Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: << ولولا فضل الله عليكم ورحمته و أن الله رءوف رحيم >

Then Allah the Exalted said: O you who are close to the Prophet , He would have hastened the punishment upon you. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has affirmed here: "Were it not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy..." to the end of the verse, because the entire context is of great magnitude. In the first part, the verse before the story of the slander (al-Ifk) deals with the ruling on false accusation of adultery (qadhf), which is a grave matter and a defilement of the honor of Muslims. Were it not for the favor of Allah upon the Muslims and His mercy in establishing the fixed punishments (hudud) that deter them and prevent them, what happened would have occurred. Likewise, He mentioned: "Were it not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy" in the story of the slander. How many times has this passed us by? Three times. This is the third time. Good. "Rauf" (the Most Merciful): Ra'fah (tender mercy) is mercy that includes extreme softness. It is more specific than absolute mercy; it is mercy plus an addition. Therefore, He said "Rahim" (the Most Merciful), combining the more specific in meaning with the more general. Rahmah (mercy) is broader than ra'fah. Every instance of ra'fah is rahmah, but not every instance of rahmah is ra'fah, because ra'fah is a specific type of mercy that entails an increase in mercy and care. "Rahim" is one of the names of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. The scholars have divided mercy into two categories: general and specific. The general mercy encompasses everyone, whether believer or disbeliever, righteous or wicked, human or animal. So, if someone asks you, "Is the disbeliever included in mercy or not?" we say that in the general sense, he is included in mercy. Were it not for the mercy of Allah, he would not eat, drink, clothe himself, marry, or have children, and so on. Yes. As for the specific mercy, it is exclusive to the believers and includes happiness in this world and the Hereafter. The general mercy is happiness in this world only, while the specific mercy is happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Who is this specific mercy for? It is for the believers.