'And indeed, your Lord,' the Benefactor towards you by sending you, and increasing your followers, and honoring your supporters, 'is the Almighty,' meaning: the One who is capable, by His might, of compelling them to obedience, and destroying them at the first moments of disobedience. 'The Most Merciful,' meaning: the One who specifically chooses whom He wills from His servants with His pure affection, and sends messengers to those who have strayed from the path of sound reason to clarify what He loves and what He dislikes, so none is destroyed except after the clear explanation and the complete conveyance.