ভূমিকা

3- The most thankful of Thy servants has not the capacity to thank Thee, and the most worshipful of them falls short of obeying Thee. 4- To none of them is due Thy forgiveness through what he himself deserves or Thy good pleasure for his own merit. 5- When Thou forgivest someone, it is through Thy graciousness, and when Thou art pleased with someone, it is through Thy bounty.

6- Thou showest gratitude for the paltry for which Thou showest gratitude[^1] and Thou rewardest the small act in which Thou art obeyed, so that it seems as if Thy servants' thanksgiving for which Thou hast made incumbent their reward and made great their repayment is an affair from which they could have held back without Thee, and hence Thou wilt recompense them, and whose cause is not in Thy hand, and hence Thou wilt repay them.

7- Nay, my God, Thou hadst power over their affair before they had power to worship Thee, and Thou hadst prepared their reward before they began to obey Thee; and that because Thy wont is bestowal of bounty, Thy custom beneficence, Thy way pardon. 8- So all creatures confess that Thou wrongest not him whom Thou punishest and bear witness that Thou bestowest bounty upon him whom Thou pardonest. Each admits that he has fallen short of what Thou meritest.

9- Had Satan not misled them from Thy obedience, no disobeyer would have disobeyed Thee, and had he not shown falsehood to them in the likeness of truth no strayer would have gone astray from Thy path. 10- So glory be to Thee! How manifest is Thy generosity in dealing with him who obeys or disobeys Thee! Thou showest gratitude to the obedient for that which Thou undertakest for him, and Thou grantest a respite to the disobedient in that within which Thou art able to hurry him.

11- Thou givest to each of them that which is not his due, and Thou bestowest bounty upon each in that wherein his works fall short.