in His names. They are therefore necessitated by His holy Essence, entailed by it and inseparable from it.

As for punishment, it is among His creations. He created it for a wise purpose; considered in relation to that purpose, it is wisdom and mercy. Thus, no good comes to a person except from his Lord, through His kindness and generosity, and no evil comes to him except from himself. Whatever good befalls him is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls him is from himself.

In His words, “And whatever befalls you,” the second-person pronoun may address the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as Ibn ʿAbbās and others said. This is the more apparent interpretation, because He says afterwards:

“And We have sent you to mankind as a Messenger.”

Alternatively, it may address each individual human being, as in His words:

“O mankind, what has deceived you concerning your Most Generous Lord?”

But this interpretation is weak, for there has been no preceding mention of mankind here, nor any occasion for mentioning mankind. Rather, what preceded was a reference to a group who said what they said. Had the intention been to refer to them, it would have said: “Whatever good befalls them is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls them.” Instead, the Messenger was addressed in these words because he is the foremost of Adam’s descendants. If this applies to him, it applies all the more emphatically to others. This is like His words:

“Fear Allah, and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites,”

and His words, Most High:

“If you associate partners with Allah