And speak to him gentle words...He said:It was related from Ibn ʿAbbās y that he said, ‘Moses , when he visited Pharaoh, would say to him, ‘O Abū Musʿab say: “There is no god except God and I am the Messenger of God”.’ Sahl said:Truly God, Exalted is He, invested Moses with the robe of those who possess refined manners (mutaʾaddibūn), and He removed from him the hastiness of those who impulsively rush in (mutahajjimūn), due to the bounty (faḍl) and empowerment (tamkīn) that he found [from God]. However, He did not will for him [Pharaoh] faith (īmān), for had He willed it, He would have said, ‘So he may believe.’ Rather, God, Mighty and Majestic is He, intended by this [command] that Moses should show graciousness (mulāṭafa) through the most beautiful discourse and gentlest speech, for this moves the hearts of all people, just as the Prophet said, ‘Hearts have been created with the disposition to love those who are good to them and to hate those who do wrong to them.’ This was to pre-empt his [Pharaoh’s] argument (ḥujja), and to awaken interest in those among the sorcerers and others whom God knew would be guided.His words, Exalted is He: