Surah Al-Mu’min, Footnote No. 1

This is the preamble of the discourse, through which the listeners are forewarned from the very outset that this speech being presented to them is not the word of any ordinary being, but has been revealed from a God possessing these particular attributes. Several attributes of Allah are then mentioned in succession, each bearing deep relevance to what follows:

First, that He is “Almighty” — that is, dominant over all. Whatever judgment He passes in anyone’s favor is bound to be enforced; no one can contend with Him and win, nor escape His grasp. So if anyone turns away from His command expecting success, or disputes with His messenger hoping to defeat him, this is nothing but his own folly. Such expectations can never be fulfilled.

Second, that He is “All-Knowing” — meaning He does not speak on the basis of conjecture or guesswork but has direct knowledge of everything. Therefore, whatever information He gives about realities beyond sense and perception can only be correct, and not accepting it means a person is willfully pursuing ignorance. Likewise, He knows what constitutes human welfare and which principles, laws, and commands are necessary for it. Every teaching of His is founded on wisdom and true knowledge, in which error is impossible. Hence, rejecting His guidance means a person is deliberately choosing the path of his own destruction. Furthermore, nothing about human conduct is hidden from Him — He even knows the intentions and motives that are the real drivers behind human actions. So no person can escape His punishment through any pretext.

Third, that He is “the Forgiver of sin and Acceptor of repentance.” This is an attribute meant to give hope and encouragement, stated so that those who have persisted in rebellion so far need not despair, but may reconsider their conduct, understanding that if they now desist from it, they can still find a place in Allah’s mercy. It should be understood here that forgiving sin and accepting repentance are not necessarily two names for the same thing — often Allah forgives sins even without repentance. For instance, a person may commit both faults and good deeds, and his good deeds become a means of his faults being forgiven, even if he never had the chance to repent and seek forgiveness for them, or has even forgotten them. Similarly, whatever hardships, calamities, illnesses, and various afflictions of grief and sorrow befall a person in this world all become a substitute for his faults. This is why the forgiving of sins is mentioned separately from the accepting of repentance. But it must be remembered that this concession of forgiveness without repentance is only for the believers — and even among believers, only for those who are free of every trace of rebellion and defiance, and whose sins arose from human weakness rather than from arrogance and persistence in disobedience.

Fourth, that He is “Severe in punishment.” Mentioning this attribute warns people that just as Allah is deeply merciful toward those who choose the path of submission, He is equally severe toward those who adopt an attitude of rebellion and defiance. When a person or group crosses all the limits within which they could be deserving of His overlooking and forgiveness, they then become deserving of His punishment — and His punishment is so terrible that only a foolish person could consider it bearable.

Fifth, that He is “Owner of great bounty” — that is, open-handed, self-sufficient, and generous. A comprehensive shower of His blessings and favors is falling upon all creation at every moment. Whatever His servants receive, they receive only through His grace and generosity.

After these five attributes, two realities are stated in unambiguous terms. One, that in truth there is no god besides Him, however many other false gods people may have set up. The other, that the return of all is to Him alone in the end — no other deity is the one who takes account of people’s deeds and decides their reward and punishment. So whoever sets up others as gods besides Him will himself bear the consequence of his own folly.