The Holy War — Page 260
260 what kind of things happened; we have only chosen the Quran and only on this will we raise our objections and do no more. 3) You assert goodness to be a part of Mercy, but forgive me, this is such a common mistake which even the average thinker can understand. Goodness is that which shows more benevolence than what is rightfully merited, whereas Mercy is that which liberates from the accountability of Justice. But you have pointlessly tried to make sure that the teachings of Atonement are not proven, that is why you do not wish to understand this. This is a strange thing that you state that Mercy has precedence over Justice, and what is strange in this is that mercy is shown upon being held accountable; in other words, the accountability demanded by justice, so how can it have precedence? The right thing to say is that every attribute manifests itself on its own proper occasion, and those things that you believe to be related to Mercy are in actuality related to goodness; they have nothing to do with Mercy. I shall define goodness a little more by way of explanation. For example, if a person bathes his animals properly, feeds them, gives them drink, much more so than would ever be available to them if they were to be set free, then this is Goodness. And if a person causes harm to those animals that are under his protection and he is pleased by injuring them, then this is that matter which is opposite to Goodness. Every creature that comes into existence from noth- ingness has some rights on its Creator, one of them being that they will be protected from any being who wishes to cause them pain for whatever reason; this is the limit of Justice, but whoever excels from this and increases their contentment, then this is Goodness. And when a person is justly called to account for his deliberate and intentional actions and is then helped to be free from this, then this is called Mercy. 4) Regarding animals, what has been said concerning their being killed for purposes to do with the supply of food and our