Overview (Verses 40 - 46)

How to Describe Unfaith

Against this backdrop of universal signs, the surah condemns and warns those who deny God's signs and dispute His revelations:

Those who distort the meaning of Our revelations are not hidden from Us. Who is in a better state: he who is cast into the fire, or he who shall come safe on Resurrection Day? Do what you will; He sees all that you do. (Verse 40)

The warning begins in an implicit but fearful way, stating that such people "are not hidden from Us." God is fully aware of them. They will have to account for what they perpetrate, no matter how they try to distort meanings or resort to deception. They may think that they can escape God's punishment in the same way as their deception spared them accountability before human authority. However, the warning is then stated clearly: "Who is in a better state: he who is cast into the fire, or he who shall come safe on Resurrection Day?" (Verse 40)

This puts before them the prospect that lies ahead. It is they who will be cast in the fire, in contrast with the believers who will be safe on the Day of Resurrection. The verse concludes with another implicit warning: "Do what you will He sees all that you do." (Verse 40) Terrible indeed is the fate of the one who is given the freedom to do what he wills and who distorts the meaning of God's revelations when God sees all that he does.

The surah then speaks about those who specifically deny the Qur'anic revelations, describing the Qur'an as a sublime book, admitting no falsehood:

Those who reject this reminder [i.e. the Qur'an] when it comes to them ... It is indeed a sublime book; no falsehood can ever touch it openly or in a stealthy manner. It is bestowed from on high by One who is wise, worthy of praise. Nothing is being said to you other than what was said to the messengers sent before your time. Your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness, but He also inflicts painful punishment. Had We willed to make this revelation a discourse in a non-Arabic tongue, they would have said: 'If only its verses were clearly spelled out! Why [a message in] a non Arabic tongue and an Arab [messenger]?' Say: 'This is guidance and healing for all those who believe; but as for the unbelievers: there is deafness in their ears, and they are blind to it.' They are, as it were, being called to from too far away. (Verses 41-44)

The surah refers to those who reject the Qur'an when it comes to them, but does not mention their status or what will happen to them. The sentence is left without a predicate: "Those who reject this reminder [i.e. the Qur'an] when it comes to them ..." It is a case of saying that such people do something so horrible that it cannot be properly described. The surah simply mentions them and moves on to describe the reminder which they reject; thus showing their action in its true and ghastly colours: "It is indeed a sublime book; no falsehood can ever touch it openly or in a stealthy manner. It is bestowed from on high by One who is wise, worthy of praise." (Verses 41-42)

How could falsehood touch or creep into this book when it comes from God who is the truth absolute? It is a book which clearly presents the word of truth, one that is permanently linked to the truth that ensures the proper conduct of the affairs of the universe. How could falsehood come into it when it is a sublime book, given protection by God who undertakes to keep it intact: "It is We Ourselves who have bestowed this reminder from on high, and it is We who shall preserve it intact." (15: 9)

Anyone who looks carefully at the Qur'an will find in it the truth it has come to establish. We find this truth in its spirit and its text: it is simple, natural, reassuring, and addresses human nature in its totality with profound effect. Moreover, "it is bestowed from on high by One who is wise, worthy of praise." (Verse 42) Wisdom is clearly apparent in its structure, directives, the way it was revealed, and in its direct address to the human heart. God who revealed the Qur'an is worthy of praise. There is in the Qur'an much that makes our hearts eager to express its praise of God.

The surah then establishes a bond between the Qur'an and earlier revelations, and between the Prophet Muhammad, (peace be upon him), and all messengers sent before his time. Thus, all prophets belong to one family which receives the same discourse from God. Their hearts and souls look up to Him as they pursue their course advocating His message. Thus, the last in this family, the Prophet of Islam, feels that he is a branch of a great tree with deep roots, a member of a great family that goes back to the beginnings of history.

"Nothing is being said to you other than what was said to the messengers sent before your time. Your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness, but He also inflicts painful punishment." (Verse 43) It is all one message and one faith. Likewise, it is received in the same way: the same rejection and the same objections. Yet it establishes one bond, making one family which endures the same experience and feels the same pain. Ultimately, it follows the same way, leading to the same goal.

How comforting this fact is to advocates of the Divine message. It strengthens their resolve to continue along the same way that was traversed before them by God's noble messengers, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and the others, (peace be upon them all). How honoured and confident the advocates of God's message feel knowing that they follow in the footsteps of such a select group. Such a feeling motivates them to go along, caring little for the difficulties and hardships they meet on the way.

It is certainly true: "Nothing is being said to you other than what was said to the messengers sent before your time." (Verse 43) The impact this fact can have when it becomes firmly established in the minds of believers is truly profound.

Included in what was said to God's messengers, and to Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last among them, was: "Your Lord is the Lord of forgiveness, but He also inflicts painful punishment." (Verse 43) Thus balance is emphasised. A believer then hopes for God's grace and forgiveness, never despairing that these will be bestowed on him by God's will, but always fearing to incur God's punishment. Striking the right balance is an essential characteristic of Islam.

The surah then reminds the Arabs of God's blessing by making Arabic the language of the Qur'an. At the same time, it refers to their contentious disputes and rejection. "Had We willed to make this revelation a discourse in a non Arabic tongue, they would have said: 'If only its verses were clearly spelled out! Why [a message in] a non Arabic tongue and an Arab [messenger]?" (Verse 44) They do not listen to it in its Arabic form. In fact, they feared it because it addressed their Arab nature in their own language. Hence, they urged each other to adopt this strategy: "Do not listen to this Quran, but drown it in frivolous talk, so that you may gain the upper hand." (Verse 26) Had God expressed His message in a different tongue, they would still have objected to it, calling for it to be put clearly in Arabic. They would object even if part of it were in Arabic and the other part in a different language. Their notion, therefore, was to argue in all cases and all situations.

The truth that emerges from this argument about the form given to the message is that this book provides guidance and healing to believers. Believers' hearts appreciate its nature and truth, receive its guidance and benefit from its healing. Those who do not believe remain in confusion, and their hearts do not feel the cheerfulness of its message. Hence, it becomes like deafness to their ears and blindness in their eyes. They recognise nothing, because they are far removed from the nature of this book and its address: "Say: This is guidance and healing for all those who believe; but as for the unbelievers: there is deafness in their ears, and they are blind to it. They are, as it were, being called to from too far away." (Verse 44)

We feel the truth of this statement in every community and generation. Some people are profoundly affected by the Qur'an. It transforms them, giving them a different type of life, and enables them to achieve miracles within themselves and in their environment. Others feel this Qur'an too heavy for their hearts and ears. When they listen to it, they only grow more deaf and blind. The Qur'an never changes; it is hearts that are different.

A reference follows to Moses and his book, and how his people differed in their attitude to the Qur'an. God has deferred His judgement on their disputes. He has decreed that judgement on all this will be given on the Day of Judgement: "We gave the Book to Moses but disputes arose about it. Had it not been for a decree that had already been issued by your Lord, all would have been decided between them. As it is, they are in grave, disquieting doubt about it." (Verse 45) Likewise, He has decreed that judgement on the question of His final message will be similarly deferred. He thus lets people do as they like, and they will ultimately receive what their action merits: "Whoever does what is right does so for his own good; and whoever does evil will himself bear its consequences. Your Lord is never unjust to His creatures." (Verse 46)

This message proclaims that mankind have attained maturity. This makes man responsible for his choices. Such responsibility is based on individual accountability. Therefore, each one is free to choose, knowing that "your Lord is never unjust to His creatures."