THE MEANING OF BEING A MERCY TO ALL WORLDS...
First, let's read the verses related to this topic:
We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations. (i.e We have sent you as an evidence of Our mercy towards all the worlds.)
And among them are men who hurt the Prophet and say: "He is ear." Say: "He listens to what is best for you; he believes in Allah; has faith in the believers; and is a mercy to those of you who believe." But those who hurt Allah's Messenger will have a painful torment.
There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.
We are sharing with you the conclusion reached by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Okuyan, who examines the subject in detail in his commentary, because he attempts to understand the issue by starting from the principle that there cannot be contradictions in the Quran :
"While these verses clearly and emphatically state in one of them (At-Tawbah 9:128) that the Prophet is a mercy to the believers, we believe that giving a meaning in verse 107 of the Prophets that contradicts this emphasis would be problematic in terms of meaning. We think that if we attribute the word 'mercy' in verse 107 of the Prophets to Allah, such a problem would not exist."
If we take the concept of mercy here as an attribute of Allah Almighty, then we can conclude that there is no contradiction between this verse and the verses that state that the Prophet Muhammad is merciful only to believers. It demonstrates that, by virtue of His attribute of Rahman (the Most Merciful), Allah Almighty has compassion for all creation, and that only aggressive disbelievers will be punished for their aggression; their disbelief does not constitute a reason for their death.
In reality, there is absolutely no contradiction between the verses. In Surah At-Tawbah 9:128, due to the emphasis technique resulting from the rearrangement of verses, only the compassion and mercy towards believers is expressed, while in Surah Al-Anbiya 21:107, due to the emphasis technique resulting from negation and exception, the mercy towards all worlds is mentioned. Therefore, the main reason for the misunderstanding is that the emphasis in the second verse (Al-Anbiya 21:107) is highlighted, and the fact that the other verse (At-Tawbah 9:128) actually contains an emphasis of similar strength is overlooked or relegated to the background. If it were considered that both verses contain an emphasis of similar strength and that they cannot contradict each other, it would be easily understood that the attributes of mercy are different.
Considering that the emphasis on mercy found in both verses cannot conflict; that is, that Allah Almighty could not have stated that the Prophet is a mercy only to believers and to all worlds, it can easily be seen that one aspect of mercy in the verses (mercy only to believers) belongs to the Prophet (At-Tawbah 9:128), and the other (mercy to all worlds) belongs to God Almighty (Al-Anbiya 21:107).
Technically speaking, as we mentioned earlier, the expression "erselnâke" in Al-Anbiya 107 is a verb, a subject, and an object. The word "mercy" is the object of the verb "ersele." Therefore, the word "mercy" here is a justification for sending (object) belonging to the subject (the sender/God). Accordingly, the meaning of the verse is, "We sent you only out of compassion for the worlds." In other words, the act of mercy here is the Prophet's (Allah's) action. It is not the Prophet himself, but the reason for his sending, which is Allah's mercy to the worlds. In this sense, it in no way contradicts Surah At-Tawbah 128, which states that the Prophet is a mercy only to the believers.
Instead of viewing the Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to all creation, it seems more accurate to consider that being a mercy to all creation is actually a consequence of Allah's attribute of Rahman (the Most Merciful), and to interpret the verses accordingly. Because, by virtue of His attribute of Rahman, Allah shows mercy to all beings. The verse , "And My mercy encompasses everything" (7:156) , and many other verses indicating that He is the source of mercy, support this view. It is because of this attribute that God has chosen prophets from among mankind, sent them books, and provides sustenance not only to believers but also to disbelievers, as stated in verse 2:126. Given this, it becomes clear that mercy to the worlds belongs to God Almighty, and that the Prophet Muhammad, like all prophets, is a manifestation of this mercy. At this point, it should absolutely not be thought that we are discussing the limits of the Prophet's prophethood. For his prophethood is directed towards all humanity, as expressed in many verses (6:19 , 7:158).
By presenting the relationship between the two verses we mentioned in the way we have described, we will also facilitate a more accurate understanding of the following three verses that express the attribute of the Prophet being a mercy to the believers.
These are the expression وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذ۪ينَ اٰمَنُوا مِنْكُمْۜ “(He is) a mercy for those of you who believe” in verse 61 of Surah At-Tawbah; And lower your wing to those of the believers who follow you (26:215) and "Lower your wing to the believers" (15:88) These are the verses. It is seen that these verses also have a clear content that specifically attributes the Prophet's mercy to the believers. In light of our explanations above, the emphasis on the Prophet's mercy in these verses both aligns with the emphasis in Surah At-Tawbah 9:128 (the emphasis on his mercy only to believers) and does not contradict the emphasis in Surah Al-Anbiya 21:107 on Allah's mercy to the worlds (His sending the Prophet).
Another problem that this approach solves is the issue of whether the word "mercy" in the verse "Are they the ones who distribute the mercy of their Lord?" (43:32) can be interpreted as "prophethood." In our view , the mercy here, as can be understood from our explanations above, refers not to the one who is sent, but to the act of sending itself. For why would the Prophet Muhammad be a mercy to someone who died without faith? Do the verses not state that he is a mercy only to believers? As for Allah Almighty, by sending prophets, He has already shown mercy to all His servants and to all the worlds. The fact that the Prophet's mercy is reserved for believers is by no means contrary to the universality of his message. For, as the name suggests, the universal message is open to everyone. However, only those who wish to benefit from it and are believers will be able to benefit from the blessing of the Prophet's mercy.
Furthermore, regarding the question of whether the Prophet Muhammad is also a mercy to angels if angels are included within the scope of the universe, Fakhr al-Din Razi's view on angels has been conveyed: He stated that it would contradict the verse, "They ask for forgiveness for the believers," because seeking forgiveness is a mercy from the angels for the believers, and the Prophet Muhammad is included among the believers. He also indicated that the verse, "Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet," should be understood in this way.
In conclusion, to avoid any notion that might suggest contradictions between the idea that the Prophet Muhammad was merciful to disbelievers, the claim that humans are superior to angels, and the verses of the Quran, we defend the idea that the mercy mentioned in verse 21:107 of Surah Al-Anbiya belongs exclusively to Allah Almighty, and we express our respect for the others.