nature that He bestows His favours and shows His mercy even though man has done nothing to deserve them. The granting of the means of subsistence for the development of physical life, and of Divine revelation for man’s spiritual growth, are due to this attribute of unbounded love in the Divine Being. Then follows the stage in which man takes advantage of these various means which help the development of his physical and spiritual life, and turns them to his use. It is at this stage that the third attribute of the Divine Being, Raḥīm, comes into play, whereby He rewards every effort made by man in the right direction; and since man is making constant and continual efforts, the attribute of mercy conveyed in the name Raḥīm is also displayed continually. This is true both as regards the physical and spiritual development of man. The Holy Prophet himself is reported to have said: “Al-Raḥmān is the Beneficent God Whose love and mercy are manifested in the creation of this world, and al-Raḥīm is the Merciful God Whose love and mercy are manifested in the state that comes after” (BM. I, p. 17).

To bring creation to perfection, however, the manifestation of yet another attribute is needed. As submission to the law results in the advancement of man which brings reward, disobedience to the law must result in retarding his progress or bringing down punishment upon him. In fact, the punishment of wrong is as necessary in the Divine scheme as is the reward of good, and punishment is really only a different phase of the exercise of the attribute of rabūbiyyah (fostering); for ultimate good is still the object. Therefore, just as Raḥīm is needed to bring his reward to one who does good or submits to the law, there must be another attribute to bring about the requital of evil. Hence in the Opening chapter of the Holy Qur’ān, Raḥīm is followed by Māliki yaum al-dīn or “Master of the Day of Requital.” The adoption of the word Mālik, or Master, in connection with the requital of evil is significant, as, ordinarily, it would be expected that there should be a judge to mete out the requital of evil. The essential difference between a judge and a master is that the former is bound to do justice and must punish the evil-doer for every evil, while the latter, the master, can exercise his discretion, and may either punish the evil-doer or forgive him and pass over even the greatest of his iniquities.16 This idea is fully developed in the Holy