The Precedence of Harm over Benefit

In most verses of the Qur’an like the verse presently under discussion, the mention of harm precedes that of benefit. This is because most people usually give precedence to repelling harm over gaining benefit for themselves. However, in the verse “Say, ‘I do not possess for myself any benefit or harm’”(123) and “they do not possess for themselves any benefit or harm”,(124) the mention of benefit precedes that of harm; perhaps the reason for this is to show that their first priority was seeking benefit.

It should be mentioned that in the context of the aforementioned verse, reference is made to the dominant unity (waḥdat-i qāhir) of God: “Say, ‘God is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Dominant’”(125) because that unity leaves no place for others so that the ground for the realization of multiplicity would be provided and He would be subject to enumeration. His identity encompasses the above and below of things, the first and last of affairs, the manifest and hidden of realities, and there is nothing else besides Him to be His second.