The Qur’an presents Allah as both Omnipotent (able to guide all of humanity if He so willed) and The Most Merciful (whose mercy encompasses all things). However, it simultaneously affirms that many are destined for an eternal, agonizing Fire. This creates a theological crisis: If a Being has the power to save everyone from infinite suffering but chooses not to, His mercy is not universal; if He desires to save them but cannot, His power is not absolute.
P1: Allah is described as having the absolute power to guide all of humanity to belief (Surah 10:99, 6:149).
P2: Allah is described as being "The Most Merciful" (Ar-Rahman), whose mercy is all-encompassing.
P3: The Qur’an states that Allah allows many to disbelieve and consigns them to eternal physical torment (Surah 4:56).
P4: To allow eternal torment when one has the effortless power to prevent it is an act that lacks universal mercy.
C: Therefore, either Allah’s power to save is limited (He cannot guide them), or His mercy is selectively withheld (He chooses not to guide them), rendering His attributes internally inconsistent.
If we accept that Allah can guide everyone (as per Surah 10:99 but chooses to leave many in a state of disbelief only to punish them eternally, then Mercy is a subordinate attribute to Will.
Allah’s Mercy is not an essential, universal quality, but a selective favor. In this view, "The Most Merciful" becomes a title of preference rather than a description of character. Justice becomes arbitrary, as the "Test" is rigged by the divine refusal to grant the necessary guidance (Tawfiq).
To protect Allah’s Mercy, one might argue that He cannot guide everyone because He must respect human free will or the "rules" of the earthly test.
This directly contradicts the plain reading of Surah 6:149 ("If He had willed, He would have guided you all"). If Allah is bound by human choices or external logical necessities, He is no longer the "Subduer" (Al-Qahhar) or the Absolute Sovereign. His omnipotence is sacrificed to shield His reputation for goodness.
The Islamic portrait of God fails to reconcile these attributes. Unlike the Christian framework—where God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4) and the "limitation" is found in man’s rejection of a completed sacrifice—the Islamic model places the rejection within the Will of Allah Himself. Thus, the seeker is left with a deity who is either Potent but Cruel (choosing to roasting skins eternally despite having the power to prevent it) or Merciful but Weak (desiring a belief He cannot manifest).