Throughout the Qur'an, Allah frequently pairs the names al-Ghafoor - Forgiving - and al-Raheem - Merciful -, and in all instance but one, He begins by mentioning al-Ghafoor before al-Raheem. Commenting on this repeating pattern, Ibn al-Qayyim wrote: [وأما تقديم الغفور على الرحيم فهو أولى بالطبع لأن المغفرة سلامة والرحمة غنيمة والسلامة تطلب قبل الغنيمة وفي الحديث أن النبي قال: لعمرو بن العاص " أبعثك وجها يسلمك الله فيه ويغنمك وأزعب لك زعبة من المال "(صحيح) فهذا من الترتيب البديع بدأ بالسلامة قبل الغنيمة وبالغنيمة قبل الكسب.] As for mentioning al-Ghafoor before al-Raheem, this is a natural and fitting arrangement because forgiveness is safety from harm while rahmah is gaining something, and achieving safety is prioritized before gaining something extra. There is a hadith of the Prophet in which he told 'Amr ibn al-'Aas, "I'm sending you on an expedition in which Allah will protect you and grant you bounty, and I will appoint a share of the spoils for you." This is an eloquent arrangement; he began with safety from harm before mentioning gaining something extra, and he mentioning gaining something extra before earnings. [Bada'i al-Fawa'id 1/64]