Allah The Exalted — Page 8
8 nothing that has come into being on its own, or can live without Him on its own. He comprehends everything, but it cannot be said what is the nature of that comprehen- sion. He is the Light of everything in heaven and earth and every light has shone forth from His hand and is a reflection of His Being. He is the Providence of the uni- verse. There is no soul that is not sustained by Him and exists by itself. No soul has any power which it has not obtained from Him and which exists by itself. Two Kinds of Divine Mercy His mercy is of two kinds. One, which has been eternally manifested without being the result of any action on the part of anyone. For instance, heaven and earth, the sun, moon and planets, water, fire and air, and all the particles of the universe which were created for our comfort, and all those things that were needed by us, were provided before our coming into being. All this was done when we were not even present. No action had proceeded from us. Who can say that the sun was created on account of some action of his, or that the earth was created in consequence of some good action of his? This is the mercy which came into operation before the creation of man and is not the result of anyone's actions. The second kind of Divine mercy comes into operation in consequence of human action. This needs no illustration. All a h is Free from All Defects The Holy Qur’ a n sets forth that God is free from all de- fects and is not subject to any loss; and He desires that man should purify himself from defects by acting upon His instructions. He has said: