His words, Exalted is He:

It may be that you kill yourself with grief that they will not become believers.

He said:

That is, that you would destroy yourself in pursuing what is required for the sake of their guidance, but the decree (ḥukm) has preceded from Us concerning the faith of every believer, and disbelief of every disbeliever, and there will be no change or substitution [in that decree]. The inner meaning of these [words] is: ‘You have been distracted from Us through your preoccupation with them, out of a desire that they should believe. But you are only responsible for conveying [the Message], so do not let your grief concerning them distract you from Us.’

His words:

And there would never come from the Compassionate One any reminder^{1Commentators gloss the word reminder here as ‘revelation’.} that is new, but that they used to disregard it.

He said:

That is, whenever there came to them, through revelation, knowledge of the Qurʾān which was new to them and of which they had no prior knowledge, they would turn away from it. This is not to say that the Reminder (dhikr) itself is created (muḥdath),^{2This caveat has been inserted because Tustarī has used the word aḥdatha in the sense of the coming of something new, but the verbal root ḥ-d-th can also be used to imply something that is temporal or an ‘accident’, in philosophical and theological terminology.} however, for it is from among the attributes of the essence of God, and is therefore neither existentiated (mukawwan) nor created (makhlūq).^{3Tustarī is here indicating his belief that the Qurʾān is the uncreated word of God, on which see above IT, p. xxxi. Tustarī’s doctrine of the divine speech as one of the attributes of God is discussed in his Risālat al-ḥurūf, which is edited and analysed in the dissertations of Gaafar and Garrido Clemente.}

His words:

‘…[He] who created me, it is He who guides me,’ ^{1Verses 72–89 of Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ relate words of Abraham, firstly his reasoning with his father and his people over the falsity of their worship of idols and his description of his Lord (vv. 72–82), and then his prayer to God for salvation for himself and for forgiveness for his father (vv. 83–9).}

He said:

‘He who created me for His adoration guides me to proximity (qurb) with Him.’

His words:

and provides me with food and drink,

He said:

‘He feeds me with the joy of faith and gives me to drink from the draught of trust (tawakkul) and of being sufficed (kifāya).’^{1On the term kifāya and its connection to ḥusn al-ẓann, see above Tustarī’s commentary on 2:260.}

His words:

and when I am sick, it is He who cures me,

He said:

This means: ‘If I am stirred into acting by other than Him for other than Him, He protects me [from carrying out that action], and if I incline towards a worldly desire He averts it from me.’

His words:

Who will make me die and then give me life [again],

He said:

‘He causes me to die through heedlessness (ghafla), and then gives me life again through remembrance (dhikr).’

His words:

‘And who, I hope, will forgive my iniquity on the Day of Judgement.’

He [Abraham] expressed his words according to the requisites of propriety (adab) [before God], [poised] between fear and hope, and did not [assume] that forgiveness had been predetermined for him.^{1On balancing fear and hope see Tustarī’s commentary on 11:75 and p. 93, n. 13 above.}

His words, Exalted is He:

‘And confer on me a worthy repute among posterity,’

He said:

‘Grant me the praise of all nations and hosts.’

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

except him who brings to God a heart that is sound.

He said:

[This refers to] the one who is preserved from innovations (bidaʿ), who commits his affairs to God and who is content with God’s decree (qadar).

His words, Exalted is He:

Truly they are barred from hearing [it].

He said:

This means [they are barred] from listening (istimāʿ) to the Qurʾān and understanding (fahm) [where] the commandments and prohibitions [are applicable].

His words:

Warn the nearest of your kinsfolk,

He said:

Put fear into those who are closest to you and lower the wing of [gentleness] over those who are distantly related to you. Guide them to Us [kindly] with the finest proofs (alṭaf al-dalālāt),^{1The word alṭaf, superlative or comparative of laṭīf could also mean delicate, subtle or gracious.} and inform them that I am Magnanimous (al-Jawād) and Generous (al-Karīm).

His words, Exalted is He:

Save those who believe and perform righteous deeds and remember God frequently…

He said:

God, Exalted is He, created the innermost secret (sirr) and made its life consist in His remembrance. He created the outward self (ẓāhir) and made its life consist in praising (ḥamd) and thanking (shukr) Him. He appointed for both of them duties (ḥuqūq), which are works of obedience (ṭāʿa).