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52- وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ نَادُوا شُرَكَآءِيَ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَّوْبِقاً

53- وَرَأَى الْمُـجْرِمُونَ النَّارَ فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مُّوَاقِعُوهَا وَلَمْ يَجِدُوا عَنْهَا مَصْرِفاً

52. " And (remember) the Day (of Judgment) when He will say (to the polytheists): 'Call on those whom you considered to be My partners.' So they shall call on them, but they will not answer them, and We will cause between them a valley of perdition."

53." And the evildoers will see the Fire, then apprehend that they are falling into it, and will find no escape from it.”

Commentary:

Those who separate from Allah will wander and resort to everything. They appeal to men down to matters and animals, from sun and moon in the sky down to cow and calf on the earth, from immaculate angles down to the evil Satans. But whatever the more they call, the less they hear an answer, while if they call Allah (s.w.t.) they will surely be answered. Therefore, this verse warns them again, saying:

" And (remember) the Day (of Judgment) when He will say (to the polytheists): 'Call on those whom you considered to be My partners.' …"

You were boasting of them for a lifetime. You used to prostrate before them. Now that the waves of punishment and

retribution have surrounded you from every side, you may call on them to help you at least for an hour.

It seems that they have still the kind of thoughts of this world in mind, so they call on them, but these imaginary deities do not even respond to their call, much less they haste to help them. Therefore, Allah makes a place of perdition between these two groups. The verse says:

" …So they shall call on them, but they will not answer them, and We will cause between them a valley of perdition."

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The end of the followers of Satan and polytheists is stated in the verse, as follows:

" And the evildoers will see the Fire, …"

The Fire, which they had never believed, will appear before their eyes. It is in this condition that they comprehend their mistake in the past. So the verse says:

" …then apprehend that they are falling into it, …"

And they shall also apprehend in certainty that they will find no way of escape from that blazing Fire. The holy verse continues saying:

" …and will find no escape from it. "

Neither do their simulated deities come to help them, nor are the intercession of the intercessors useful for them, nor can they relieve from the grasp of the Fire of Hell, the blazing Fire which their own deeds have lighted by means of telling lies and falsehood, and by having recourse to wealth and force in this world.

Then, at the end of the verse, the holy Qur'an implies that the sinners will not have any chance of escape from the

punishment in Hereafter, because deliverance is either under the shade of correct belief, or because of the Divine forgiveness based upon repentance and righteous deeds, which are not available for them; or because of intercession which their idols are not able to obtain. Thus, Hell is certain for them.

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Section 8

Allah is Forgiving and the Lord of Mercy

Allah is Forgiving – The Lord of Mercy Who never hastens to requite for the evils of
men – but defers punishment

54- وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِى هَذَا الْقُرْءَانِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ وَكَانَ الإِنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلاً

55- وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَآءَهُمُ الْهُدَى وَيَسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّهُمْ إِلآَّ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمْ سُنَّةُ الاَوَّلِينَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ قُبُلاً

54. “ And indeed We have explained in this Qur'an every kind of similitude for mankind, but man, of most things, is contentious.”

55. “ And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and seeking their Lord's forgiveness, except that the wont of the ancients should come upon them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them.”

Commentary:

The Qur'anic term /sarrafna/, in this verse, means that 'We have spoken to them in different statements and through any style and logic which may affect on them'.

The Arabic word /jidal/ means 'dispute' in a form of conflict and demand of preference.

Beside the positive qualities the man has, like having a divine spirit, being superior to the angels with their prostration unto him, having the ability of penetration and subjecting the existence to himself, and the like of them, he has also many negative epithets, such as disputation, which have been referred to in the verses of the Qur'an.

Then, in this holy verse: the Qur'an deduces a kind of conclusion from the last discussions, and it also hints to the coming discussions. At first, it says:

“ And indeed We have explained in this Qur'an every kind of similitude for mankind, …”

These explanations include the shaking history of the old nations and the painful events of their lives, and that what happened before. They were described for the people whether they were sweet or bitter. The affairs were so much detailed that those hearts which were receptive and eager to receive the truth, might grasp the truth, and there remained no room for obscurity.

Yet, some rebellious arrogant people never believed, because man, more than anything else, tends to dispute. The verse says:

“ …but man, of most things, is contentious.”

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Then, in the next verse, it implies that with these many different examples and through some shaking statements and various logical reasoning, which must absorb any receptive person, again a great group of people did not believe. Of course, nothing restrained them that when the Divine guidance came to them they would believe and seek forgiveness from their Lord, save that they acted obstinately as if they wanted the fate of the ancient to come for them, too, or the divine

punishment should come in front of them and they see it by their own eyes. The verse says:

“ And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and seeking their Lord's forgiveness, except that the wont of the ancients should come upon them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them.”

In fact, the abovementioned verse points to this fact that this arrogant and obstinate group will never believe with their willing and decision. They may believe only in two circumstances. The first is at the time when the painful punishments, which seized the ancient nations, surround them. The second circumstance is that they do see the divine punishment with their own eyes. This constrained faith, of course, will be worthless.

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56- وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلاَّ مُبَشّـِرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَيُجَادِلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِالْبَاطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا بِهِ الْحَقَّ وَاتَّخَذُوا ءَايَاتِى وَمَآ اُنذِرُوا هُزُواً

56. " And We do not send the messengers save as bearers of good tidings and warners, but those who disbelieve dispute with falsehood in order to refute the Truth thereby; and they have taken My signs, and what they are warned of, in mockery."

Commentary:

The prophets' mission is to give glad tidings to the believers and to warn the disobedient, but with no compulsion upon people to accept the Truth. It is by the prophets (a.s.) that Allah completes the argument to humankind. By the way, awareness of Allah's way of treatment and the prophets' messengership, the reaction of people, and the end of the arrogant nations, is a kind of consolation for the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) . Therefore, in order to comfort the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) against the arrogance and obstinacy of the opponents, the Qur'an says that his duty is only to give good tidings and to warn. The verse says:

" And We do not send the messengers save as bearers of good tidings and warners, …"

Then the verse implies that this is not a new matter that such people oppose the Truth and mock it, but disbelievers always dispute with falsehood. They imagine that they can refute the Truth with it and, therefore, they take Allah's revelations and His punishments, which they are promised to, in mockery. The verse says:

" …but those who disbelieve dispute with falsehood in order to refute the Truth thereby; and they have taken My signs, and what they are warned of, in mockery."

In fact, their dispute on the way of proving the falsehood was to force the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to bring some verses and miracles alongside their desires, so that if he did not do as they wished, they would take it as a proof and introduce his Book, the Qur'an, invalid. Thus, the disbelievers used to apply the Qur'an, the Resurrection, and the Fire of Hell as a means of mockery.

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57- وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكّـِرَ بِاَيَاتِ رَبّـِهِ فَاَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْراً وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى فَلَن يَهْتَدُوا إِذاً أَبَداً

57. " And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the sings of his Lord, then he turns away from them and forgets what his hands have forwarded? Verily We have laid veils on their hearts lest they understand it, and a heaviness in their ears: and if you call them unto guidance, even then will they never get guided in that case at all."

Commentary:

Being heedless to the divine revelations, and having no contemplation on them, is the greatest injustice. So, in this holy verse, the Qur'an says:

" And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the sings of his Lord, then he turns away from them and forgets what his hands have forwarded? …"

The application of the term /oukkira/ (is reminded) in the verse, perhaps, is an indication to this meaning that the prophets' teachings are of the remembrance of the facts which have existed naturally in the depths of man's soul. The mission of prophets is to make these facts manifest. In this regard, Imam Ali-ibn-Abitalib (a.s.), qualifying the divine prophets, says: "…Allah sent His prophets toward them

(people) to get them fulfill the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties. …"(1)

It is interesting that, in this verse, the Qur'an teaches the lesson of awareness to these inwardly blind persons in three ways. The first is that these facts are quietly acquainted with their nature and conscience. The second is that they have come from the side of their Lord. And the third is that they should not forget that they have committed some faults in their lives, and the mission of the divine prophets is to wash them out from them.

But these arrogant people, with all these indications and implications, will never believe, because the veil of sin has been laid on their hearts, and the veil of heaviness of crime has been laid on their ears and, therefore, they do not hear the sound of the Truth.

Similar to this meaning, Sura Luqman, No. 31, through verse 7 says: "And when Our revelations are recited to him, he turns back proudly, as if he had not heard them, …" In other wards, it is like that the veils of lust, imitation from their fathers, and the temptations of Satans and men, have fallen on their hearts and, consequently, they have lost their wisdom so that they never understand and they never regret from their indecent actions and, therefore, never they renounce them. They show that, as a deaf person, they have not heard it. Such people have lost the eligibility of being guided and have plunged in aberration.

It is in this case that Allah informs His Messenger (p.b.u.h.) that if he invites them to the guidance and felicity, they will never be guided and they will never believe that this

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