The Holy War — Page 170
170 31 May 1893 Statement of h a d rat Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad] Sahib Today I will answer in some detail the question that Deputy [Abdullah Atham] sahib asked yesterday that mercy without recompense is not at all permissible. Let it be clear that regarding mercy without rec- ompense, it is the belief of Christians that God Almighty is both Just and Merciful and the attribute of justice demands that a sinner should not be let off without any punishment, while the attribute of mercy demands that a person should be saved from punishment, but because the attribute requiring justice prevents mercy from happening that is why mercy without recompense is not permissible. However, Muslims believe that mercy is a general attribute which holds the highest stature and has precedence over the attribute of jus- tice, just like God Almighty states: 1 Pt. 9, R 9— َلاَق ْۤيِباَذَع ُبْيِصُا ٖهِب ْنَم ُءٓاَشَا َو ْيِتَمْحَر َو ْتَعِس َّلُك ٍءْيَش From this verse we learn that mercy is general and all-encompassing, while wrath—in other words, the attribute of justice—comes into oper- ation only after some particular occurrence, meaning that this attribute develops its right to appear after a Law of God is transgressed, and for this it is necessary that there first be a Divine Law present, through the 1. God replied, ‘I will inflict My punishment on whom I will; but My mercy encompasses all things…’ ( S u rah al-A‘r a f, 7:157). [Publisher]