In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

This passage of the sūrah comments on the accounts that have just finished of the histories of the communities to whom the Prophets Noah, Hūd, Şāliĥ, Lot and Shu`ayb were sent. We have here an explanation of the rule God has laid down which ensures that His will is done when He punishes those who deny His messages. It is the same rule and principle which shapes human history in one very important aspect. God inflicts tribulations and hardship on those who reject His messengers so that their hearts may soften and they turn to God, acknowledging His oneness and recognizing that the only course of action open to them is to submit to His overpowering authority. If they do not respond, then He tries them with affluence and good fortune. He opens up for them all types of blessings and leaves them for a while to enjoy their prosperity. All this, however, is a means of trial.

People’s prosperity causes them to lead a life of recklessness, negligence and heedlessness, because they tend to think that fortunes change by themselves, and a life of plenty is simply bound to follow a period of hardship, without any particular purpose or design.

When they feel that what they have experienced is the same as was experienced by their forefathers, without any particular purpose in all this design, God’s punishment is certain to take them unawares. They do not understand God’s purpose when He tries them with affliction and prosperity. They cannot comprehend why people’s situations change every now and then. They have not guarded against incurring God’s anger, preferring to live like animals until they are smitten by God’s punishment. Had they believed in God and followed the right course, their situation would have changed and blessings would have opened up to them. God would have bestowed His grace on them and they would have been made to receive His blessings from everywhere, giving them reassurance and a happy future.

God then warns the new generations against a life of recklessness. He calls on them to be alert and to appreciate the lessons of past generations and how they met their doom. They themselves are also subject to God’s laws of nature, which will remain in operation, exercising their influence on human history across all periods and generations.

This short commentary concludes with an address to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), telling him that these histories are being related so that he learns how God’s law has been given effect. It tells him of the true position of those communities: “We found that most of them were untrue to their commitments; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verse 102) He is the last Messenger, and his followers are the nation which inherits the divine message in its totality. They are the ones to benefit by past lessons.

Never have We sent a prophet to any city without trying its people with tribulations and hardship that they may supplicate with humility. We then replaced the affliction with good fortune till they throve and said, `Hardship and good fortune befell our forefathers as well.’” We then smote them, all of a sudden, while they were totally unaware. Yet had the people of those cities believed and been God-fearing, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings out of heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We smote them on account of what they had been doing. (Verses 94-96)

We are not told here of any particular incident, but an important aspect of the natural law God has set in operation is highlighted. We are told how fate is determined. We thus learn that there is a law which sets matters into a particular pattern, dictating events, and shaping human history on earth. We learn that the divine message itself, important as it is, can be regarded as one of the means of implementing the divine constitution, which is far greater in scope than the message.

Matters do not simply happen by themselves. Man does not stand alone, as alleged by later day atheists. Whatever takes place in the universe is part of an elaborate scheme, and has a definite purpose, serving an ultimate aim. The law of nature is devised by an absolutely free will which has shaped the constitution. It was in accordance with that law, operated by God’s free will, that those communities, whose history was related in this sūrah, met their fate.

According to the Islamic concept, man’s will and action are factors of great importance in determining the direction of his history and how it is to be interpreted.

But man’s will and action must be seen within the context of God’s free will and absolute power. Within this context, man’s will and action come into direct interaction with the entire universe. This means that there are many factors and situations which have a strong bearing on human history giving it greater scope and depth. When we understand this, then, any attempt to explain human history in purely economic, biological or geographical terms is far too narrow and petty.

“Never have We sent a prophet to any city without trying its people with tribulations and hardship that they may supplicate with humility.” (Verse 94) Far be it from God to punish His servants physically or cause them to go through adversity that affects their persons or their property for idle play. Such trials could never be motivated by hatred or the desire for revenge, as pagan legends make out. God tries with tribulations and adversity those who deny His message. By nature, such a trial reawakens human hearts and rekindles the light of goodness encouraging weak human beings to turn to God Almighty, their Creator, humbly appealing to Him to grant them forgiveness and bestow His mercy on them. By such humble supplication they declare their submission to Him, which is the ultimate aim of human existence.

God does not need that human beings should supplicate humbly to Him and declare their submission: “I have not created the jinn and human beings to any end other than that they may worship Me. No sustenance do I ever demand of them, nor do I demand that they feed Me. Truly, God Himself is the provider of all sustenance, the Lord of all might, the eternal.” (51: 56-58)

As clearly stated in a sacred, or qudsī ĥadīth, if all human beings and jinn were as pious and obedient to God as the most pious and obedient person that ever lived, that would not increase God’s kingdom in any way. Conversely, if all human beings and jinn were as wicked as the most wicked person that ever lived, that would not decrease God’s kingdom in any way. But people’s supplication and submission to God is of great benefit to them. It sets their lives on the right course. When human beings declare that they submit to God alone, they actually free themselves from submission to anyone else, particularly to Satan who tries hard to lead them astray, as mentioned earlier in this sūrah. They also free themselves from the yoke of their desires. They break the shackles of subjugation to other people and feel too ashamed to follow Satan’s guidance or to incur God’s displeasure through any action or purpose, particularly when they realize that they seek His help to remove any affliction they may suffer. This helps them follow the right course.

It is because of this that God’s will is such that He tries any community who rejects His guidance, provided through His prophets and messengers, causing them to experience physical adversity and loss of property. Such pain may open up the elements of goodness in their nature and awaken their consciences. Thus, they may turn to God, seeking His mercy and appealing to Him to replace their affliction with comfort and reassurance.

But then God may decide to change the type of trial: “We then replaced the affliction with good fortune.” (Verse 95) Thus, every aspect of difficulty is replaced by an aspect of comfort and happiness. People begin to enjoy affluence, ease, blessings, good health, fertility, numerical strength and security after they had experienced poverty, hardship, depression, poor health, sterility, numerical weakness and fear. But the change of fortunes is no more than a new trial.

A test exposing people to hardship may be met with perseverance, because hardship may sharpen the elements of determined resistance. It may remind those who are good at heart of God, so they turn to Him with earnest supplication which gives them hope, reassurance and a promise of better things to come. A trial with affluence is withstood by only a few, because affluence makes people forget and riches cause them to feel self-sufficient. Hence, they indulge themselves seeking every type of pleasure. Such a test is passed only by a very small number of people.

“We then replaced the affliction with good fortune till they throve and said, Hardship and good fortune befell our forefathers as well:” (Verse 95) This statement indicates that they had increased in numbers and enjoyed an easy life, tasting every pleasure, to the extent that they no longer hesitated to do anything they desired, nor did they feel embarrassed by any action. The Arabic term which is translated here as “they throve” also connotes a certain attitude of mind which is rather careless, even bordering on recklessness. It views everything as easy, and acts on impulse. This attitude is very common among affluent people who enjoy riches for a long period, whether at the individual or community level. It is an attitude that suggests a blunted sensitivity and a care-free attitude. They spend and enjoy themselves with recklessness and they care little for the rights of others. No cardinal sin or ghastly crime seems to worry them. They do not care if they incur God’s wrath or people’s criticism. They do not reflect on the trials to which other people have been exposed.

They think that life just goes on, without a purpose or a definite goal.

“They throve and said, ‘Hardship and good fortune befell our forefathers as well.’” (Verse 95) They look at it as if it is the turn of a repeated cycle. They have had their turn in adversity and now they are due for some good fortune. This all just happens without any particular consequence. At this moment, when they are totally heedless, indulging themselves in all sorts of transgression, their fate is sealed in accordance with God’s law: “We then smote them, all of a sudden, while they were totally unaware.” (Verse 95) They had gone so far astray that they no longer felt ashamed of anything they did. To fear God does not occur to them at all.

Thus we see how God’s law operates, fulfilling His will. Human history thus moves by human will and human action, within the context of God’s will and the laws He has set in operation. The Qur’ān reveals this fact to human beings and warns them that they must prove themselves when they are subjected to a trial of adversity or a test of affluence. It kindles in them a state of alertness which brings back to them a sense of fearing the outcome which befits what they do in this life. Those who do not respond, and continue in their erring ways wrong only themselves because they expose themselves to God’s punishment which is certain to engulf them. No one will suffer any injustice.

“Yet had the people of those cities believed and been God fearing, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings out of heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We smote them on account of what they had been doing.” (Verse 96) This is the other part of the natural law God has set in operation. Had the people of those cities believed instead of denying God’s messages, and had they been God-fearing instead of being careless, God would have opened up for them blessings from heaven and earth. They would have been given such blessings in abundance, without restriction. God’s blessings would have come to them from above and beneath. The Qur’ānic expression is so general that it imparts a sense of great abundance that is not limited to what is familiar to human beings of provisions and sustenance.

This statement and the one preceding it put in front of our eyes certain facts that relate to faith on the one hand and to human life in this world on the other. They also touch on a factor that has a great influence on human history, even though it is often overlooked and indeed denied by man-made theories and philosophies. That fact tells us that the question of having faith in God and fearing Him is not isolated from the reality of life and the course of human history. To believe in God and to fear Him qualify people to receive blessings from heaven and earth. This is a promise given by God, and God is always true to His promises.

We who believe in God accept this promise as true without having to ask first about its reasons or causes. We have no hesitation in expecting that it will come true.

We believe in God, and consequently in what lies beyond human perception; therefore, we believe in the fulfilment of God’s promises. But when we reflect on God’s promise, as indeed we are ordered to do by our faith, we soon realize its causes. A person who believes in God has an alert nature, sound natural reception, accurate understanding, a healthy human constitution and a keen interaction with the universe. All these elements tend to ensure success in real life.

Moreover, faith in God represents a strong motivation. It streamlines all aspects of the human constitution and directs them to a single goal, allowing them to derive strength from God’s power and release them to implement His will in building human life on earth and safeguarding it from all elements of corruption. Again, all this tends to ensure success in practical life.

To believe in God is to be free from being enslaved by desire or by other people.

There is no doubt that a human being who achieves his freedom through submission to God is, as a result, better able to fulfil man’s task of building human life on earth.

To fear God is to combine awareness with wisdom so that we can steer away from rashness, recklessness and conceit as we go about our business in this life. It is a quality that directs human effort sensibly and carefully so that whoever has that quality does not transgress or exceed the limits of acceptable behaviour.

When people maintain a balance between incentives and restraints, working on earth but always looking up to heaven, free from the tyranny of human desire, submitting to God Almighty, human life maintains a steady course and yields wholesome fruits. In this way people deserve God’s help after having earned His pleasure. Hence, it will be a blessed life that earns success and prosperity. Viewed from this angle, the whole question is one of visible facts that have their unidentifiable causes, in addition to its being part of God’s promise.

The blessings God promises to those who believe in Him and fear Him are given a strong emphasis. They come in a wide variety of shapes and forms but they are not outlined in detail or mentioned in name. The Qur’ānic statement, however, gives an impression of abounding grace that comes from every direction, without any limiting definition. Hence, the reference is to all types and forms of blessings, whether those that are familiar to human beings or those that can only be visualized in their imagination. But they also include what human beings cannot conceive or imagine.

Those who imagine that faith in God and steering away from what incurs His anger are questions of pure worship and have no bearing on practical life have no true knowledge of faith or life. They are better advised to look at this very real relationship which God Himself confirms. Needless to say, His testimony is more than enough to prove anything. Nevertheless, this relationship can be recognized by people if they will only look at different situations in life and recognize their causes:

“Yet had the people of those cities believed and been God fearing, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings out of heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We smote them on account of what they had been doing.” (Verse 96)

Nevertheless, we see communities and people who claim to be Muslims going through hard times when they experience drought and very poor crops. At the same time, we see communities who are devoid of faith and have no fear of God, yet they enjoy abundance, power and influence. These contrasting situations lead people to ask: where is this unfailing law of nature, and why does it not operate?

But all this is mere delusion based on appearances. The people who claim to be Muslim are not believers in reality, nor do they truly fear God. They do not sincerely submit to God alone, nor do they implement in practical life the basic article of faith which requires them to declare that there is no deity other than God. They submit themselves to fellow human beings who claim for themselves a position of Godhead and begin to legislate laws for them and set values and standards. Such people are not believers, because a believer will never acknowledge that any creature can fill the position of Godhead. He will never allow a fellow human being to determine the laws that shape his life. When the predecessors of those who today claim to be Muslims were true believers, they became the masters of the world. Blessings from heaven and earth were opened up for them in fulfilment of God’s promise.

Those others enjoying a life of affluence are only going through a different stage of the operation of the law of nature: “We then replaced the affliction with good fortune till they throve and said, ‘Hardship and good fortune befell our forefathers as well.’” (Verse 95)

It is then a test of plenty, which is far more difficult than a trial of adversity. There is an essential difference between what such people enjoy and the blessings God promises to those who believe in Him and fear Him. Blessings can be given with limited means if people can use those means well and combine them with goodness and a sense of reassurance, security and happiness. Many a rich and powerful community goes through a life of misery, insecurity and hollow ties between its people. The people themselves are worried, apprehensive of losing their power. It is a situation of strength without security, affluence without contentment, plenty without goodness. It is a bright present to be followed by a miserable future. It is a test that is certain to lead to doom.

The blessings that come with faith and a God-fearing attitude can be experienced in all situations, both within the human being himself and in his feelings, as well as within all enjoyable aspects of life. These blessings give growth and elevate life to a higher standard. They are so different from affluence that is combined with misery and immorality.

The sūrah has thus established the fact that God’s law is set in operation and will never fail, as confirmed by the history of former communities. Now that feelings are high about the doom that befell those who rejected the faith and overlooked the purpose of their test, the sūrah addresses those who have so far overlooked these facts of life. It tries to awaken in them a sense of expectation, alerting them to the fact that God’s might may strike them at any time of day or night, when they are asleep, at work or having fun: “Do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them at dead of night when they are asleep? Or do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them in broad daylight when they are playing around? Do they feel themselves secure from God’s designs? None feels secure from God’s designs except those who are losers. Is it not plain to those who have inherited the earth in succession of former generations that, if We so willed, We can punish them for their sins and seal their hearts, leaving them bereft of hearing.” (Verses 97-100)

Having been told of God’s law that exposes people and communities to tests of adversity and affluence, and having seen the doom that befell those who rejected the divine message in former times, do the people of the present generation feel so secure that they assume that God’s might will not strike when they are totally unaware? Do they feel so immune against God’s might striking at dead of night when they are fast asleep? They should remember that a sleeping person is powerless, unable to take precautions or even repel a weak, small insect. How could he prevent a mighty strike from God, when no human being, however alert and strong can resist or prevent it?

Or do they feel secure that God’s might will not strike in broad daylight when they are engaged in their play? Enjoyable activities, or play and fun, normally preoccupy man and totally distract his attention. A person who is absorbed in his play, having fun, can hardly resist an enemy’s strike. How can he resist a strike from God when no human being, at his most alert and highest state of preparedness can avert it?

The fact is that God’s might is far too powerful to be resisted by all human beings, whether they are asleep or awake, preoccupied or alert, but the sūrah points out the moments of human weakness to shake people and attract their attention. This is the effect of expecting a strike at a moment of weakness when one is totally unaware while realizing that people cannot escape such a strike even at their moments of strength. In both situations, man is totally powerless when confronted by God’s might.

“Do they feel themselves secure from God’s designs?” (Verse 99) Can they have any immunity against what God plans for human beings when He does not reveal those plans to them so that they can guard against them? If they feel so secure, then the fact is that “none feels secure from God’s designs except those who are losers.” (Verse 99)

Utter loss is indeed the result of an attitude that continues to overlook the facts of history and prefers a sense of false security. Those who adopt such an attitude earn such a loss. How can they feel secure, when they have inherited the earth from people that have been destroyed as a result of their erring ways, and who were punished for adopting the same attitude of disregarding those basic facts? The destiny of those nations should have taught them some good lessons.

Is it not plain to those who have inherited the earth in succession of former generations that, if We so willed, We can punish them for their sins and seal their hearts, leaving them bereft of hearing. (Verse 100)

The laws of nature God has set in operation will never fail, and His will is certain to always be done. So what guarantees people’s security against the punishment God may inflict on them for the sins they have committed, in the same way as He punished earlier communities? How can they be safe from having their hearts sealed so that they cannot even listen to divine guidance? For that would ensure that they receive punishment for following the wrong path. The fate of earlier communities and the fact that the laws of nature remain operative should give them sufficient warning to make them fear God and follow His guidance. This would require them to get rid of their sense of false security and to be on their guard. They should benefit by the lessons of earlier communities so that they do not have to suffer the same fate.

In giving this warning in the Qur’ān, God does not want people to always live in fear, worrying that He may cause their immediate destruction at any moment of the night or day. Such a constant fear of the unknown, and permanent worry about the future, and such an expectation of destruction may paralyse people, deprive them of their abilities and lead them to a state of despair. They would then stop working and refrain from fulfilling the task of building human life on earth. What God wants from them is that they should always be on the alert, watching their own actions, paying heed to other people’s experience, identifying the elements that shape human history and remain always in touch with God, not allowing prosperity to make them lead an easy, careless life.

God promises human beings a life of security, reassurance and prosperity in this world and in the world to come, if they would only submit to His will and fear Him enough to avoid everything that leaves a stain on human life. He invites them to enjoy security under His protection, trusting to His might, rather than their own material power. They should seek what He has in store for His obedient servants, rather than the luxuries of this world.

Life has known generations of believers who feared God and never thought themselves immune from His will or trusted to anyone other than Him. Such people had a keen sense of their faith, and because they enjoyed God’s support they felt reassured, able to overcome Satan and his designs. They lived a goodly life, implementing God’s guidance, fearing no human beings, because they feared God alone.

This is how we should understand the constant warnings against the overwhelming might of God and His designs that cannot be foiled. We will then realize that such warnings should not lead us to worry and fear, but to be keenly alert. These warnings do not paralyse life but make sure that it does not sink into a state of carelessness and transgression.

At the same time, the Qur’ānic method addresses all human situations and stages of development, at the individual and community levels, providing the right treatment to each one of them, at the right time. It administers a dose of security, trust and reassurance that God’s help will be forthcoming whenever they are threatened by hostile forces. At the same time, it provides a sense of keen apprehension that God’s punishment may be forthcoming whenever people yield to worldly forces and temptations. God certainly knows best how His creation responds to all elements and influences.

Having outlined, with highly inspiring touches, the operative rules of nature, the sūrah addresses God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) informing him of the net outcome of putting those communities to trial, pointing out certain facts about the nature of faith and disbelief, as well as the nature of human beings, as seen in those communities: “We have related to you parts of the history of those communities. Messengers from among themselves came to them with clear evidence of the truth; but they would not believe in what they had formerly rejected. Thus does God seal the hearts of the unbelievers.

We found that most of them were untrue to their commitments; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verses 101-102)

This history is clearly stated to have been revealed by God. The Prophet could not have learnt it from any source other than revelation.

“Messengers from among themselves came to them with clear evidence of the truth.” (Verse 101) But no evidence was of benefit to them, because they continued to reject the message after having received that evidence in the same way as they rejected it before such evidence was given them. They simply would not believe in what they had already rejected. No matter how clear the evidence of the truth is, it will not lead such people to adopt the faith. What those people lacked was not plain proof of the truth, but rather open hearts and minds, and a keen desire to receive guidance. They lacked an active nature that receives and responds. When they refused to open their minds to elements of guidance, God sealed their hearts and they could no longer give any proper response: “Thus does God seal the hearts of the unbelievers.” (Verse 101)

The history of those communities reveals a predominant fact: “We found that most of them were untrue to their commitments; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verse 102) The commitment mentioned in this verse may refer to the pledge God has received from human nature and to which reference is made later in the sūrah: “Your Lord brought forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, and called them to bear witness about themselves: Am I not your Lord?’— to which they answer: ‘Yes, indeed, we do bear witness that You are.’” (Verse 172) It may also refer to the commitment to faith given by their forefathers who followed God’s messengers, but subsequent generations deviated, as happens indeed in every community.

Successive generations deviate gradually until they go out of the fold altogether and sink back into ignorance, or jāhiliyyah.

Whatever the commitment is to which the sūrah is referring here, the fact remains that most of those communities were untrue to it. They followed their own fleeting whims and shifting desires. They could not fulfil their pledges.

“Indeed we found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verse 102) They deviate from God’s faith and from their original commitment. This is the result of following one’s capricious desires and taking solemn commitments lightly. Whoever turns away from God’s guidance, lacking the determination to fulfil the commitments he has made to Him, is hound to move away from faith into corruption and transgression.

That was true of the people of those communities, and that was their end.