At times Allah deems it sufficient to mention His Most Beautiful Names without explicitly spelling out the rulings or recompense that stem from them. By so doing He alerts His servants that, once they have come to know Allah through the mention of a majestic Name, they will instinctively understand the rulings that flow from it.

Take His words, “But if you slip after clear proofs have come to you” (al-Baqarah 2:209). He does not go on to say, “then such-and-such a punishment awaits you”; rather, He continues, “then know that Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” (al-Baqarah 2:209). In other words, when you realise His might—His power to subdue, dominate, and prevail—and His wisdom—His placing of everything in its proper place—this knowledge must fill you with fear of persisting in your sins and lapses. Part of His wisdom is to punish the one who deserves it, namely the person who knowingly persists in wrongdoing; and you can neither withstand Him nor escape His judgment and requital, given the perfection of His overwhelming power.

Similarly, in Sūrah al-Mā’idah He says, “except for those who repent before you overpower them” (al-Mā’idah 5:34). He does not add, “so pardon them” or “let them go”; instead He says, “then know that Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (al-Mā’idah 5:34). Thus, once you grasp this, you know that whoever repents and turns back will find that Allah forgives him and shows him mercy, thereby warding off the punishment.

When He mentions the punishment of the thief, He concludes, “as an exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” (al-Mā’idah 5:38). It is by His might and wisdom that He ordained the cutting of the thief’s hand, and by that same might and wisdom that He punishes the aggressor—whether in law, in decree, or in recompense.

And when He laid out the shares of inheritance, fixing the proportion of each heir, He said, “An obligation from Allah; surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (al-Nisā’ 4:11). Because He is All-Knowing, All-Wise—aware of what the servants do not know and one who puts everything in its proper place—submit, therefore, to what He has stated and enacted. He has detailed how wealth is to be apportioned among those who are entitled to it, in accordance with Allah’s knowledge and wisdom. Had He left people to themselves and said to them, “Distribute it as you see fit,” ignorance and caprice would inevitably have crept in.