47أَو يَأخُذَهُم عَلىٰ تَخَوُّفٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكُم لَرَءوفٌ رَحيمٌMuhammad Asador take them to task through slow decay?1 And yet, behold, your Sustainer is most compassionate, a dispenser of grace!2One of the meanings of takhawwuf is "gradual diminution" or "decay" or "slow destruction" (Lisan al-'Arab, art. khawafa; thus also Tabari and Zamakhshari); in the above context, the term has obviously both a social and a moral connotation: a gradual disintegration of all ethical values, of power, of civic cohesion, of happiness and, finally, of life itself.Sc., "seeing that He offers you guidance through His prophets, and gives you time to reflect and mend your ways before you do irreparable harm to yourselves".