God's bounty, given to whom he wills

Sha'rawi reads the verses that say bounty lies in God's hand and he gives it to whom he wills (Al Imran 73, Al Imran 74) as a reply to those who schemed to turn believers from their faith. He holds that bounty cannot be taken from one whom God has given faith ¹².

Sha'rawi says a scheme cannot take away the bounty of faith once God has given it. God is generous, meaning that he is able to give bounty to all creation without his own store being diminished, and he knows who deserves it, because the heart of such a person is occupied with his Lord ².

Sha'rawi holds that no one has a right over God. Every moment of life is a bounty from him, and he gives his mercy, through faith in his law, to whom he wills; he is the one of absolute bounty ³.

Sha'rawi notes that the next verse shows that among the People of the Book some return a large trust and others will not return a single coin unless pressed. He says that exposing the scheming of some does not mean an attack on all of them, but is an act of fairness that gives each person his due ³⁴.

This is Sha'rawi's reading alone, taken from a scanned copy whose edition is not yet verified, and it is presented under his name. See also Guidance: indication and help and Trust.