Understanding Salat — Page 205
Qa‘dah 205 their children. This is why the attributes of Allah Almighty for mercy, Rahm ā n and Rah ī m, come from the same root as the word for the womb of a mother [ ٌ رَحِم ]. By reminding ourselves of the mercy our parents had on us in raising us, our heart is moved by how great that mercy is. As a result, we think of how much greater the mercy of Allah Almighty is. The Holy Prophet sas said, Allah created one hundred units of mercy on the Day He created the heavens and the earth. Each one of them can contain all that is between the heaven and the earth. Of them, he put one on earth, through which a mother has compassion for her children and animals and birds have compassion for one another. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah would make full use of mercy. ( S a hīh Muslim, Book 50, Chapter 4) If we hadn’t been reminded of the mercy that parents have in their hearts for their children, we wouldn’t have had a point of reference to visualize so clearly how much greater the mercy of Allah Almighty is. When we pray for our parents, all we need to say is ‘My Lord, have mercy on them both. ’ With these words, the prayer is complete and we have asked for everything. The addition of ‘as [ كَمَا ] they had mercy on me in my childhood by raising me’ is for us; these words are there to help us in our prayer. In Dur ū d, all we need to say is ‘O Allah, bless Muhammad