In discussing the beginning of the verse, we have already explained that Allah Most High is near to those who do good by rewarding them, and to those who ask of Him by answering them. We cited evidence for this and explained that doing good entails the Lord’s nearness to His servant, just as it draws the servant near to his Lord: whoever draws near to Him by a handspan, Allah draws near to him by a cubit; and whoever draws near to Him by a cubit, He draws near to him by an armspan. Thus the Lord—blessed and exalted is He—is near to those who do good, and His mercy is near to them. His nearness necessarily entails the nearness of His mercy.

The omission of the feminine ending here points to this great and momentous insight: Allah Most High is near to those who do good, and this entails both kinds of nearness—His own nearness and that of His mercy. Had He said, “Indeed, Allah’s mercy is near to those who do good,” using the feminine form of “near,” this would not have indicated His own nearness to them. His nearness is more specific than the nearness of His mercy, and the more general does not necessarily entail the more specific. His own nearness, however, being more specific, necessarily entails the more general: the nearness of His mercy. Do not, therefore, underestimate this approach. It is of great significance and contains a marvellous secret among the secrets of the Book. I do not think that the proponent of this approach intended this meaning or even touched upon it. He meant only that stating Allah Most High’s nearness to those who do good suffices in place of stating the nearness of His mercy to them.

This, then, constitutes a seventh approach to the verse. It is the preferred one and among the most fitting explanations offered.

You may also put it this way: His nearness—blessed and exalted is He—to those who do good and the nearness of His mercy to them are inseparable; neither can be dissociated from the other. If His mercy is near to them, He too is near to them. Since the two meanings are inseparable, either may properly be intended. Thus, declaring His nearness—glory be to Him—to those who do good encourages goodness, calls souls to it, and inspires their desire for it by holding out the greatest, noblest, and most exalted good they could ever attain. This is the finest gift a servant can be given: His nearness—blessed and exalted is He—to His servant. It is the ultimate object of all wishes, the fulfilment of every hope, the delight of the eyes, the life of the heart, and the sum of the servant’s happiness. Hence, the shift from qarība, the feminine form of “near,” to qarīb, its masculine form, so powerfully calls people to goodness and inspires souls to desire it that no one would hold back thereafter unless overcome by his own wretchedness. There is no strength except through Allah.