The Secret of God Being the Best of Plotters

The word “best” (khayr) in some cases means superiority and in other cases means designation. Accordingly, God is the best of plotters: “And God is the best of plotters” (3:54), meaning that not only is God’s plot better and superior to the plot of the Children of Israel, but it is so in relation to all plots.

The goodness of divine plotting is both in terms of theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom: What relates to theoretical wisdom is of the nature of existence; the more superior and stronger its existence, and the closer it is to infallible knowledge and will, the better it is. What relates to practical wisdom is of the nature of character; the closer its emergence is to justice, piety, benevolence and the like, the better it is.

Divine plotting (makr ilāhī) is superior both in terms of strength and power, and more complete in terms of truth, veracity, correctness and legitimacy, because it revolves around justice mixed with forgiveness and benevolence, such that it considers breaking promises to be reprehensible while considering the non-fulfillment of threats to be permissible and even appropriate, and acts according to this method. Thus His plotting is the best of plots and He is the best of plotters. Of course, all such attributes are in the realm of God’s actions, which are outside two prohibited domains; that is, they are neither absolute identity nor the essential attributes of that identity which are identical to it, but rather outside the prohibited zone.