44 Preface إِلّا رَحمَةً مِنّا وَمَتاعًا إِلىٰ حينٍYusuf AliExcept by way of Mercy from Us, and by way of (world) convenience (to serve them) for a time.1Cf. 16:80. God has given man all these wonderful things in nature and utilities produced by the skill and intelligence which God has given to man. Had it not been for these gifts, man’s life would have been precarious on sea or land or in the air. It is only God’s Mercy that saves man from destruction for man’s own follies, and that saving or the enjoyment of these utilities and conveniences he should not consider as eternal: they are only given for a time, in this life of probation.