Is the Prophet (PBUH) a mercy for all people, or is he only a mercy for the believers?
God says in the Qur’an: “And We have not sent you [O Muhammad] except as a mercy to the worlds.” [1]
Indeed, the Prophet (PBUH) is a mercy for all people. So why do so many people not benefit from this mercy?
The answer to this question is found in the words of the Prophet (PBUH) himself, who said: “The guidance and knowledge that Allah has sent me with is like rain that falls on the earth. Part of the land is fertile and rich, and it accepts the water, growing much greenery and grass. Another part of it is hard and firm, and it holds the water, but does not absorb it. Through it, Allah gives benefits to people, and they drink from it and irrigate their fields. Yet another part of it is barren, neither holding the water nor growing anything…” [2]
In the view of the Prophet (PBUH), some lands are like sandy deserts. When rain falls, it flows through one side and goes out the other side without leaving any benefit. After a day of sunshine, it is as though no rain has fallen. The water is transferred beneath the earth, and this land has not benefited from it. Some people are like this.
Other lands are very hard, like stone. The water does not penetrate them, and they hold the water on top, like a basin. The land itself does not use the water, but animals, people, and birds come to benefit from it. It is a means for others to benefit, but the land itself does not. Some people are like this. They gather the knowledge sent by God through the Prophet (PBUH) within themselves, like a water reservoir. They convey it to others, and others benefit, but these poor people do not benefit themselves.
Such people may have memorized thousands of Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH) and share them with others, causing a transformation in those around them. However, they do not follow their own words. They are like someone who spreads a feast of blessings for others but does not partake in the blessings themselves.
However, there is a third type of land, one with fertile soil. When rain falls, this land does not hold it like a container, but absorbs it and does not let it go to waste. In this land, you see flowers, plants, and greenery growing. After a time, it becomes lush and full of trees.
Thus, the Prophet (PBUH) is a mercy for all, meaning he is potentially a mercy for everyone, just as rain does not fall on only one piece of land but on all of it. However, who benefits from this mercy? The one whose heart is ready to accept and use it.
Therefore, the Prophet (PBUH) did not come to guide only Salman, Abu Dharr, and Ammar. He came to guide even the likes of Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and Abu Sufyan. But it is Salman, Abu Dharr, and Ammar who benefit from the Prophet (PBUH), while others, by their own choice, do not benefit from this mercy.
And this mercy and guidance continue to this day…
(Taken from the book “Tafseer of Surah At-Tawbah” by the martyr scholar Murtadha Mutahhari, with abbreviation and additions)
Footnotes:
[1] Surah Al-Anbiya, verse 107
[2] Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 1, p. 184 – Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 847