nations, with each thing individually and collectively employed in the duties its Maker has appointed for it, striving diligently, obeying the laws of its Creator. How surprising therefore is man, in his being an exception!

► 2 ◄

“Of all the worlds (al-‘ālamīn)”

The yā and nūn [that is, the two final letters] denote either a grammatical ending as in the numbers twenty (‘ishrīn) and thirty (thalāthīn), or the [sound] plural. For the components of the worlds are worlds, or the world is not limited to the solar system. As the poet [^11] says:

[^11]:Abū’l-‘Alā al-Ma‘arrī. The original is: Yā ayyuhā’l-nās kam li-llāh min falak ∗ Tajrī’l-nujūm bi-hi wa’l-shams wa’l-qamar.

Praise be to Allah, how numerous are His celestial spheres!

Among them circulate the stars, and the sun and the moon.

The sound plural, [properly used] for rational beings, as in the verse “Ra’aytuhum lī sājidīn (I saw them prostrate themselves before me),”(12:4) indicates that [the science of] rhetoric conceives of all the components of the world as living and rational, speaking through the tongue of disposition. For the world (‘ālam) is so-called because through it the Maker is known (yu‘lam), and it bears witness to Him and points to Him. Thus, the raising and sustaining of beings and their making known their Maker indicate, like the prostration, that they are as though conscious.

► 3 ◄

“The Most Merciful, the All-Compassionate (al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm)”

Their positioning: they point to the two fundamentals in raising and nurturing. For in its meaning of Provider (al-Razzāq), Most Merciful infers the attraction of benefits, while in its meaning of Oft-Forgiving (al-Ghaffār), All-Compassionate is conformable with the repulsion of harm, and these are the two basic principles of raising and sustaining.

► 4 ◄

“Master of the Day [of Judgement] (Mālik Yawm al-Dīn)”

That is, the day of resurrection and requital.

The positioning: it is as though it is the result of what precedes it, for mercy (raḥma) is one of the proofs of resurrection and eternal felicity. For mercy can only be mercy, and bounty can only be bounty when the Resurrection arrives and eternal felicity comes about. Otherwise, on thinking of eternal separation, intelligence, which is one of the greatest bounties, would be a calamity for mankind, and affection and compassion, which are the most refined kinds of mercy, would be transformed into severe pain.