Surah 74. Al-Muddaththir

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Verses [Section]: 1-31[1], 32-56 [2]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-3174. Al-Muddaththirبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِیٰۤاَیُّهَاO youالْمُدَّثِّرُۙwho covers himself! قُمْStand upفَاَنْذِرْ۪ۙand warn وَ رَبَّكَAnd your Lordفَكَبِّرْ۪ۙmagnify وَ ثِیَابَكَAnd your clothingفَطَهِّرْ۪ۙpurify وَ الرُّجْزَAnd uncleanlinessفَاهْجُرْ۪ۙavoid وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَمْنُنْconfer favorتَسْتَكْثِرُ۪ۙ(to) acquire more وَ لِرَبِّكَAnd for your Lordفَاصْبِرْؕbe patient فَاِذَاThen whenنُقِرَis blownفِیinالنَّاقُوْرِۙthe trumpet فَذٰلِكَThatیَوْمَىِٕذٍDayیَّوْمٌ(will be) a Dayعَسِیْرٌۙdifficult عَلَیForالْكٰفِرِیْنَthe disbelieversغَیْرُnotیَسِیْرٍ easy ذَرْنِیْLeave Meوَ مَنْand whomخَلَقْتُI createdوَحِیْدًاۙalone وَّ جَعَلْتُAnd I grantedلَهٗto himمَالًاwealthمَّمْدُوْدًاۙextensive وَّ بَنِیْنَAnd childrenشُهُوْدًاۙpresent وَّ مَهَّدْتُّAnd I spreadلَهٗfor himتَمْهِیْدًاۙease ثُمَّThenیَطْمَعُhe desiresاَنْthatاَزِیْدَۗۙI (should) add more كَلَّا ؕBy no means!اِنَّهٗIndeed heكَانَhas beenلِاٰیٰتِنَاto Our Versesعَنِیْدًاؕstubborn سَاُرْهِقُهٗSoon I will cover Himصَعُوْدًاؕ(with) a laborious punishment 74. Al-Muddaththir Page 576اِنَّهٗIndeed heفَكَّرَthoughtوَ قَدَّرَۙand plotted فَقُتِلَSo may he be destroyedكَیْفَhowقَدَّرَۙhe plotted ثُمَّThenقُتِلَmay he be destroyedكَیْفَhowقَدَّرَۙhe plotted ثُمَّThenنَظَرَۙhe looked; ثُمَّThenعَبَسَhe frownedوَ بَسَرَۙand scowled; ثُمَّThenاَدْبَرَhe turned backوَ اسْتَكْبَرَۙand was proud فَقَالَThen he saidاِنْNotهٰذَاۤ(is) thisاِلَّاbutسِحْرٌmagicیُّؤْثَرُۙimitated اِنْNotهٰذَاۤ(is) thisاِلَّاbutقَوْلُ(the) wordالْبَشَرِؕ(of) a human being سَاُصْلِیْهِSoon I will admit himسَقَرَ(in) Hell وَ مَاۤAnd whatاَدْرٰىكَcan make you knowمَاwhatسَقَرُؕ(is) Hell لَاNotتُبْقِیْit lets remainوَ لَاand notتَذَرُۚit leaves لَوَّاحَةٌScorchingلِّلْبَشَرِۚۖthe human (skin) عَلَیْهَاOver itتِسْعَةَ(are) nineعَشَرَؕteen وَ مَاAnd notجَعَلْنَاۤWe have madeاَصْحٰبَkeepersالنَّارِ(of) the Fireاِلَّاexceptمَلٰٓىِٕكَةً ۪Angelsوَّ مَاAnd notجَعَلْنَاWe have madeعِدَّتَهُمْtheir numberاِلَّاexceptفِتْنَةً(as) a trialلِّلَّذِیْنَfor those whoكَفَرُوْا ۙdisbelieveلِیَسْتَیْقِنَthat may be certainالَّذِیْنَthose whoاُوْتُواwere givenالْكِتٰبَthe Scriptureوَ یَزْدَادَand may increaseالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْۤاbelieveاِیْمَانًا(in) faithوَّ لَاand notیَرْتَابَmay doubtالَّذِیْنَthose whoاُوْتُواwere givenالْكِتٰبَthe Scriptureوَ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ ۙand the believersوَ لِیَقُوْلَand that may sayالَّذِیْنَthoseفِیْinقُلُوْبِهِمْtheir heartsمَّرَضٌ(is) a diseaseوَّ الْكٰفِرُوْنَand the disbelieversمَا ذَاۤWhatاَرَادَ(does) intendاللّٰهُAllahبِهٰذَاby thisمَثَلًا ؕexampleكَذٰلِكَThusیُضِلُّdoes let go astrayاللّٰهُAllahمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُHe willsوَ یَهْدِیْand guidesمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُ ؕHe willsوَ مَاAnd noneیَعْلَمُknowsجُنُوْدَ(the) hostsرَبِّكَ(of) your Lordاِلَّاexceptهُوَ ؕHimوَ مَاAnd notهِیَitاِلَّا(is) butذِكْرٰیa reminderلِلْبَشَرِ۠to (the) human beings

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Translation of Verse 1-31In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(74:1) O you enveloped in your cloak!¹

(74:2) Arise, and warn,²

(74:3) and magnify the glory of your Lord,³

(74:4) and purify your robes,⁴

(74:5) and shun uncleanness,⁵

(74:6) and bestow not favour in order to seek from others a greater return,⁶

(74:7) and persevere for your Lord's sake.⁷

(74:8) When the Trumpet shall be sounded,

(74:9) that will surely be a hard day,⁸

(74:10) not an easy day for the unbelievers.⁹

(74:11) Leave Me with him¹⁰ whom I alone have created,¹¹

(74:12) whom I have endowed with abundant riches,

(74:13) and sons ever present with him,¹²

(74:14) and for whom I have smoothed the way (to power and riches),

(74:15) and who still greedily desires that I should bestow upon him more.¹³

(74:16) By no means; he is stubbornly opposed to Our Signs.

(74:17) I shall soon constrain him to a hard ascent.

(74:18) He reflected and then hatched a scheme.

(74:19) Ruin seize him, how did he hatch a scheme?

(74:20) Again, ruin seize him, how did he hatch a scheme?

(74:21) He looked (at others);

(74:22) then frowned and scowled;

(74:23) then he retreated and waxed proud,

(74:24) and said: “This (Qur'an) is merely a sorcery of yore;

(74:25) this is nothing but the word of a mere mortal!”¹⁴

(74:26) Him shall I soon roast in Hell.

(74:27) And what do you know what Hell is?

(74:28) It spares nothing; it leaves nothing intact;¹⁵

(74:29) it scorches (even) the skin.¹⁶

(74:30) Over it are nineteen keepers.

(74:31) We¹⁷ have appointed none but angels as the keepers of the Fire,¹⁸ and We have not made their number but as a trial for the unbelievers¹⁹ so that those who have been endowed with the Book will be convinced²⁰ and the believers' faith will increase, ²¹ and neither those who have been endowed with the Book nor the believers will fall into any doubt. As for those in whose hearts there is a sickness²² as well as the unbelievers, they will say: “What did Allah aim at by this strange parable?”²³ Thus does Allah let whomsoever He pleases to go astray, and directs whomsoever He pleases²⁴ to the Right Way. And none knows the hosts of your Lord but He.²⁵ (And Hell has only been mentioned here) that people may take heed.²⁶

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Commentary

1. In light of the points highlighted in the Introduction to this Surah regarding the circumstantial setting of the opening verse, one may easily grasp why the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not addressed here as the Messenger or the Prophet, and why he is instead referred to as “O you enwrapped in your cloak”. As he had become terrified on suddenly seeing Gabriel sitting on a chair, hanging between the heavens and the earth, on rushing home he asked his family members to cover him up. On the basis of that, God addresses him here as the enwrapped one. Another point implicit in this subtle address to His beloved servant is that as he is now charged with an onerous duty, he should get ready with a firm resolve to undertake this mission and arise from his solitude.

2. An identical command was given to the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) when he was endowed with the office of Messenger ship: “Warn your people before a grievous chastisement comes upon them.” (Surah Nuh 71: 1). Here the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is directed to arise and to awaken his community lost in disbelief and heedlessness. He should warn them against the inevitable punishment if they persist in their disbelief. They should be clearly told that they are not living in a lawless kingdom and are free to lead their lives as they choose. They should not entertain false perceptions that they will never be called to account for their deeds.

3. This is the first and foremost duty that a Messenger has to perform in this world. His mission consists in rejecting the greatness of all manmade idols erected by the ignorant people. He should loudly proclaim that all glory belongs exclusively to God in the entire universe. This explains why the formula Allahu Akbar (God is great) occupies such a pivotal place in the Islamic scheme of things. Adhan commences with the proclamation of the same formula. So, does a Muslim when he begins his prayer, reciting the same, and repeating it throughout the postures of prayer. Even when he slaughters an animal, he pronounces the same: “In the name of God; God is Great”. This phrase of glorification is the most distinguishing mark of Muslims throughout the world because God’s Messenger himself had embarked on his noble mission while reciting the same.

Another subtle point worth considering that emerges from the circumstantial setting of these verses, is that this marks the first occasion when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was directed to arise for discharging his honorable duty as the Messenger of God. It is perhaps needless to add that the city and society in which he was asked to proclaim the call of monotheism was the hotbed of polytheism. Not only were the Makkans, like all other Arabs, polytheists, but more importantly, the city of Makkah housed the shrine of polytheism, of which the Quraysh were the custodians. It was therefore a highly risky venture for an individual to strive single-handedly for upholding monotheism and obliterating polytheism. The Qur’anic directive for arising and warning is therefore immediately followed by the exhortation: “Magnify the glory of your Lord” (verse 3). He was thus advised to disregard the great dreadful powers of the day bent on opposing him. He should clearly proclaim that his Lord is far superior to all those determined to obstruct and impede his call. This was a great morale booster and encouragement with which God inspired the Prophet (peace be upon him) to undertake his mission, for one who has firm conviction in God’s might and glory will feel no hesitation at all to challenge even the entire world for the sake of God.

4. These words of directive have a very comprehensive meaning: “Purify your robes” carries several meanings: At one level, it is the directive for keeping the clothes free from all impurity; for the cleanliness of the body and clothes goes hand in hand with the purity of the soul. A pure soul cannot co-exist with a dirty body and unclean clothes. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was to present his message in a society steeped not only in the evils of disbelief and immorality but also it was ignorant of the basic norms of purity and cleanliness. He was to instruct them about purity of all kinds. Accordingly, he is directed here to setup a high standard of cleanliness in his outward life as well. Thanks to this directive, he presented such comprehensive instructions about the cleanliness of the body and clothes, that is unknown even to the most civilized nations of our day, what to say of the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah period. Most of the languages of the world hardly even have a word which is synonymous with the Islamic term taharah. In contrast, the works on hadith and fiqh begin with a chapter on cleanliness, dealing at length with the distinction between purity and impurity and offering detailed instruction of how to attain purity and cleanliness in life.

The second meaning of this directive is to keep one’s dress clean and tidy. Under the influence of monastic notions, it was assumed that the more unkempt and dirty a person is, the holier he is. One who was dressed decently was regarded as materialistic. These notions prevailed in the face of the fact that revulsion to impurity and dirt is innate in human nature. One who has even a little sense of decency feels at home in the company of a decently dressed person. It is therefore imperative that the one calling people to the way of God should outwardly appear so neat and clean that people receive him with great esteem. His personality and appearance should not be marred by any stain which may repel people from him.

The third meaning of this directive is that the clothes should not have any stain of moral degradation. The clothes should not only be clean and decent, but it should not betray any arrogance and vanity, ostentation, and grandeur on his part. A person’s attire is often a first and lasting impression, enabling others to assess what type of person he is. Needless to add, the dresses of the chiefs and rulers, the clergy and religious functionaries, the arrogant, morally shallow and conceited people, the depraved persons, the people given to a life of pleasure and the characterless, all represent the tastes and tempers of the wearers.

The temper of the person calling people to the way of God is naturally different and poles apart from all such people. His dress, therefore, should necessarily be distinct from all of them and should leave the impression that he is a decent and refined person, not suffering from any corruption of the heart.

The fourth meaning of the directive is: leading a pious life, keeping away from all moral evils. This interpretation is endorsed by Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, ‘Ata’, Mujahid, Qatadah, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, Hasan al-Basri and other leading Qur’an commentators. For them, the verses instruct that excellent morals and manners be observed while shunning all that is blameworthy. In the Arabic idiom, when it is said: “so and so is clean in his clothes”, it figuratively means that he is morally sound and pure; on the other hand, when it is said “he is filthy in his garments”, it implies that he is dishonest and unreliable in his words and dealings.

5. Uncleanliness includes every type of impurity, whether it is related to articles of faith and thought, morals and deeds, body and clothes, or’ lifestyle. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is directed to shun all types of vices prevalent in his society. This will not allow anyone to accuse him of indulging even in the minor vices which he is asking others to refrain from.

6. Verse 6 is quite comprehensive in its meaning. Its range of meanings cannot be translated into a single sentence. Some of the meanings conveyed by this verse are: (i) The Prophet (peace be upon him) should do favors to others without any selfish motive. His philanthropy and giving, his generosity and good treatment, should be for the sake of God alone. He should not have the slightest inclination to seek any return on the favors he did. In other words, it should be exclusively in God’s way, without expecting or winning any favor in return. (ii) The Prophet’s mission in itself constitutes a great favor to those deriving guidance from it. Yet he should not mention it as a favor to anyone. Nor should he ever use it for deriving any personal gain. (iii) Although the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been performing a very noble task, he should not regard it as his personal achievement, nor should he ever think that by risking his life and discharging his duty as the Messenger, he is doing a favor to his Lord.

7. The responsibility of Messenger ship is no doubt an arduous job. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is bound to face numerous hardships and sufferings in this cause. His own community will turn extremely hostile towards him. All of Arabia will be pitted against him, yet he should persevere for his Lord’s sake amid all the hardships. He should keep discharging his duty with utmost constancy and resolve. Fear, greed, temptation, ties of friendship, and love will try to obstruct him, yet he should withstand all the temptations and pressures and acquit himself with consistency and determination. These were some of the early directives which God gave to His - Messenger when He asked him to arise and start the work of his prophetic mission. On reflecting over these brief directives, one’s heart testifies that there cannot be any better directives that could be given at the beginning of his prophetic mission, for these clearly lay down the features of his mission and instruct him in the morals and manners with which he should adorn his life and conduct. He is instructed also about the intention, mind-set, and approach with which he should be performing his duty.

He is also warned about the difficulties with which he will be faced. At the same time, he is advised how to encounter the problems faced by him.

As to the allegation levelled by those blinded by their prejudices that the Prophet (peace be upon him), God forbid, uttered these sentences during epileptic fits they should honestly and carefully study the above verses, and judge for themselves whether these are the utterances of one suffering from an epileptic fit or are divine directives from God to the one who is about to commence his mission as the Messenger of God.

8. As already stated in the Introduction to the Surah, these verses were revealed a few months after the revelation of the initial verses of the present Surah when the public preaching of Islam commenced and the time of the first Hajj approached. This was the occasion when the chiefs of the Quraysh held a conference wherein they decided to launch a vigorous propaganda campaign designed to poison the minds of the pilgrims, who came from outside Makkah, against the Qur’an and the Prophet (peace be upon him). The above verses constitute the criticism on this strategy of the disbelievers. They are told that they are free to follow whatever they want. Even if they get some success in this life, how can they avert their terrible end in the Hereafter when the trumpet will be blown and the Resurrection held? (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. IL, Surah al-An‘am 6: n. 48, p. 244; vol. IV; Surah Ibrahim 14: n. 57, pp. 276-277; vol. V, Surah Ta Ha 20: n. 78, pp. 223-224, vol. VI, Surah al-Hajj 22:n.1, pp. 5-6; vol. IX, Surah Ya Sin 36: nn. 46-47, pp. 265-266; Surah al-Zumar 39: n. 79 and Surah Qaf 50: n. 52.)

9. Itis evident from the verse that it will be an easy day for the believers.

Only the disbelievers who had rejected the truth will be subjected to all hardships on the Day of Judgement. Furthermore, it is clarified that the disbelievers are destined for eternal punishment; their ordeal will not be lessened. No laxity is expected to replace their severe punishment.

10. The address is directed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), informing him: “You should leave the case of Walid ibn Mughirah to Me for suggesting at the disbelievers’ conference that you be discredited as a magician among the pilgrims coming from different parts of Arabia. I will deal with Walid; you need not bother about this matter at all”.

11. This statement is open to two meanings which are equally valid: (i) When Allah created Walid, he was not born with any wealth, children, or a high social position. (ii) It is God Alone Who created Walid. As to the false gods for whose sake he so vigorously opposed the Prophet's mission, they were not Allah’s associates and had no role whatsoever in his birth.

12. Walid had a dozen sons. Of them, Khalid ibn al-Walid became the most prominent in history. His sons are designated as shahud in the above verse, which may have the following meaning: (i) That they do not have to a struggle and go afar for seeking their livelihood. They are so wealthy that they are always present in their father’s company, ready to assist him. (ii) That all of his sons are prominent and influential, and accompany him in all social gatherings and meetings. (iii) That they are reckoned as reliable witnesses in all kinds of dealings in view of their high social standing.

13. His greed is insatiable. Although he is endowed with everything, he still greedily desires more. According to Hasan al-Basri and other scholars, this means that Walid used to claim that if the Prophet Muhammad’s version about life after death and Paradise is true, then that Paradise is prepared for him.

14. Reference is to the conference held by the disbelievers, which is referred to in the introduction to this Surah. It emerges from its proceedings that Walid realized in his heart and was convinced that the | Qur’an was indeed the Word of God. However, for maintaining and protecting his privileged position among his people, he was not ready to accept Islam. When he turned down the charges levelled against the Prophet (peace be upon him) by the chiefs of the Quraysh, he was obliged to frame an alternative charge which would poison the minds of Arabs against the Prophet (peace be upon him). In doing so, he tried hard to stifle the voice of his own conscience and experienced a mental ordeal, which is vividly projected in the above verse.

15. It admits the following two meanings: (i) One who is hurled into Hell is reduced to ashes yet he will not die, as he will be revived and scorched repeatedly. The same truth is stated at another place thus: “He (a sinner) will neither die nor live in the Hellfire.” (Surah al-A‘la 87: 13) (ii) Hell will not spare anyone who deserves to be chastised, and once it seizes anyone, it will not let him escape the punishment.

16. That the Hellfire will completely burn a sinner is followed by the statement: “It will scorch the skin as well,” which seems somewhat unnecessary. However, this is. mentioned to emphasize the tormenting and severe nature of its punishment, particularly of the face and skin.

One dislikes it most that his face be disfigured, though he may reconcile to the disfiguring of some internal part of the body. Likewise, any ugly marks on one’s skin also appear quite repulsive. Accordingly, it is said that those exulting presently in their beautiful faces, immaculate bodies, and unblemished skin will be severely disfigured and scorched, if they, like Walid ibn Mughirah, take to the path of mocking and opposing God’s Word.

17. The whole passage commencing from the present verse until “And none knows the hosts of your Lord but He” (verse 31) is a parenthetical statement which has been inserted here to respond to the disbelievers’ mockery when they heard from the Prophet that God had appointed only 19 angels as Hell’s keepers. They instantly began to ridicule this statement. They considered it quite bizarre that on the one hand it was said that all people from the time of Adam until the end of time who had rejected the true faith and had committed mortal sins would be cast into Hell. On the other, it was also claimed that Hell would have no more than 19 keepers to chastise such enormous hordes of people. The chiefs of the Quraysh are on record to have burst into laughter on hearing the above. Aba Jahl quipped: “Brothers, are you so powerless that ten of you together will not be able to overpower each of those 19 keepers?” A wrestler hailing from the Bani Jumah tribe boasted: “I alone will overwhelm 17 of them; all of you together should take care of the other two.” The parenthetical statement stands out as a rejoinder to these remarks by the disbelievers.

18. The strength of angels should not be foolishly likened to that of human beings. Man has no idea what tremendous power has been granted to the angels created by God.

19. Apparently, there was hardly any need for specifying the number of Hell’s keepers. God however clarifies that their number is stated as a trial for the disbelievers, especially for the hypocrites who are concealing their inner doubt about God's divinity, His boundless power, or revelation and Messenger ship. For a hypocrite, notwithstanding his show of faith, is liable to betray his lack of faith on hearing the Qur’anic statement that only 19 keepers of Hell will suffice to deal with countless number of sinners from amongst the jinn and human beings, and that they will inflict punishment on each sinner individually.

20. Some Qur’an commentators interpret this in the sense that since the Scriptures of the people of the Book specify the same number of keepers of Hell, they were likely to be convinced that this Statement is truly from God. However, in our opinion this view is unsound on the following two counts: (i) Despite our best efforts we could not locate this specific number of the keepers of Hell in their Scriptures. Moreover, they dismiss those statements which are common to the Qur’an and their Scriptures, alleging that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had plagiarized these from their sources. So, the correct interpretation of the verse in our view is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew it well that his reference to the 19 keepers of Hell will be taken as a butt of mockery. Yet this, being divine revelation, was presented by him publicly without any hesitation, disregarding the consequences of mockery to which he will be subjected. The pagans of Arabia were not familiar with the exalted status of the Messengers of God. However, the People of the Book knew it well that Messengers in every age faithfully convey the divine message, no matter how much it might be disliked by people. Given this, it was expected that at least, the People of the Book without hesitation would appreciate the Prophet's truthfulness in having honestly conveyed God’s Word. It is worth stressing that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had — acted in a similar fashion on several earlier occasions as well. The most instructive example is the event of the mi‘raj (the Night Journey) which he recounted without any reservation in the disbelievers’ gathering. He was not perturbed at all that his detractors will criticize him vehemently on. listening to this amazing account of his overnight ascent to the heavens.

21. It is stated at several places in the Qur’an that on the occasion of every trial and tribulation, a believer displays his utmost commitment to faith and abandons the path of doubt and denial, disobedience and disloyalty to his belief. Since he adheres to the path of faith with loyalty and constancy, his faith increases tremendously. (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, Surah Al ‘Imran 3: 173 p. 299; Surah al- Anfal 8: n. 2, pp. 137-138; Surah al-Tawbah 9: n. 125, p. 276; vol. IX, Surah al-Ahzab 33: n. 38, pp. 40-41 and Surah al-Fath 48: n. 7.)

22. The Qur’an generally speaks of “the sickness in the heart” figuratively for hypocrisy. In view of this word, some Qur’an commentators are inclined to the view that this verse must have been revealed in Madinah, as the hypocrites had only come into the limelight there. However, it is not correct for a number of reasons. First, it is an invalid assertion that there was no hypocrite in Makkah. We have pointed out this fallacy earlier (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. VIII, Surah al-’ Ankabut 29: Introduction and nn. 12-16, pp. 2-3 and 13-16).

Secondly, in our opinion it is not a sound practice in the tradition of tafsir writing to claim, all of a sudden, that a certain sentence which is part of a continuous discourse and was revealed on a particular occasion and circumstance was revealed on a different occasion and was inserted there without any relevance or rationale. From authentic sources that we know, this passage of the Surah was revealed in the context of a particular incident in the early phase of Makkah. The whole passage is coherent and has full relevance to the event. How could something, if revealed years later in Madinah, be appended to it? As for the meaning of “the sickness in the heart”, the reference is to the disease of skepticism and mental reservation. Not only in Makkah, but in the entire world, very few people reject outright the existence of God, the Hereafter, revelation, Prophet hood, Paradise and Hell, etc. What is more common is the streak of doubt about their existence. Generally, people feel unsure whether God, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell; and angels exist or not. Likewise, they remain doubtful about the credentials of the Messengers, and whether they did receive divine revelation or not. This skepticism in many people. often culminates into disbelief. As ‘already stated, total rejection of the articles of faith has never been a common phenomenon, for anyone with common sense realizes that the matters related to faith may be true and that these are not to be rejected out of hand, for there is no rational grounds for their outright denial and rejection.

23. This does not mean that they believed in the Qur’an as God’s Word and still expressed their astonishment over this statement. Rather, they contended that a book containing such irrational and improbable matters could not be a revelation from God.

24. God tests man from time to time by such statements. One endowed with a sound mind and heart might readily gain guidance from such a statement and follow the straight way. However, the same is used as a pretext by an obstinate and foolish person who wants to evade the truth. God guides and blesses the former for He does not misguide a seeker of truth. However, as the latter. opts for error, God lets him pursue this course. Again, it is not God’s way to compel man to follow the straightway if he is averse to the truth. (On the issue of God’s guidance to man and His leading man astray see Towards Understanding the Qur’an vol. I, Surah al-Baqarah 2: nn. 10, 16, 19 and 20, pp. 48-49, 51, and 52-53; vol. II, Surah al-Nisa’ 4: n. 173, pp. 99-100; Surah al-An‘am 6: nn. 17, 28 and 90, pp. 223-224, 231 and 271; vol. IV, Surah Yunus 10: n. 13, pp. 13-14; vol. V, Surah al-Kahf 18: n. 54, pp. 115-116 and vol. VI, Surah al-Qasas 28: n. 71, p. 288.)

25. God alone knows what kinds of creatures He has created in the universe, what powers have been granted to them, and how they should serve Him. If man inhabiting this small planet, and on the basis of the limited knowledge accessible to him through his sense of perception, passes some judgment on the universe or God’s working, it would ' betray his own foolishness, for it is beyond man to grasp even partially the working of the vast and limitless universe by his limited sight or = instruments. He cannot fathom its vastness and greatness with his very finite knowledge.

26. Man had better take heed and protect himself from the overwhelming divine punishment before it overtakes him.