Is the phrase "The homeland is forgiving and merciful" permissible in Islamic law?

Attributes only subsist in essences. Thus, what is meant by "homeland" are its people and those who hold authority within it. The attributes "the Most Merciful" (Ar-Rahim) and "the Oft-Forgiving" (Al-Ghafoor) are among the attributes of Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic. The appellation "Ar-Rahim" has been applied to a created being in Allah's (the Most High) statement concerning the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "…[he is] to the believers, kind and merciful." (Quran 9:128). As for "Al-Ghafoor," it has not been applied to a created being in that specific form, but it has appeared in verb form, as in Allah's (the Most High) statement: "But whoever is patient and forgives…" (Quran 42:43).

Scholars have not stated that these two attributes are exclusive to Allah. There are shared attributes that apply to both the Creator and the created, attributes exclusive to the Creator that may not be applied to the created, and attributes exclusive to the created that may not be applied to the Creator.

Since no restriction has been reported regarding the application of the attributes "Ar-Rahim" and "Al-Ghafoor" exclusively to the Creator, there is no harm in applying them to a created being and using them as an emblem for him. Nevertheless, it is preferable and more cautious not to do so, because the attribute "Al-Ghafoor" is among the attributes of the Creator, because there is no reported application of these two to created beings in the Sacred Law, and because the attributes of the Creator must be held sacred.

The Permanent Committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has issued a fatwa (definition) permitting the application of shared names and attributes to both the Creator and the created, with each application being according to its context. It should be noted that the phrasing of the expression contains ambiguity, so it is preferable to abandon it and limit oneself to what is specific to the created being.