What The Qur'an Teaches: When Response Is Slow In Coming
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim
Journals
Arab News & Information - By Adil Salahi
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever
Merciful
Respond to your Lord before there
comes, by God's will, a day that cannot be put off.
There shall be no refuge for you on that day, nor
shall you be able to deny your sins. If they turn
away, We have not sent you to be their keeper. Your
only duty is to deliver the message [entrusted to
you]. When We give man a taste of Our grace, he
rejoices in it, but if misfortune befalls him on
account of what he has done with his own hands, he is
bereft of gratitude. To God belongs sovereignty over
the heavens and the earth. He creates what He will. He
grants female offspring to whomever He will, and male
to whomever He will; Or gives both male and female to
whomever He will, and causes whomever He will to be
barren. He is all-knowing, infinite in His power.
(Consultation, Al-Shura, 42: 47-50))
Now the surah addresses those who stubbornly opposed
the Prophet's message with an order to respond to
their Lord before such a fate comes upon them, all of
a sudden, when they will be without support. A
directive to the Prophet is added instructing him to
turn away from them if they persist in their
rejection. His task though is only to deliver his
message; he is not responsible for anyone: "Respond to
your Lord before there comes, by God's will, a day
that cannot be put off. There shall be no refuge for
you on that day, nor shall you be able to deny your
sins. If they turn away, We have not sent you to be
their keeper. Your only duty is to deliver the message
(entrusted to you). When We give man a taste of Our
grace, he rejoices in it, but if misfortunes befalls
him on account of what he has done with his own hands,
he is bereft of gratitude."
Having made the warning and the directive abundantly
clear, these verses portray the nature of the one who
opposes the divine message and stubbornly refuses to
submit to its truth. He is fickle, wildly rejoicing
when he is granted something of God's grace and
panicking in the face of adversity. In such a
situation, man often transgresses all bounds and shows
no gratitude for what he is given: "When We give man a
taste of Our grace, he rejoices in it, but if
misfortune befalls him on account of what he has done
with his own hands, he is bereft of gratitude."
By way of comment on this, the surah makes absolutely
clear that whatever happiness or misfortune, affluence
or scarcity befalls man is determined by God. It is
very strange therefore for someone, who reacts in this
way to blessings and misfortune, to turn away from God
when He holds all the strings affecting his life: "To
God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the
earth. He creates what He will. He grants female
offspring to whomever He will, and male to whomever He
will; Or gives both male and female to whomever He
will, and causes whomever He will to be barren. He is
all-knowing, infinite in His power."
Offspring is an aspect of what man is given or denied.
It is something very dear to man. Since human nature
is very sensitive to procreation, looking at it from
this angle is more effective. The surah spoke earlier
of man's provisions and how they are given in
plentiful or scant measure. Offspring is a different
aspect of what God provides man with. It is no
different from money, however, in the way it is
granted.
These verses begin by stating that everything in the
heavens and earth belongs to God alone. This
introduction fits with every detail that follows this
statement of general ownership. The same is true of
the succeeding sentence: "He creates what He will."
(Verse 49) This emphasizes the effect the verse aims
to generate, directing man, who loves every good
thing, to turn to God who creates everything that man
loves and dislikes.
Further details are given of what God may grant or
withhold. He may grant female offspring to anyone. The
Arabs addressed for the first time by the Qur'an used
to dislike females. He also grants male children to
anyone He chooses. Alternatively, He may give
offspring of both kinds to anyone. The fourth
situation is that He may deny offspring altogether,
making people barren. What is important to remember is
that all these situations are determined by God's
will. None interferes in His decision which is based
on His perfect knowledge and executed by His power:
"He is all-knowing, infinite in His power."
As it draws to its conclusion, the surah picks up its
main theme again, which is the truth of revelation and
message. It speaks of the nature of this contact
between God and His chosen servants and how it is
done. It asserts that such contact has actually taken
place with the last messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon
him). This last contact has a definite objective God
wishes to accomplish, namely, providing guidance along
a straight path to whoever chooses to be guided. We
will discuss this in more detail next week, God
willing.
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