Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 43
43 'That is, if God were to start punishing men for all their irregularities of conduct not one of them would be spared. ' 14 In short, He possesses all perfect attributes and His mercy encompasses all things, as He says: 'My mercy encompasseth all things. ' 15 In other words, His attributes of anger and pun- ishment are governed by His attributes of mercy. He is A h ad , that is, nothing is His equal; He is W ah id , that is, all things had their origin in His com- mand and He is the first cause of all creation. Many other attributes of His are mentioned in the Holy Quran, which show that Islam teaches a perfect conception of God as possessing attributes which create love on the one hand and fear on the other, both of which are indis- pensable for a perfect relationship between man and God. A moment’s reflection will show that perfect unity and perfect obedience can be produced only either by love or by fear. No doubt, love is the higher and the more perfect relationship, but there is equally no doubt that some natures are affected by nothing but fear. A religion, therefore, which does not emphasize the Di- vine attributes both of mercy and of punishment can never be universally beneficial. In considering the 14 Al-Na h l, 16: 62. 15 Al-A‘r a f, 7:157.