Allah The Exalted — Page 34
3 animals and affords them protection so that their capaci- ties should not remain in the realm of potentiality. The existence of this Divine attribute is established by the observation of the law of nature. No reasonable person would deny that the sun, the moon, the earth, and the ele- ments, and all other necessary things which are found in the universe, and upon which the life of all animates de- pends, are manifested through this grace. The name of this grace, of which everything that breathes takes advantage according to its needs, without distinction of man or beast, believer or non-believer, good or bad, and of which no animate is deprived, is Ra h m a niyyat , and by virtue of it God has been called Ra h m a n in S u rah F a ti h ah after Rabb- ul-‘ A lam i n. The attribute al-Ra h m a n is referred to at sev- eral other places in the Holy Qur’ a n. For instance: 37 This means that: When the disbelievers, pagans and athe- ists are admonished that they should prostrate themselves before the Ra h m a n , they feel aversion towards the name Ra h m a n and enquire: What is Ra h m a n ? The answer is that Ra h m a n is the Blessed Being, Who is the perpetual source of all good and Who has made mansions in the heaven and has placed the sun and the moon in those mansions which provide light to the whole creation with- 37 al-Furq a n, 25:61-64 [Publisher] 39 al-A‘r a f, 7:157 [Publisher]