Overview (Verses 21 - 25)

When Prophets Are Killed

Those who deny God’s revelations, and slay the Prophets against all right and slay people who enjoin equity among all people: promise them a painful suffering. It is they whose works shall come to nothing in this world and in the life to come; and they shall have none to help them. Have you considered the case of those who have received a share of revelation? When they are called upon to accept the judgement of God’s book in their affairs, some of them turn away and pay no heed. For they claim: “The fire will most certainly not touch us save for a limited number of days.” They are deceived in their own faith by the false beliefs they used to invent. How, then, will it be with them when We shall gather them all together to witness the Day about which there is no doubt, when every soul will be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged? (Verses 21-25)

The first verse in the above passage, verse 21, warns against a painful suffering. Its timing is not specified. Hence, it is to be expected either in this life or in the life to come. It is coupled with an assurance that all their works shall come to nothing in either life. This is given in a highly vivid mode of expression which draws upon a well-known image of an animal grazing in a poisoned area. It swells up before it dies. Similarly, the actions of such people may appear to gather momentum and to yield great results. This is no more than the swelling up of a poisoned animal prior to its death. All their actions are thus aborted and they will have no one to help or defend them.

We note that the denial and rejection of God’s revelation is coupled in the Qur’ānic statement with the totally unjust killing of the Prophets — for there can be no right respected when a Prophet is killed. Furthermore, the killing of those who enjoin equity in human life, which is a reference to those who advocate the implementation of the code God has laid down for human life, which is based on justice and which alone can maintain absolute justice, suggests that the warning is directed at the Jews, for such are their distinctive qualities in history. This does not mean that the warning is not also directed to Christians who in the past killed many thousands of followers of doctrines which were at variance with that adopted by the Roman Empire, including those who declared that God was One and that Jesus Christ was a human being. This latter group are included among those “who enjoin equity among all people.” It is also a permanent warning to anyone who may perpetrate such ghastly crimes, and these may live in any and every age.

It is worth remembering that when the expression “those who deny God’s revelations” is mentioned in the Qur’ān, it does not simply refer to those who may declare themselves to be unbelievers. Instead, anyone who does not acknowledge the oneness of God and that He alone is worthy of worship is included in this group. Such a recognition entails that the authority to legislate and to set values and standards for human life belongs only to God. Anyone who claims or attributes any measure of that authority to anyone other than God is either an idolater or an unbeliever, even though he may claim a thousand times that he believes in God. The verses which follow confirm this view.

“Have you considered the case of those who have received a share ref revelation? When they are called upon to accept the judgement of God’s book in their affairs, some of them turn away and pay no heed.” This is clearly a rhetorical question, one so delivered as to emphasise the contradiction in the attitudes of those who have received a share of revelation. The reference here is to the Torah in respect of the Jews and the Bible in respect of the Christians. Each one is simply “a share” of God’s Divine revelation, a portion of all the revelations God has vouchsafed to His messengers, which emphasises the unity of Godhead, and the fact that God alone conducts the affairs of the universe. All such revelations are in essence a single book; part of it was given to the Jews, and another part was given to the Christians while the Muslims received the whole book. This is because the Qur’ān embodies all the bases of faith and confirms all messages God revealed in the past. It is certainly something to wonder at, when those who “have received a share of revelation” are called upon to accept the judgement of God’s book in their disputes and in all the affairs of their lives, but they nevertheless do not respond positively. Some of them are left behind. They turn their backs on God’s legislation, an action that is in flagrant contradiction to their stated belief in any portion of His book. In other words, it belies their claim that they follow God’s revelations: “Have you considered the case of those who have received a share of revelation? When they are called upon to accept the judgement of God’s book in their affairs, some of them turn away and pay no heed.” (Verse 23)

God invites us to wonder at the people of earlier revelations when some of them, not all, refuse to allow God’s book to judge in their affairs of both faith and life. What, then, should our attitude be towards those who claim to be Muslims, but who nevertheless banish God’s law from their lives, ‘While they continue to claim to be Muslim? This is, indeed, an example given by God so that Muslims should know the true nature of faith, generally, and Islam, in particular. They must be careful lest they themselves become subject to God’s condemnation for their attitude. If God Himself so denounces the attitude of the people of earlier revelations who did not claim to be Muslims simply because they refused to accept the judgement of God’s book in their affairs, what degree of denunciation or condemnation would be suitable for Muslims who adopt a similar attitude? There is no doubt that they would incur God’s anger, be totally rejected by God and live in utter misery, deprived of Divine Mercy in any form.

The cause of their contradictory, erroneous attitude is then given: “For they claim: ‘The fire will most certainly not touch us save for a limited number of days.’ They are deceived in their own faith by the false beliefs they used to invent.”

This, then, is the reason for people turning their backs on the judgement of God’s book. It places them in total contradiction with their claim to be believers or followers of Divine revelation. They simply do not take seriously the notion of reckoning on the Day of Judgement. Nor do they consider as serious the administration of Divine justice. The import of their claim is that they will not suffer the fire except for a limited number of days. How is this possible when they deviate from the most fundamental principle of faith which imposes on them the duty to accept the judgement of the Divine book in all matters? How can they make such a claim if they truly believe in God’s justice, or even if they feel that they will definitely be raised to God on the Day of Judgement? What they state is simply an invention which they themselves perpetrate, and by which they are then deceived: “They are deceived in their own faith by the false beliefs they used to invent.”

It is indeed a fact that believing seriously in meeting God cannot be combined with such a futile notion in respect to His justice and reward. No man can combine fear of God and punishment on the Day of Judgement with turning his back on God’s rulings outlined in His book or the implementation of His law in human life.

These people of earlier revelations stand in the same position as those whom we meet today who claim to be Muslims but who turn their backs when they are called upon to implement God’s laws in their lives. Some of them even go further than this and impudently claim that human life has nothing to do with religion. They say that there is no need to impose religion on the practical side of human life, or on economic, social, and indeed family relations. They, nevertheless, continue their claim to be Muslims. Some of them are so naïve that they believe that God’s punishment will be limited to purifying them of their sins only and that thereafter they will be admitted into heaven. They ask in absolute naivety: “Are we not Muslims?” It is the same false belief which was maintained by such people of earlier revelations. They show the same conceit and they deceive themselves with the same false beliefs which have no foundation in the religion God has revealed. Both groups are the same in their rejection of the very
basics of faith and in their isolation from its fundamental practical expression, namely, submission to God and total obedience to His commands in all affairs of life, which they receive through His messengers.

How, then, will it be with them when We shall gather them all together to witness the Day about which there is no doubt, when every soul will be paid in full what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged? (Verse 25)

How? This is a very stern warning which every believer shudders to face since he knows that that Day will inevitably come and that God’s justice is certain to be done. That belief is in no way weakened by any false hopes or invented beliefs. This warning applies to all: idolaters and atheists, those who claim to follow earlier revelations and those who claim to be Muslims. They are all alike in the essential fact that they do not submit to God in their lives.

“How, then, will it be with them when We shall gather them all together to witness the Day about which there is no doubt,” and when God’s justice is done? “Every soul will be paid in full what it has earned,” without any injustice or favouritism. “They shall not be wronged,” nor shall they receive any favours.

It is a question which remains without answer. Man’s heart shakes when it imagines what will happen.