It was by the mercy of God that you were lenient with them; had you been harsh and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you are resolved rely on God; for God loves those who rely [on Him]. [God] stripped [the Prophet] of his human attributes awṣāf al-bashariyya and singled him out to be clothed from the attribute of lordship naʿt al-rubūbiyya. [God] said that what shone upon him was from the lights of divine governorship tawallī not from the traces of [human states of] agreement and confrontation tabarrī. If not for the fact that He had selected him for what He clothed him in how could he have that qualityḍ! It is said that among the particular properties of [God's] سبحانه mercy to [the Prophet] was that He gave him strength to keep company with them and patience to convey the message to them in spite of what he had to endure from them in their arguing. He was utterly engaged at every moment with an authority from the Real that overwhelmed him-[even while] they were arguing with this authority. If not for the divine strength the Real chose for him alone how could he have been able to keep company with themḍ When Moses عليه السلام had just returned from hearing [God's] word was he not unable to remain patient in speaking with his brotherḍ He grabbed his head pulling [Aaron] toward him. It is said that if it were not for the fact that [the Prophet] ﷺ saw them effaced in what came to them from the decrees of [God's] disposition aḥkām al-taṣrīf and his realization that the originator of these [decrees] was God he would not have been able to keep company with them. Had you been harsh and fierce of heart they would have dispersed from about you: “If you had given them the pure drink of the declaration of unity tawḥīd undiluted with their worldly concerns they would have separated from you and wandered about unable to stand still for even a moment. So pardon them for neglecting the right and respect due to you and the negligence you have seen in them in serving Us and obeying Us-rise up [instead] as an intercessor shafīʿ to Us on their behalf.
