It was by the mercy of God, that is, by your possession of the attribute of mercy from [His Name] the Merciful, in other words, a complete, perfect and abundant mercy, which is an attribute from the totality of God's attributes that is a concomitant of your divinely-bestowed existence and not [from your] mortal existence, that you were lenient with them; had you been harsh, possessing the attributes of the soul from which derive harshness and fierceness of heart, they would have dispersed from about you, because the divine mercy that precipitates their love for you brings them together. So pardon them, for the offences they have committed against you, for you see that it is from God from the perspective of [your] belief in the Oneness and because your station is too exalted for that you should be hurt by the actions of mortals or that you should be infuriated by their acts or that you should desire to satisfy your fury by taking revenge on them; and ask [God's] forgiveness for them, for what relates to [offences against] the obligations due to God, on account of their forgetfulness, their remorse and their apology, and consult with them, in the matter of war and other things, in consideration of them and out of respect. But when you are resolved, then leave the matter to God by relying on Him and seeing that all acts, including conquest, victory and knowledge of what is the most expedient and best-guided [decision] is from Him and not from yourself, neither from those with whom you consult. He then verifies the meaning of reliance [on God] and affirmation of [His] Oneness in acts by saying: