وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي رَحِيمٌ وَدُودٌ (90)
(11:90) Seek the forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Lord is Ever Merciful, Most Loving. *101
*101). God is neither callous nor merciless. He has no enmity towards His own creatures. It cannot even be conceived that God would want to punish people just for the fun of it. It is only when people exceed all reasonable limits and exercise no restraint in their wickedness that God punishes them, and then only reluctantly. He is so prone to forgiveness that no matter how sinful a person may have become, God's mercy encompasses him if only he sincerely repents and turns to God. For God's love and compassion for His creatures is simply immense.
The Prophet (peace be on him) fully illustrated this by two examples. One is that of a man who had a camel carrying his food and water provisions. The camel strays away in a dreary desert. The person continues to search for the camel until he retires under the shade of a tree in utter despair. Then, suddenly, he finds the camel standing right in front of him. When a sinner repents and turns to God, He is even more joyous than the owner of the camel who suddenly finds his lost beast in a moment of total despair. (See Muslin-, al-Tawbah, Bab fi al-Hadd 'ala al-Tawbah, traditions 1-8.)
The second example is perhaps even more moving. 'Umar narrated that once a few prisoners of war were brought to the Prophet (peace be on him). One of them was a woman whose infant child had been left behind. Her motherly compassion overwhelmed her to such an extent that she would grab any baby she could lay her hands on, would clasp him to her bosom, and start suckling him. When the Prophet (peace be on him) saw that woman in such a state of mind he asked the Companions whether they thought she would cast her children into fire. The Companions replied in the negative. They said that rather than throw her children into a fire, she would make every possible effort lest they slide into it. The Prophet (peace be on him) added: 'God is even more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.' (Muslim, al-Tawbah, Bab Sa'at Rahmat Allah - Ed.)
A little reflection may help one appreciate that it is God Who has created compassion in the hearts of parents for their children. Had God not created this compassion for children, their parents may, in fact, have been quite inimical to them. For a child is indeed one of the greatest causes of parents' discomfort and annoyance. If one remembers that it is God Who planted love and compassion for children in the hearts of parents it is quite easy to grasp the extent of God's love and compassion for His creatures.