Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 158
158 God’s Mercy and His Grace and Bounty are without limit. Indeed, God does not punish every default or offence; many He overlooks and forgives altogether (42:31). His Law is that He chastises where chastisement is needed for reformation, but that His mercy encompasses all things (7:157). The subject of Divine attributes is a very extensive one, and the Quran treats it with a wealth of variety and detail. Indeed, each attribute could in itself form the subject of a whole treatise. As illustration of the manner in which the Quran approaches and treats various aspects of Divine attributes, it may perhaps suffice to conclude with the following: Allah ⎯ there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the All-Sustaining. Slumber overtakes Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that will intercede with Him except by His leave? He knows what has gone before them and what will come after them; but they encompass nothing of His knowledge save that which He pleases. His knowledge comprehends the heavens and the earth; and the care of them burdens Him not. He is the High, the Great (2:256). Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. Similitude of His Light is as a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is enclosed in a globe. The globe is, as it were, a glittering star. It is light from a blessed