11. Hud

The discussion on the meaning of such verses has been previously mentioned in Sūrah Al-Baqarah. The Qur’ān is a book whose verses have been perfectly constructed, in which you will see no flaw nor any deficiency. Then it was explained by mention of the lawful and unlawful, instructions and prohibitions, promises and threats, narrations etc. It is from the One Who is Wise in His handling of affairs and legislation and Who is Aware of the condition of His servants and what is in their best interests.

These verses revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) prohibit people from worshipping anyone besides Allah. I, O people, warn you of Allah’s punishment if you disbelieve in Him and do not obey Him; and I give you good news of His reward if you have faith in Him and practise His sacred law.

Seek, O people, forgiveness for your sins from your Lord and repent to Him with remorse over your shortcomings. He will give you good provision in this worldly life until the end of your fixed lifespan. He will give every person who has merit, by following Him and doing good, a full reward for such behaviour without any decrease. If you turn away from having faith in what I have brought from my Lord, then I fear for you the punishment of a day whose horrors are intense, which is the Day of Judgement.

To Allah alone is your return, O people, on the Day of Judgement and He, may He be glorified, has power over everything. Nothing is outside His ability. It is not difficult for Him to give you life and take you to account after you die and are raised up.

These idolaters bend their backs and lower their heads in order to hide from Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). When they cover their heads with their clothing so that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) does not see them, turning away from what he brought, Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. He knows the intentions that are in the heart. Nothing is hidden from Him.

There is no creature that walks on the surface of the earth, whatever it may be, except that Allah has undertaken, through His grace, to provide for it. He, may He be glorified, knows where it lives on earth and He knows where it will die. The provision, place of living and place of death for everything – including creatures – are in a clear book, which is the Preserved Tablet.

He, may He be glorified, is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in their magnificent form, and He created whatever is in them in a period of six days. Before He created them, His Throne was on water. He created all of this in order to test which of you, O people, is best in doing actions that please Allah and which of you does actions that anger Him. He will repay each group according to what they deserve. If you, O Messenger, say, ‘You, O people, will be resurrected after you die to be taken to account’, then those who disbelieve in Allah and reject the resurrection will say, ‘This Qur’ān that you recite is nothing but sheer magic and it is clearly false’.

If I postpone the punishment that the idolaters deserve in this world for a period of a few days, they will attempt to mock the punishment by asking for it to come quickly, by saying, ‘What is it that is holding the punishment back from us?’ Of course, the punishment that they deserve has a fixed time with Allah, and on the day when it comes to them they will not find anyone to avert it from them. Instead, the punishment that they used to poke fun at by asking for it to come quickly will fall upon them and surround them.

If I give man a blessing from Me, such as health or wealth, and then I take away that blessing from him, he loses all hope of My mercy and becomes extremely ungrateful for My blessings, which he forgets when they are taken away.