Mercy at the Moment of Death

"So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And he who fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or achieves victory, We will bestow upon him a great reward."

Quran 4:74, Surah An-Nisa (Sahih International)

Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was in a fierce conflict, fighting a wicked man who had killed many Muslims. Ali had the power — he was stronger, he was faster. He was going to kill this man.

In that instant, the wicked man spat in Ali's face. Ali's sword stopped. His eyes filled with anger — this was disrespect, this was an insult.

Ali put down his sword. "Why are you stopping?" the man asked. Ali said: "I was fighting for Allah. But in this moment, I felt anger for myself. If I kill you now, I kill you for my own honor, not for Allah's honor. That would be wrong." Ali walking away was itself the answer.

The man was shocked — he had spat at Ali, and Ali had every reason to kill him, yet Ali walked away. His expression stayed calm even as the man watched in disbelief. Something changed in that man's heart — something in Ali's mercy. Later, that man became Muslim. This is the discipline that is so difficult: to show mercy when you have the power to take revenge, to show mercy when it will not be appreciated or understood.

Ali understood: revenge feels good in the moment, but it is poison — it makes the heart hard. Mercy feels weak in the moment, but it is medicine — it heals. Ali's mercy was so powerful that it stopped the man's own anger and turned an enemy — not through force, but through the display of a heart that could have been angry but chose peace. This is taqwa expressed as mercy — the highest discipline: the power to destroy, but the wisdom to heal instead.

Moral of the story: The power to destroy is easy — the wisdom to show mercy instead is the true strength of taqwa.

Source: A widely-cited account of Ali ibn Abi Talib illustrating sincerity in jihad; often referenced alongside Quran 4:74.