and by affirming the perfection of His sublimity and majesty, it becomes certain that He alone is the Truth, while everything besides Him is sheer falsehood.
He seals the fifth verse with the two Names “the All-Subtle, the All-Aware,” which point to the vastness of His knowledge and His precise awareness of what lies hidden just as of what is manifest—of every type of seed the earth contains and every color of plant it yields. They also allude to His gentleness toward His servants: He draws forth for them varied provisions by means of the pristine water He sends down and the abundant good He bestows.
He concludes the sixth verse with “the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.” After mentioning His ownership of the heavens and the earth and all the creatures within them, He makes it clear that He did not create them out of any need—for He is absolutely self-sufficient—nor to perfect Himself, for He is already perfect and praiseworthy. By this He shows them that they are all needy of Him from every angle, whereas He is praiseworthy in His decrees, praiseworthy in His legislation, and praiseworthy in His recompense. To Him belongs unrestricted praise for His very being, His attributes, and His actions.
He closes the seventh verse with “Ever-Gracious, Ever-Merciful.” Out of His tenderness and mercy He has subjected the creatures to the children of Adam, preserved the heavens and the earth, and kept them from vanishing lest their interests be ruined. By His mercy He has subdued the seas so that ships may sail, bringing them benefit and advantage. He showed them mercy by creating for them a dwelling place, depositing within it everything they require, and safeguarding it for them and maintaining it.
When, in Sūrah al-Shuʿarāʾ, Allah relates the stories of the prophets and their peoples, He ends each narrative with the words, “Indeed, Allah—He alone is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise” (Āl ʿImrān 3:68). Each story includes the deliverance of the prophet and his followers—by Allah’s mercy and kindness—and the destruction of those who denied him, which stems from His might.
The purport of the two Names applies to both situations: He saved the Messenger and his followers through the perfection of His power, might, and mercy, and He destroyed the deniers through His might and wisdom. Mentioning mercy also indicates the enormity of their crime, for He had long opened to them the gates of His mercy by means of His signs, His favors, and His messengers, yet they slammed those gates shut through their rebellion against Allah, their disbelief, and their idolatry, leaving themselves no path to it. Had that not been the case, such a stern punishment would never have overtaken them.