Divine Punishment
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009Qur’aanic Verse 7.167:
Transliteration:
167. Wa-ith taaththana rabbuka layabAAathanna AAalayhim ila yawmi alqiyamati man yasoomuhum soo-a alAAathabi inna rabbaka lasareeAAu alAAiqabi wa-innahu laghafoorun raheemun
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Translation:
167. And when your Lord declared that He would certainly impose upon them, till the Day of Resurrection, those who would treat them badly, your Lord indeed is quick to requite and indeed He is Forgiving, Merciful!65
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Study Note:
65. This divine declaration applies to all those who ‘forgot what they had been reminded of’ (see Verse 7.165). It’s not that divine punishment was meted out only on those ancient, pre-historic peoples. It is meted out on modern, historic peoples also, although it is done now in indirect ways, unlike in the past. And this indirect divine punishment will continue to be meted out, on this earth itself, till the Last Day. It comes in the form of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes etc. It also comes in the form of despotic rules like that of Hitler against the Jews or of Israel against the Palestinian Arabs. The victims are those who ‘forgot what they had been reminded of’. And the last divine Reminder is the Qur’aan. The victims transgressed the limits of ‘forgetting’ what they had been reminded of. And the despots should not think that they would go scot free. Remember what happened to the Pharaoh of the ancient ages and to Hitler of the modern age.
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Above is an extract from Qur’aanic Studies - Volume XVIII. Please offer your feedback in the space provided below.
Mohammad Shafi
