‘He Forgives or Punishes Whoever He
Wants’
Parts of some verses in the Quran
contain phrases like the following:
يغفر لمن يشاء ويعذب من يشاء
(3/128) which are traditionally translated as, ‘Allah forgives
whoever He wishes and punishes whoever He wishes’. Such interpretation can
only, and has, led to a concept of God who is whimsical, unpredictable,
unsystematic and moody. This divine behavior is much like that of earthly
absolute monarchs of ‘royal disposition’ in the words of the famous Persian
poet Saadi Shirazi. This is quite contrary to the Quranic
concept of Allah. Let us have a look at it.
Punishment (عذاب)
is usually taken to be eternal fortune in Hell. But, the Quranic use
of the term
عذاب encompasses much more. Consequences
of all wrong human actions – realizable both Here and in the Hereafter ---
is
عذاب in Quranic terms. So much so
that a sentence from a court of law is also
عذاب .
Maghfara (مغفرة
) does not mean ‘forgiveness’. Linguistically, it means to arrange for
protection. Please refer to chapter 4 where we saw that there is a period of
wait between an action and its result. If someone uses this period
accordingly, the probable bad consequences of an action can be averted. That
is
مغفرة protection
(1).
Let us now see who deserves
عذاب and how. Sura Maaeda talks
about the sins committed by the Jews and says: “Very bad it is what they
have sent on for themselves. They deserve divine punishment and shall
be punished
(1) I have dealt at length with this subject in my work
‘Jahan-e-Farda’ (Tomorrow’s World), dealing with the Hereafter.
accordingly” (5/80). Sura Aal-e-Imran,
after having talked about sins by the Jews – rejecting the Divine Law,
murdering their prophets and social reformers – says: “Tell them, O
Messenger, of the (impending) torturous punishment” (3/20).
A little further on, the Sura says:
“Those who reject the divine laws are punished severely (with
عذاب ) in this world and also in the
Hereafter” (3/55). Also: “Those who reject Allah’s laws get
عذاب in Here and in the Hereafter and
can never buy themselves out of it, even if they spend all the money in the
world!” (5/36). Sura An’aam says: “Those who deny Our guidance, shall
be subjected to punishment (عذاب
) because of their transgression” (6/49). Sura Tauba: “The opponents
of the Muslims are under the erroneous arrogance because of their wealth and
numbers. This very misconception shall lead them in the battlefield!” (9/52,
9/85). Sura Hood: “These people neither think nor care, nor listen to
anyone, nor see where they are going. How can they escape punishment?”
(11/18-24, 2/7).
Some verses use ‘rahma’ as an antonym to
‘azaab’. Sura Aal-e-Imran says: “O the Convinced! Take care
and not behave like those who, after having had clear guidance from Allah,
began squabbling and split up in factions. They are the ones who will get a
big punishment when the consequences of all actions will be realized. On
that occasion, some faces will come alight (as a result of their good deeds)
while others will go dark because they had reverted to rejection of
Allah’s laws after having adopted them. They will be told to have the
taste of the punishment ‘for your rejection’. The bright faced people, at
the same time, shall be under Allah’s ‘rahma’ (safety of
protection) – (3/104 – 106).
It is obvious from all the above that
punishment comes to men because of their own actions (Law of Returns or
the Law of Allah’s Will). The verses
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Interpretation of
من يشاء
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where the subject of
من يشآء is Allah (whosover
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He wants) refer to Allah’s Will. Sura
A’raaf reports Moses praying to Allah: “O Allah, bestow on
us the niceties of Here and the Hereafter!” Allah replied: “(If you
wish to avoid My punishment, be informed that) My punishment befalls
according to (the Law of) My Will (under systematic rules, not whimsical
decisions), As to My ‘rahma’ (Safety of Protection), it covers the
entire universe but it is destined only for those among men who abide by Our
laws, establish a universal system of sustenance and are fully convinced of
the validity of Our laws; also for those who will follow Our illiterate
Messenger, mentioned in the Torah and the Bible, who will enact the good and
prohibit the bad ….. “ (7/155-156).
Sure Beni Israel: “O Messenger! Tell My
adherents to converse nicely among themselves & be fair in their dealings
because the Devil wants to split you up in warring factions. Don’t follow
him as he is your sworn enemy. Allah knows what you do! If (your
deeds are) according to Allah’s will, you will deserve His ‘rahma’
(Safety of Protection); otherwise, punishment (azaab) will befall
you. It is entirely upto them to chose between Allah’s ‘rahma’
and ‘azaab’. O Messenger! You have not been appointed to force them
to make the right choice! (17/54).
----------- x – x – x – x ------------
Let us now examine ‘maghfara’.
It can have two applications: 1) In an
epidemic, people with a greater power of resistance escape it --- in the
Quranic set-up, this type of ‘maghfara’ comes
Two Applications of
‘maghfara’
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take against calamities. 2) The epidemic
victimizes one who survives but is left very weak and recovers fully when
properly treated – in the Quranic setup, this type of ‘maghfara’
comes with ‘tauba’ (repentance). The Quranic concept of
‘tauba’ may be illustrated by the example of a wayfarer who, taking a
wrong turning, goes away from the intended destination. As soon as he
realizes the mistake, he turns back and returns to the spot where the wrong
turning was taken. This return is known as ‘tauba’ But obviously,
returning to the spot of mistake is not enough. One must resume the journey
on the right path. That is ‘good deeds’ in the Quranic terms. This
concept is elaborated in Sura Nisa: “To Allah ‘tauba’
is for those who happen to make an error due to ignorance but return as soon
as they realize it; in that case Allah (His Law) also returns to them
.. “ (4/17). Subsequent to this first step, “and then if the returnee does
good deeds out of conviction, only then shall he be among the successful”
(28/67).
The other application of
‘maghfara’ is based upon the principle:
Good Deeds Neutralize Bad One
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bad ones” (11/114). All this should clarify the
verse (3/128) at head of this chapter. That is, whoever stubbornly
refuses to learn from mistakes, gets
mistakes will escape it. It is illustrated in
Sura Maaeda where a thief’s punishment is mentioned. The verse goes
on to say: “and whoever returns after his wrong deed, and does good,
Allah shall return to him. Surely, Allah is the provider of
‘maghfara’ (safety of protection) and ‘rahma’ (niceness)”. But,
why should ‘maghfara’ and ‘azaab’ go hand in hand? It is
because the Quran wanted to create a realistic balance between the
two extremes of the Jewish (all punishment, no forgiveness) and the
Christian (all mercy, no punishment) value-systems. The Quran says:
“Don’t they know that it is Allah who controls supreme over all
universe? He does it through His Laws. Similar divine laws have been
suggested for human societies so that the application of punishment (عذاب)
and safety of protection (مغفرة)
is done according to laws & principles given by Allah” (5/38-40).
It follows, therefore, that a
culprit should be punished only if he / she persists in criminal activity.
Repentance and reformation must result in forgiveness. “Whether you expose
or conceal whatever is in your hearts, Allah takes it all into
account. Then, punishment or forgiveness is decided according to His laws –
and Allah has set laws for everything” (2/284). Elsewhere: “Whosoever
so wishes may get (through one’s actions) punishment (عذاب)
or niceness (رحمة)
“ (29/21).
Sura Maaeda refers to
the Jews and the Christians claiming to be
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Allah Has No Favorite
Offspring
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them from punishment. The Quran replied
by asking: “Punishment in the Hereafter aside, why does Allah punish
you in Here? Allah has no children, favorite or otherwise. He
punishes or protects people according to His laws as to Him alone is the
control of the entire universe” (5/18)
The same sura explains: “Allah has
promised safety or protection and great rewards to those who are convinced
of His laws and then do good deeds accordingly” (5/9). In Sura Fath,
after having spoken of the worthy attributes of ‘Mohammed, the Messenger of
Allah, and the people with, him says: “Allah has promised
safety of protection and great reward to the Convinced who do good deeds” –
(48/29). Sura Hood gives safety of protection and great reward as the return
of good deeds and steadfastness” – (11/11). This is repeated in (33/35).
Sura Ahzaab, after having listed the attributes of Muslim men and women,
says: “Allah has for them ready the safety of protection and a great
reward” – (33/35).
Contrarily; ‘polytheism’ cannot get safety of
protection (4/48; 4/116); “people who commit rejection of Allah’s
laws and are unfair, and persist, cannot get ‘maghfara’ “ – (4/168).
The basic principle of reward and punishment is
so beautifully given in the following verse:
“Why would Allah punish you if you are
convinced of the validity of His laws and use his bounties properly?”
(4/147).
Another important aspect of the Quranic
system of punishment and forgiveness is the individual circumstances of
the accused involved. For example, two
Punishment according to
Circumstances
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should not have a similar sentence if their
individual circumstances differ in background, i.e., upbringing, education,
awareness etc. That is why, the Quran proposes that women of
possession
(1) be given half the normal sentence (4/25), whereas ladies of the
Messenger’s family were to be sentenced TWICE of the usual! (33/30-32),
In addition to the individual, collective
situation of a society must also be taken into consideration because ‘when
vices spread widely in a society, Evil takes over (76/7), sparing no one
from its effect. Therefore, the Convinced
take care of such an evil as it does not
confine itself only to the wrong-doers” .… (8/25). For example, a broken dam
floods not only the areas of bad workmen
Individual are Bound by Society
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completely detached from the situation. That is
why the Quran emphasizes reformation of society as a whole which will
automatically affect individuals. ‘Al-Deen’ is a social system which
brings peace to its members. This was the point made by Omar ibn Al-Khatab,
the second Caliph, when he punished the employer whose mistreatment drove
some of his employees to stealing food! In another instance, Omar suspended
the punishment for stealing food (just enough to quench hunger) during
famine.
*********************************
The misconception that salvation and
forgiveness is not dependent upon Man’s deeds but on Allah’s whims
and moods has sent Muslims down the
(1)
At the advent of Islam, buying, selling
and possessing women for concubinage and other purposes, was part of
life. The Quran refers to them as ‘those possess by your right
hands’. That was to be temporary for all practical purposes.
Subsequently, the Quran outlawed the practice.
erroneous idea has led them to beliefs and
practices such as this: No matter how many wrong or bad deeds one commits,
Allah will forgive one if one recites 33 times the chant of ‘Please
Allah, forgive’ after every prayer. The Quranic truth,
however, is: “This is the Paradise you are inherited with because of your
deeds!” (43/72) Today, Muslims believe that they will enter Paradise
only because of Allah’s benevolent mood and momentary sweet will. The
fact of the matter is that the Quran has said:
“Do you think you will enter Paradise
easily? Nay, you haven’t yet gone through the harsh stages like peoples of
by-gone ages – so harsh that the earth shook under their feet and the
messenger and his companions wondered when Allah’s help would come!
Allah consoled them by glad tidings of the imminent divine support”
(2/214).
Mohammed, the Messenger of Allah, is reported to have said: “Paradise
exists under the shade of swords!”
Sadly, that is not the end of the
story. Incredible as it may appear, the fact is that one of the two
most authentic works of Hadith (the Messenger’s
Pride in Sins
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tradition), MUSLIM, reports the following from
Mohammed:
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Sin or Allah will perish
you
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don’t sin at all, Allah will remove you
and replace you with those who will indulge in sins and then seek Allah’s
forgiveness”.
No wonder the crime and sin rates are unabated
in most Muslim societies!
Adherents to the mystical tradition, sufis,
have reported fantastic stories
Mystics, too!
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to make the point. One particular episode: “A devotee,
after
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having worshipped Allah for twelve years
in a jungle, heard the divine: Say what you want? Searching for a reply, he
noticed a sage (actually, the Devil) appeared and suggested asking for
justice. His request for justice was replied by: ‘OK. You sat and worshipped
on a stone for twelve years. Justice demands that this stone sits atop you
for twelve years! After those painful twelve years, Allah inquired of
his request once again. This time, the mystic, having learned his lesson the
hard way, asked for Allah’s benevolence. He was rewarded by
appointment to the rank of ‘Qutub’ (a high ranking in the traditional
mystic hierarchy), with the admonition:
‘Remember, justice is demanded by the devilish.
Muslims always seek Our Benevolence!’
The source of such ideas appears to be the
Christian dogmas invented by St. Paul. In one of his letters in the New
Testament, he writes: ‘Your have
your deeds. It is God’s gift’ – (Afseeoon,
2/8,9). Elsewhere: ‘Therefore, we conclude that Man is considered righteous
because of belief, not because of deeds of religion’ --- (To the Romans:
3/28).
This established the Christian
dogma of ‘God is Mercy’. Such concepts found their way into Muslim
philosophy, supported by fabricated traditions like: ‘No one among you shall
enter Paradise because of deeds!’ – (from Taj al Uroos).
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