M5:1660 — نیستم بی‌رحم بل زان هر سه پاک / رحم بیشَستم ز درد دردناک

This couplet comes during a poignant dialogue between God and Azrael, the Angel of Death. God has commanded Azrael to gather a handful of earth to create Adam, but each time Azrael attempts to do so, the Earth pleads and weeps, begging not to be torn apart. Azrael, moved by the Earth's lament, returns to God empty-handed, unable to carry out the command. God then questions Azrael, asking why he was so easily swayed by the Earth's pleas, implying a lack of resolve or perhaps even mercy in not completing the task.

Here, Azrael responds, defending his actions not as a sign of weakness or sentimentality, but as a manifestation of a higher form of mercy. When he says, "pure from those three," he refers to the three previous angels (Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil) who had also been sent and returned empty-handed, swayed by Earth's cries. Azrael asserts that his compassion is not merely the superficial pity that shrinks from causing pain, but a profound, divine mercy that understands the ultimate good, even if it entails temporary suffering. This is a crucial Sufi concept: that sometimes what appears as harshness or 'wrath' (qahr) from God is, in fact, a hidden 'grace' (lutf), leading to a greater, more enduring benefit. Azrael's 'pain' at the Earth's suffering is real, but his mercy is 'greater' because it aligns with God's ultimate plan, which includes the creation of Adam and all that flows from it.