Favours of the Gracious God — Page 71
71 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS attributes which has naturally existed in the universe from eternity, we find the same distribution in the root words of Arabic. For instance, when we ponder and carry out rational research over how many parts the mercy of God Almighty could have comprised in its initial apportioning, then looking at the law of nature which is before our eyes we clearly come to understand that such mercy is of two kinds: that which manifests before an action and that which manifests after an action. The divine system of sustaining mankind bears open witness that the Mercy of God, in its initial distribution, manifested itself upon the children of Adam in two ways. Firstly, the kind of mercy which was granted to man - kind without being the consequence of any deed on the part of any agent, such as the earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, water, air, fire, and all those bless - ings upon which rests the survival and life of mankind. Without a doubt, all these are a mercy for man which have been granted to him only by way of divine grace and beneficence, not owing to a right of entitlement. This is a special grace which does not even entail man asking for it; instead, it pre-dates even his existence. These elements constitute such grand mercy that man’s life is dependent on them and their nature proves that none of these el -