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Incidentally, simply being righteous is not sufficient, one must be encouraging others to be righteous as well. Therefore, to emphasize this reality, the Qur'an implies that the reason why Allah eradicated these peoples was because there were no righteous reformists among them. It was not the case that the Almighty oppressively sought the destruction of established communities despite attempts being made to purify them of all impurities. The verse says:

" Nor would your Lord destroy the townships unjustly while their people acted well. "

Whenever a society was oppressive as a whole but had rediscovered itself, and was about to reform and alter itself, there would be reason for it to remain, while if it remained oppressive and did not try to reform, and purge itself of its evil ways, there would be no reason for it to survive.

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(118) وَ لَوْ شاءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً وَ لا يَزالُونَ مُخْتَلِفينَ

118. " And had your Lord willed, He would have made mankind a single people: yet they cease not differing. "

Commentary :

‏Allah's way of treatment in creation of men is based on liberty, and freedom in choosing their own ideas and beliefs. Man's choice and freedom to choose his way of life and ideas has been frequently referred to in the Glorious Qur'an. That is, although Allah leads man towards Himself, He does not impose His will upon him by force, and He has not commanded the sublime Prophet(p.b.u.h.) to compel people, He has only demanded him to remind people of their duty, and show them the right path. The holy Qur'an in this regard says: "Therefore do thou give admonition, for you are one to admonish". "Thou art not one to manage(men's)affairs. "(1)

Thus, Allah reveals the virtuous path in such a way that human nature, discriminating between good and evil, recognizes them from within itself, and for this reason, from out ward, He sends the prophets(a.s.) to guide mankind. It is the man himself who must fully and voluntarily select his own way, the Path of Truth or the path of evil and wrongdoing. Therefore, He has alluded to one of the prominent traditions in the course of creation which is the basis of other affairs that relates to human beings. It is the individual differences relating to the mind, the body, personal views, zeal and love as well as the issue of man's freedom of will.

(1) Sura Al- Ghashiyah, No. 88, verses 21 # 22

The Qur'an remarks that if Allah wanted He could have created a single nation out of mankind(but He did not do such a thing)and human beings have always had differences to settle. This is emphasized in order to show that His insistence for obeying His commands does not reflect a lack of ability to put everyone on one track and on one predetermined path. It stands to reason that such a faith would be of no use. Nor would such a homogeneous, unified and compulsory faith based upon involuntary motives lead anywhere, it would reflect no personality distinctions, no means of development and growth, and have no basis for rewarding the good.

Man's supreme value essentially lies in his freedom of will which differentiates him from other existing beings. Different tastes, different ways of thinking, indeed, differences of personality and intellectual makeup all form parts of one society, providing multiple aspects of those dimensions that make man who he is and it is that which gives him a distinct status.

It is also natural that once freedom of will comes in the scene, differences regarding ideas and schools of thought must exist.

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(119) إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَ لِذلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ وَ تَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَ النَّاسِ أَجْمَعينَ

119. " Except those on whom your Lord has Mercy; and for that(mercy)did He create them. And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled: 'Certainly I will fill Hell with jinn and the mankind together'. "

Commentary :

In this verse the Qur'an indicates that the people disagree with each other in their acceptance of the Truth except those upon whom is Allah's Mercy. The verse says:

" Except those on whom your Lord has Mercy; ..."

However, this Divine blessing is not confined to a certain group, but all humankind can benefit from it if they want.

Those who wish to come under Allah's favor will find an open gate for His all inclusive Mercy and Grace which are made available to mankind through their own reasoning, the guidance of the prophets, and heavenly Books which have been revealed to them. The verse says:

"... and for that(mercy)did He create them. And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled: "

Once they utilize these favors and blessings the gates of Paradise and eternal bliss will be opened for them, otherwise, the command of Allah has been issued that He will fill Hell with the disobedient and arrogant ones from among the Jinn and men. The verse continues saying:

"... 'Certainly I will fill Hell with jinn and the mankind together'. "

(120) وَ كُلاًّ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْباءِ الرُّسُلِ ما نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤادَكَ وَ جاءَكَ في‏ هذِهِ الْحَقُّ وَ مَوْعِظَةٌ وَ ذِكْرى‏ لِلْمُؤْمِنينَ

120. " And all that We relate to you of the account of the messengers is something in order that with it We make firm your heart and in this there has come to you the Truth, and an admonition and a reminder to the believers. "

Commentary :

In this verse and in the verses that follow, with which Sura Hud ends, there is a general conclusion which sums up the issues discussed thus far.

As the main part of this Sura dealt with the didactic stories of the prophets and the former generations of mankind, the Qur'an summarizes the precious results of these stories under four topics by saying that the stories of each of the prophets have been mentioned to reinforce the heart of the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) in order to strengthen his will. The verse says:

" And all that We relate to you of the account of the messengers is something in order that with it We make firm your heart ..."

Afterwards, referring to the second most important result of those stories, the Qur'an implies that it brings to light the facts and realities concerning life and death, the victories and defeats, and the factors concerning the success and failure of communities. It continues saying:

"... and in this there has come to you the Truth, ..."

The third and the fourth consequences are that they provide the faithful with exhortations, and reminders of the results of good or bad conduct. It says:

"... and an admonition and a reminder to the believers. "

This verse stresses once again that the historical facts which have been revealed by the Qur'an must not be taken lightly or used for amusing audiences, for they form the best instructional guidelines in all aspects of life for all people in all times.

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(121) وَ قُلْ لِلَّذينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُوا عَلى‏ مَكانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عامِلُونَ

(122) وَ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ

121. " And say to those who do not believe: 'Act according to your ability; we shall do(our part)'; "

122. " And wait you! We too are surely waiting. "

Commentary :

Allah commands the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) when confronting their stiff- neckedness and obstinacy to do the same as the previous prophets did and say what they said, that the disbelievers should do all that is in their power and do not spare in their efforts, and the Prophet and the believers will do likewise. The verse says:

" And say to those who do not believe: 'Act according to your ability; we shall do(our part)'; "

He also should tell the unbelievers to wait and see and the believers too, will wait and see, for one side will win and the other will be defeated. The verse says:

" And wait you! We too are surely waiting. "

The unbelievers seek the defeat of the believers but the latter will wait for the real Divine punishment which the unbelievers will receive either by means of the hands of the believers or directly from the side of Allah.

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(123) وَ لِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ وَ إِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَ تَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ وَ ما رَبُّكَ بِغافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

123. " And to Allah(alone)belong the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and to Him the whole affairs will be returned; Then worship Him, and put(all)your trust in Him, and your Lord is not heedless of what you do. "

Commentary :

The last verse of this Sura deals with monotheism:(the monotheistic nature of knowledge, the monotheistic view of acts, and also the monotheistic way of worship), just as the beginning verses of the Sura that had dealt with knowledge of monotheism.

In fact, three sub sections of monotheism are indicated here. First, it refers to the monotheistic nature of Allah's knowledge saying that the knowledge of the hidden realities of the heavens and the earth belongs only to Him, and it is only He Who is aware of all secrets hidden and revealed. The verse says:

" And to Allah(alone)belong the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, ..."

The knowledge of everyone besides Him is confined and limited and even this very limited knowledge is received from the Divine source. Therefore, omniscience, the essential knowledge, regarding the whole things throughout the entire universe, is particular to Him alone.

On the other hand, referring to the monotheistic nature of acts, the Qur'an says that it is He Who is in command of all

acts, and all things will be returned to Him. It continues saying:

"... and to Him the whole affairs will be returned; ..."

The third point is said as a conclusion to these statements which is that unlimited knowledge and endless power belong solely to Him and everything will eventually return to Him, therefore we should worship Him alone and trust only in Him. It says:

"... Then worship Him, and put(all)your trust in Him, ..."

This stage of monotheism is the stage of worship and abstinence from all unruly behaviour, misconduct, rebellion, and sin, for Allah is not unaware of all that we do. It continues saying:

"... and your Lord is not heedless of what you do. "

(10)

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