Were it not for God's bounty to you and His mercy a party of them would have intended to lead you astray; but they lead only themselves astray; they will not hurt you at all. God has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and He has taught you what you did not know; and God's bounty to you is ever great. Bounty faḌl is beneficence iḥsān beyond what is due. “Bounty” alludes to [God's] protection ʿiṣma of [Muḥammad] for the Real سبحانه protected him with a distinctive protection singled out for him. Just as [God] pro- tected [Muḥammad] from abandoning His right ḥaqq He protected him in averting the deception of His creatures khalq from him saying “Were it not for God's bounty to you and His mercy a party of them would have intended to lead you astray. There is no way that anyone can lead you astray for you are in the grip of the divine power and they lead only themselves astray and they will not hurt you at all for what is guarded maḥfūẓ by Us is secure maḥrūs from everything else. Verily God سبحانه conferred distinction upon you with the revelation of the Book and made you a special intimate in the ways He preferred and approved of you.” And He has taught you what you did not know. There is nothing like the knowledge He granted to [Muḥammad] alone. It is possible that what He means by this is [Muḥammad's] ﷺ knowledge of God and His majesty and his knowledge of his own servanthood and the worth of his state in strength and beauty. It is said that “He has taught you what you did not know of the propri- eties of service ādāb al-khidma even as a deep knowledge of reality was unambiguous to you.” It is said that “He made you free of the instruction of any others so that none would have a light except what is borrowed from your light. Those who do not walk under your banner will not reach the entirety of Our beneficence nor will they receive the good fortune of nearness and communion with Us.” “And God's bounty to you is ever great in all eternity without end ābād.” You were recognized by Us in the most exalted degree and honorable rank in all eternity without beginning āzāl. It is said that “He has taught you what you did not know concerning the sublimity of your rank over all others.” It is said that “He taught you what you did not know: that one can only value Our measure to the degree108 that one conforms to Our command.”
