# He Wrote on Himself Mercy | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #3

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Pause and Reflect
**Published:** 2026-02-23
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/lOboy1QCuKc
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-3-he-wrote-on-himself-mercy
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Summary
In this Ramadan reflection, the speaker draws a profound lesson from the transition between Surah Al-Ma'idah and Surah Al-An'am, focusing on the Quranic phrase 'kataba ala nafsihi ar-rahmah' — 'He wrote on Himself mercy' [Al-An'am 6:12]. The lecture begins with the supplication of Isa (عليه السلام), who humbly acknowledges Allah's absolute authority, saying that whether Allah punishes or forgives His servants, it is entirely His prerogative [Al-Ma'idah 5:118]. The speaker then highlights that Allah's mercy is not a quality projected onto Him by human beings or prophets — rather, Allah prescribed mercy upon Himself before creation even existed. Similarly, in a hadith qudsi, Allah declares that He has made dhulm (oppression) forbidden for Himself and forbidden between His servants as well. The speaker draws a striking contrast with worldly rulers, who often show mercy only as a political calculation to maintain power, whereas Allah — who has absolute, unchecked authority and needs nothing — chose to write mercy and forbid oppression for Himself purely out of His own divine will. The central reflective question posed to the audience is: do you hold yourself to higher standards, especially when you are in a position of power over others — whether as an employer, a parent, or a household leader — not because anyone forces you to, but because you aspire to a higher version of yourself? The speaker warns that those who lose themselves on the Day of Judgment do so by either overestimating themselves or underestimating Allah. He encourages listeners, especially during Ramadan, to stop making mere calculations in their relationships and instead consciously write higher standards for themselves, inspired by Allah's own example of self-prescribed mercy and justice.

## Key Points
- The phrase 'kataba ala nafsihi ar-rahmah' (He wrote on Himself mercy) in Surah Al-An'am [6:12] means Allah prescribed mercy upon Himself by His own divine will, not because anyone projected it onto Him.
- Isa (عليه السلام) exemplifies humility before Allah by acknowledging that whether Allah punishes or forgives His servants, it is entirely Allah's prerogative [Al-Ma'idah 5:118].
- Allah also declared in a hadith qudsi that He has made oppression (dhulm) forbidden for Himself and forbidden among His servants.
- Unlike worldly rulers who show mercy as a power calculation, Allah has absolute authority and needs nothing, yet He chose to prescribe mercy and forbid oppression for Himself.
- Those who lose themselves on the Day of Judgment do so by either overestimating themselves or underestimating their Lord.
- Believers should hold themselves to higher moral standards — especially when in positions of power — not out of compulsion or calculation, but out of genuine aspiration toward virtue.
- Ramadan is an opportunity to consciously set higher personal standards rather than simply blending in with what everyone else is doing.
- Acting according to a lower moral standard diminishes a person in the sight of Allah, while striving for the higher self elevates one's standing.

## Transcript
**[0:00]** There's something extremely interesting about the verses that we are going through right now when we come out of Surat Al-Ma'idah into Surat Al-An'am. Isa (عليه السلام), Jesus peace be upon him, who of course is a prophet who

**[0:21]** emblemizes rahma, mercy, in so many different ways, turns to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he says, إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ If you punish them, then at the end of the day, they're yours.

**[0:39]** These are your 'ibad. I don't get to tell you what to do, O Allah. If you punish them at the end of the day, these are your 'ibad. And if you forgive them, then verily you are the Almighty, the All-Wise. SubhanAllah, this admission of Isa (عليه السلام),

**[0:58]** who praises Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even as he asks for the ma'idah, he asks for the table spread, وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ and you're the best of those who provide. He knows Allah Azza wa Jalla is the most merciful of those who show mercy. He knows Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the best of those who provide, but he still says at the end of

**[1:15]** the day, Ya Allah, I don't get to project and I don't get to decide how you are going to act with these people. Come into Al-An'am. There are many references to this idea that, إِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ

**[1:33]** If Allah Azza wa Jalla strikes you with a hardship, no one's going to remove that hardship except for Him. And if He gives you something good, فَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has power over all things. Now pay attention to a

**[1:49]** verse that's in the middle of this. كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ In the middle of all of this, Allah Azza wa Jalla says, He wrote on Himself mercy. He wrote on Himself mercy. You're coming out of Isa (عليه السلام) saying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ

**[2:05]** If you punish them, they're yours. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ Allah wrote on Himself mercy. Not Rasulullah (ﷺ) wrote on Allah mercy or Isa (عليه السلام) wrote on Allah mercy or people in their collective manifesting of the

**[2:24]** God that they want made Him a merciful God. No. كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ Allah wrote on Himself mercy. And this is extremely important because you don't get to fashion God in the image that you want Him to be. Not in the physical sense or in projecting names or attributes. He is

**[2:46]** Ar-Rahman before you even existed and knew what rahma was. Because He wrote Ar-Rahman Himself. He prescribed that on Himself. No one could have prescribed upon Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. He only writes for Himself. Now this gets more interesting and I want to come to a point insha'Allah ta'ala

**[3:03]** that we can all reflect upon. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي حَرَّمْتُ الظُّلْمَ عَلَى نَفْسِي وَجَعَلْتُهُ بَيْنَكُم مُحَرَّمًا Oh my slaves, I made dhulm impermissible for me, prohibited for me. I forbade oppression for myself and I made it

**[3:19]** forbidden between you as well. So don't oppress one another. Let's just for a moment appreciate that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in His ultimate authority and ultimate dominion could do whatever

**[3:36]** He wants and none of us would be able to do anything about it. The fact that Allah Azza wa Jalla says I made it forbidden for myself. You think about a king, the more power that the king has, the more unchecked that authority becomes. Usually when a king shows benevolence or shows

**[3:58]** mercy, it's so that they can maintain some level of authority. They have to play a game here to where an authority will give a little bit so that they can maintain a certain image because they're making power calculations at the end of the day. Once they

**[4:14]** no longer fear for their authority then at that point you'll naturally see the acts of mercy and benevolence start to go out the window because they don't need to do that anymore. Allah Azza wa Jalla never needed it but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, He wrote mercy on Himself. I

**[4:30]** made oppression haram for myself. So who are you then to oppress someone else? Who are you then to go and to harm someone else? Who are you then to go and act in this way? But that's not the point that I want to make subhanAllah as a reflection on the ayah.

**[4:46]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, He will gather you on a day in which there is no doubt and Allah mentions

**[5:02]** those who lost themselves. How did they lose themselves? They lost themselves because they overestimated themselves or they underestimated their Lord. It's one of two things. They overestimated themselves or they underestimated their Lord. So they lost themselves. Here's the

**[5:22]** question that I want us to take at a very reflective level for ourselves. Do you set standards for yourself that no one else can enforce upon you except for you? Do you

**[5:40]** set higher standards for yourself when you find yourself in a position of power? Not because you need to, not because anyone expects you to, but because you expect something higher from yourself, because you're holding yourself to a higher degree of accountability, because you're pursuing a higher

**[5:59]** reward, because you're pursuing a higher virtue. See, a lot of times we forgive or we show mercy because we're making calculations. We show patience because we're making calculations. Our relationship dynamics are governed by calculations that we're making. But Allah Azza wa Jalla prescribed

**[6:19]** upon Himself and no one could prescribe upon Him. Who are we then to not prescribe something higher upon ourselves? Especially when in our relationship dynamics with someone else, we have the upper hand. You have the upper hand. How do you choose to use that upper hand when you have the upper hand

**[6:37]** on someone, whether it's an employee or it's someone in your household, you're the leader of your household. How do you use what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given you of position? Do you check yourself with a higher standard or have you lost yourself? Have you lost yourself? Allah

**[6:58]** Azza wa Jalla wrote on Himself mercy. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wrote on Himself that oppression, He has forbidden it for Himself. Every time we act in accordance with a lower pole, with something that

**[7:17]** is not befitting of the higher self that we can actually become, then we're diminishing ourselves in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're diminishing ourselves in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so I come back to that question for each and every single one of us. Who's

**[7:32]** writing your standards? Who's writing your higher goals? Especially when we come to Ramadan, by the way, where it's so easy to just blend in once again and do what everybody else is doing. Are you writing higher things for yourself? Or are you simply making calculations all the time? May Allah

**[7:50]** subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to ascribe to the highest versions of ourselves. May Allah Azza wa Jalla never allow us to lose ourselves. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala embrace us and encompass us with His rahmah that He wrote upon Himself. Allahumma ameen. Jazakum Allah khair.

**[8:14]** you

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