Hawzah News Agency – Prophet Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, addressed Almighty God, saying:
«قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَکُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِینَ.»
“They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves! If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.’” (Qur'an; A'raf; 7:23)
Explanation:
The verse mentioned above records the first supplication made by human beings on earth: a plea for awareness and spiritual knowledge.1
This verse marks the beginning of humanity’s dialogue with its Lord. It is a declaration of repentance and a return to God that enables human beings to come under the shelter of His divine mercy.
After committing their mistake, Prophet Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, unlike Satan, neither attempted to justify their actions nor fell into despair. Instead, they said:
“They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves! If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.’” (Qur'an; A'raf; 7:23)
This sincere confession marks the beginning of human felicity.
In the Qur’an and the narrations, divine mercy is presented as the cornerstone of the relationship between humanity and God. In the Holy Qur’an, Almighty God addresses His servants in a tone filled with compassion, saying:
«قُلْ یَا عِبَادِیَ الَّذِینَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَی أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ یَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِیعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِیمُ.»
“Say [that Allah declares,] ‘O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah will forgive all sins. Indeed, He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.” (Zumar; 39:53)
What deserves particular attention and reflection is that divine mercy is so vast and all-encompassing that, if someone were to go astray despite the presence of such mercy and ultimately end up in misery and ruin, it would be truly astonishing.
One day, Imam al-Sajjad, peace be upon him, heard Hasan al-Basri say:
«لَیسَ العَجَبُ مِمَّن هَلَک کیفَ هَلَکَ، و إنّما العَجَبُ مِمَّن نَجا کیفَ نَجا.»
“If someone perishes, there is nothing surprising about their perishing; rather, if someone is saved, it is surprising how they managed to be saved.”
The Imam, peace be upon him, replied:
«لَیسَ العَجَبُ مِمَّن نَجا کیفَ نَجا، و أمّا العَجَبُ مِمَّن هَلَکَ کیفَ هَلَکَ مَع سَعَةِ رَحمَةِ اللّهِ؟!»
“But I would say: If someone is saved, there is nothing surprising about how they were saved. Rather, if someone perishes, it is astonishing that, despite God’s vast mercy, they could have perished at all!” (Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 153)
Indeed, the way to attain this all-encompassing divine mercy is through showing mercy to oneself and to others. For injustice—whether against oneself or against others—distances a person by many miles from God’s vast and all-encompassing mercy.
That is why, when a man said to the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, “I would like my Lord to have mercy on me,” the Prophet replied:
«اِرحَمْ نَفسَکَ، و ارحَمْ خَلقَ اللّهِ یَرحَمْکَ اللّهُ.»
“Show mercy to yourself and to God’s creation, and God will have mercy on you.” (Kanz al-Ummal, v. 16, p. 128)
1. Adapted from Tafsir-e Nur.
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