The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah had finished His creation, He wrote over his Throne: 'My Mercy preceded My Anger.'
Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed)
Sahih al-Bukhari - Hadith 7422
Hadith Text
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah had finished His creation, He wrote over his Throne: 'My Mercy preceded My Anger.'"
Commentary on Divine Mercy
This noble hadith establishes the fundamental principle that Allah's Mercy encompasses all things and precedes His Wrath. The divine inscription upon the Throne signifies the eternal and primordial nature of Allah's compassion toward His creation.
The phrase "My Mercy preceded My Anger" indicates that Allah's attribute of mercy is more comprehensive and fundamental than His attribute of anger. This precedence is both temporal and qualitative - mercy was decreed before anger in the divine decree, and it takes precedence in Allah's dealings with His servants.
Scholarly Insights
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani explains in Fath al-Bari that this writing occurred after the completion of creation, demonstrating that mercy is an essential attribute of Allah that manifests throughout existence.
Al-Qurtubi notes that this inscription serves as a perpetual reminder to creation of Allah's boundless mercy, encouraging hope and discouraging despair from divine forgiveness.
The placement "over His Throne" signifies the supreme importance of this declaration, as the Throne represents the greatest of Allah's creations and the seat of His sovereignty.
Practical Implications
This teaching instills hope in believers while maintaining reverence for divine justice. It encourages sinners to repent, knowing that Allah's mercy is vast and precedes His punishment.
The hadith reinforces the Islamic understanding that while Allah is just and will punish the obstinate wrongdoer, His default disposition toward His creation is one of mercy and compassion.