friends to draw nearer to Allah and support His religion.
As for jihād, it consists of expending one’s utmost effort in confronting enemies and striving fully to support Allah’s religion and suppress Satan’s religion. It is the pinnacle of righteous deeds, and its reward is the finest reward. It is the principal means of expanding Islam’s reach, defeating idolaters, and securing the lives, wealth, and children of Muslims.
Whoever performs these three deeds despite their severity and hardship will be even more diligent in performing and perfecting all other good deeds.
It is therefore fitting that these should be the ones who hope for Allah’s mercy, for they have undertaken the means that bring mercy. This indicates that hope comes only after pursuing the means to felicity. As for hope coupled with laziness and failure to pursue those means, it is nothing but feebleness, wishful thinking, and self-deception. It reveals its possessor’s weak resolve and deficient reason, like someone who hopes for a child without marriage or for a crop without sowing and watering, and so forth.
The words, “It is they who hope for Allah’s mercy,” indicate that no matter how many deeds a servant performs, he should neither depend nor rely upon them. Rather, he should hope for his Lord’s mercy, that his deeds will be accepted, his sins forgiven, and his faults concealed.
Thus He said, “And Allah is All-Forgiving”—meaning, toward whoever repents sincerely—“Most Merciful”: His mercy encompasses all things, and His generosity and kindness extend to every living being.
This indicates that whoever performs the deeds mentioned receives Allah’s forgiveness—for good deeds erase evil deeds—and receives Allah’s mercy.
When he receives forgiveness, the punishments of this world and the Hereafter—the consequences of sins—are warded off from him, for those sins have been forgiven and their effects have vanished. When he receives mercy, he obtains every good in this world and the Hereafter. Indeed, the deeds mentioned are themselves part of Allah’s mercy toward them. Had He not granted them success, they would not have willed to perform them; had He not given them the ability, they could not have done so; and had it not been for His beneficence, He would not have brought those deeds to completion or accepted them. Thus all bounty belongs to Him from first to last. It is He who bestows both the means and what results from them.
Then Allah Most High said: