Mercy
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Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, price paid, wages, from merc-, merx merchandise) can refer both to compassionate behaviour on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict) or on the part of a humanitarian third party (e.g. a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims). Mercy is a term used to describe the leniency or compassion shown by one person to another, or a request from one person to another to be shown such leniency or compassion. One of the basic virtues of chivalry and Christian ethics, it is also related to concepts of justice and morality in behaviour between people. In India, compassion is known as karuna.
In a legal sense, a defendant having been found guilty of a capital crime may ask for clemency from being executed. (A famous literary example is from The Merchant of Venice when Portia asks Shylock to show mercy. The quality of mercy is not strained, she tells him.)
The reverse situation applies in the case of euthanasia (called mercy killing by its proponents).
A number of organisations (e.g. the Mercy Corps, the Sisters of Mercy and the Temple of Mercy and Charity) use the word 'mercy' in their name to describe their work.
The concept of mercy is also prevalent in Islam because every Surah in the Qur'an begins with the line, "In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Ever Merciful". Muslims believe according to Qur'anic verses that most people are not necessarily good or pure enough to enter Paradise because of their sinful actions in the world. However, many people who still have faith but were prone to vices in the world may gain entrance to Paradise simply by the mercy and grace of God.
[edit] References
- Sterling Harwood, "Is Mercy Inherently Unjust?," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Crime and Punishment: Philosophic Explorations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2000, formerly Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1996), pp. 464-470.
- Jeffrie G. Murphy, "Mercy and Legal Justice," in Michael J. Gorr and Sterling Harwood, eds., Crime and Punishment: Philosophic Explorations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2000, formerly Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1996), pp. 454-463.
- Lampert, K.(2005); Traditions of Compassion: From Religious Duty to Social Activism. Palgrave-Macmillan
- http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/guide.htm?region=UR
