then made easy for them the means that would bring them to it and helped them along the way. He accepted from them but little during this exceedingly brief span compared with the everlasting Abode of Bliss. He guaranteed that, if they did good, He would reward each good deed tenfold, and that, if they did wrong and sought forgiveness, He would forgive them. He promised to erase the evil deeds they had committed through the good deeds they subsequently performed. He reminded them of His favors and made Himself known to them through His Names. Whatever He commanded them was out of mercy and benevolence toward them, not because He needed them; and whatever He forbade them was for their protection and preservation, not out of any miserliness toward them. He addressed them in the gentlest and sweetest manner, offered them the finest counsel, gave them the most perfect instructions, commanded them to possess the noblest qualities, and forbade them the vilest words and deeds. He presented His signs to them in varied ways, set forth parables for them, broadened the avenues by which they could know Him, opened for them the gates of guidance, and taught them the means that bring them nearer to His pleasure and farther from His wrath.

He addresses them in the gentlest manner and calls them by the finest of their names, as in His words: “O you who believe”; “Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers” 1; “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves” 2; “Tell My servants” 3; and “When My servants ask you about Me” 4. Thus He addresses them with words of affection, love, and tenderness, as in His words: “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may