In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

This surah, revealed in Makkah, describes some aspects of the reception Islam received from the idolaters. It reports their facile answers to its arguments and signs, states their stubborn rejection of the truth and shows how they unashamedly pursued desire. The Qur’an also portrays their minds as sealed to Divine guidance, straying in whatever direction their fancies led them. Yet the Qur’an continued to confront them with God’s signs, reminded them of God’s punishment and described His reward and His laws that operate in the universe.

As the surah describes those who opposed the message in Makkah, we see a group of people who insisted on going astray, who stubbornly rejected the truth and who were rude in their description of God and His revelations. Such people are described in the surah in the terms they deserve. They are also warned against God’s grievous and humiliating punishment: “Woe betide every lying, sinful person who hears God's revelations being recited to him, and yet persists in his haughty disdain, as though he had not heard them. So, give him the news of painful suffering. When he learns something ofOur revelations, he ridicules it. For such people there is humiliating suffering in store. Hell lurks behind them; and all that they may have gained shall be of no avail whatsoever to them, nor shall any of those which they took for their protectors beside God. Grievous suffering awaits them ” (Verses 7-10)

We also see a group of people, perhaps belonging to those who received earlier revelations but who were given to ill thoughts and misjudgement. They paid little attention to the truth of faith and saw little difference between those who did evil and those who did good works. The surah makes it abundantly clear to them that there is a huge difference between these two types on Gods scales. It describes them as ill-judging and makes it clear that God judges all on the basis of absolute justice, which has been ingrained within the core of the universe since the beginning of creation: “Do those who indulge in sinful deeds think that We shall place them, both in their life and their death, on an equal footing with those who believe and do righteous deeds? Flawed is their judgement. God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth, so that every soul shall be recompensed according to its deeds. None shall be wronged.” (Verses 21-22)

We also see the person who has no criterion other than his own desire for judging anything. For this type, desire is the deity he worships and obeys. The surah wonders at such people and publicizes the fact that they are blind to the truth: “ Consider the one who takes his own desires as his deity, and whom God has [therefore] let go astray despite his knowledge [of the truth], sealing his ears and heart and placing a cover on his eyes: who can guide such a person after God [has abandoned him]? Will you not, then, take heed?' (Verse 23) Such people deny the life to come altogether, express grave doubts about the issue of resurrection and accountability and they stubbornly reject the truth asking for proofs that cannot be given in this life. The Qur’an directs such people to consider the signs and proofs already in place. They, however, remain oblivious to these: “ They say: 'There is nothing beyond our life in this world. We die, we live, nothing but time destroys us.9 Of this they have no knowledge whatsoever. They merely guess. Whenever Our revelations are recited to them in all their clarity, their only argument is to say: 'Bring back our forefathers, if what you claim be true.’Say: ‘It is God who gives you life, then causes you to die; and then He will gather you all on Resurrection Day of which there is no doubt, though most people do not understand. (Verses 24-26)

It is possible to read all these descriptions as pointing to a single type of people. It is equally possible that they are different groups, all of which were opposed to the Islamic message during its period in Makkah. They would, thus, include some people to whom revelations were given in former times, but these would have been very small in number in Makkah at that time. Yet this reference to people of earlier revelations need not point to a particular group in Makkah; it may just be a pointer to a type of people that others should be made aware of.

Be that as it may, the Qur’an confronts these people, highlighting as it does their qualities and behavioural patterns. It describes for them God’s signs all over the universe and within themselves, warning them that they will have to face the reckoning on the Day of Judgement. It also cites what happened to communities before them when they abandoned Divine faith.

In the first instance, God’s signs are put before them in a profound, effective and simple way: “Surely, in the heavens and the earth there are signs for those who believe. And in your own creation, and in the animals God scatters on earth there are signs for people of sure faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and in the means of subsistence God sends down from the skies, reviving with it the earth after it had been lifeless, and in the shifting of the winds there are signs for those who use their reason. Such are God's signs that We recount to you, setting forth the truth. In what discourse will they then believe, if they deny God and His revelations?' Jesses 3-6)

The surah then refers to other signs, showing them as blessings and favours granted by God, but the rejecters are oblivious to the message these impart: “It is God who has subjected the sea for you, so that ships sail through it by His command, and that you may seek of His bounty, and that you give thanks. And He has subjected to you, as a gift from Himself, all that is in the heavens and on earth. In this there are signs for people who think* (Verses 12-13)

The surah also shows the unbelievers what they will be like on the Day of Resurrection, which is something they deny altogether: “ When the Last Hour strikes, those who follow falsehood will on that Day lose all. You will see every community on its knees. Every community will be summoned to its record: ‘ Today you shall be requited for all that you did. This Our record speaks of you in all truth; for We have been recording everything you do.' Those who believed and did righteous deeds will be admitted by their Lord into His grace. That will be the manifest triumph. And as for the unbelievers, [they will be asked]:

‘When My revelations were recited to you, did you not glory in your arrogance and persist in your wicked ways? For when it was said, “God's promise will certainly come true, and there can be no doubt about the Last Hour,"you would answer, “We know nothing of the Last Hour.

We think it is all conjecture, and we are by no means convinced.The evil of their deeds will become clear to them, and they will be overwhelmed by the very thing they used to deride. It will be said to them: ‘Today We shall be oblivious of you as you were oblivious of the coming of this your Day! The fire will be your abode, and you will have no one to help you. Thus it is, because you received God's revelations with ridicule and allowed the life of this world to beguile you.' Therefore, they will not be brought out of the Fire on that Day, nor will they be given a chance to make amends." (Verses 27-35)

The surah leaves absolutely no doubt about the fairness of the requital or each persons individual responsibility. This fundamental principle is shown to be central in the way the universe came into existence and in the way it is maintained: “ Whoever does what is right benefits himself; and whoever does evil causes himself harm. In the end to your Lord you will all return." (Verse 15) This is further clarified as the surah responds to those who do evil yet consider that they will be on an equal footing with those who believe in God and do good deeds: “God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth, so that every soul shall be recompensed according to its deeds.

None shall be wronged." (Verse 22)

In the way it addresses its subject matter, the surah is one single whole, but we have divided it into two parts for easier study. It begins with the two separate letters, Ha, Mlm, adding a reference to the Qur’an: “This Book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise." (Verse 2) It concludes by addressing all praise to God, the absolute Lord of all the universe. This glorification of Him contrasts with the attitude of those who remain oblivious to His signs and who ridicule His revelations: “All praise is due to God, the Lord of the heavens, the Lord of the earth and the Lord of all the worlds. His alone is all supremacy in the heavens and the earth. He alone is the Almighty, the Wise." (Verses 36-37)

The surah is characterized by its easy flow and a soft beat that contrasts with the strong rhythm of the preceding surah, Smoke. God, the Creator of people s hearts and the One who has bestowed this Qur’an from on high, sometimes addresses people in a strong and hard way, at other times with gentle touches, and then again sometimes with a soft and quiet beat. He takes into account their different conditions, circumstances, attitudes and responses. His knowledge is absolute and His wisdom infinite.