The Quran

قُل لِمَن ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۖ قُل لِلَّهِ ۚ كَتَبَ عَلىٰ نَفسِهِ الرَّحمَةَ ۚ لَيَجمَعَنَّكُم إِلىٰ يَومِ القِيامَةِ لا رَيبَ فيهِ ۚ الَّذينَ خَسِروا أَنفُسَهُم فَهُم لا يُؤمِنونَ

Muhammad Asad

Say: "Unto whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?" Say: "Unto God, who has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy."¹ He will assuredly gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, [the coming of] which is beyond all doubt: yet those who have squandered their own selves - it is they who refuse to believe [in Him],

The expression "God has willed upon Himself as a law" (kataba 'ala nafsihi) occurs in the Qur'an only twice - here and in verse 54 of this surah - and in both instances with reference to His grace and mercy (rahmah); none of the other divine attributes has been similarly described. This exceptional quality of God's grace and mercy is further stressed in 7:156 - "My grace overspreads everything" - and finds an echo in the authentic Tradition in which, according to the Prophet, God says of Himself, "Verily, My grace and mercy outstrips My wrath" (Bukhari and Muslim).