This is the second opening passage of the sūrah, following the first that spoke of the truth of God’s existence as it is reflected in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the origination of darkness and light. It is further reflected in the creation of man from the very substance of this earth, determining the term of his first life that ends in death while keeping secret another time fixed for resurrection, and in God’s full knowledge of what people may do and have done both in public and in private.

This existence of the Divine Being is unique, unlike any other existence, because there is no creator other than God. It is so clear and overpowering that to deny it, in spite of all the great signs testifying to it, is an unjustifiable enormity.

When the sūrah portrays the attitude of the unbelievers who oppose the Islamic message in the face of such undeniable and overpowering existence, their attitude appears singularly insupportable. Thus, the Qur’ān wins this first round, scoring its win in the depth of people’s nature, despite their apparent and stubborn rejection.

This passage of the sūrah portrays this unreasonable stubbornness, issuing on the one hand a stern warning and on the other a reminder of the fate of earlier rejecters.

The admonition is stacked with various but highly effective touches that follow the initial jolt that shakes people’s hearts at the outset of the sūrah.

Whenever a revelation comes to them from their Lord, they [who are unbelievers] turn their back upon it. Thus they have denied the truth now that it has come to them. In time, they shall have full information about that which they used to deride. Do they not see how many a generation We have destroyed before them — people whom We had made more powerful in the land than We have made you, and for whom We sent down abundant water from the sky, and made rivers flow at their feet? Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and raised up another generation in their place. (Verses 4-6)

It is clear that turning away from the truth is an obstinate position taken by the unbelievers, and this in the face of all the evidence pointing to its error. They do not lack signs and pointers which guide people to faith, nor do they lack evidence to prove the truth of the message and the genuine honesty of the Messenger conveying it, nor do they lack evidence of Godhead. These are the basic concepts they are called upon to accept. All they lack is the will to respond to clear evidence, overcome irrational stubbornness and reflect on the truth presented to them: “Whenever a revelation comes to them from their Lord, they [who are unbelievers] turn their back upon it.” (Verse 4) Such deliberate obstinacy against all evidence and clear signs needs the threat of severe punishment to jolt them out of their attitude, remove the barriers of their conceit and reawaken their natural responses: “Thus they have denied the truth now that it has come to them. In time, they shall have full information about that which they used to deride.” (Verse 5)

The truth has come to them from the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who has brought into being darkness and light and created man out of clay. It is He alone who is God in the heavens and on earth, and who has full knowledge of all that people keep secret or do openly, as well as all that they earn. What has come to them from Him is the truth, and they have rejected it, insisting on describing it as false, turning away from Divine revelations and deriding the call to faith. Hence, they are told to watch for the true information which is certain to come to them concerning that which they used to scorn. This is a general threat given without any details of its nature or timing. Thus, they are kept in suspense, waiting, expecting at every moment to receive what they are threatened with of unspecified suffering.

Their attentions and minds are drawn to the calamities that befell past nations which, like them, rejected the truth. They even had some knowledge of those nations and what happened to them in the remains of the people of `Ād of al-Aĥqāf and Thamūd of al-Ĥijr. The Arabs of Makkah used to pass by these remains when they went on their winter and summer journeys to Yemen and Syria respectively. They also passed by the destroyed towns of the Prophet Lot’s people, Sodom and Gomorrah, and were aware of the tales that were in circulation concerning what happened to those people. They should, therefore, reflect on these peoples’ fate: “Do they not see how many a generation We have destroyed before them — people whom We had made more powerful in the land than We have made you, and for whom We sent down abundant water from the sky, and made rivers flow at their feet? Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and raised up another generation in their place.” (Verse 6)

The sūrah goes on to describe the nature of obstinate rejection, delineating for us a very strange type of people whom we meet in every age and every community.

These are people who deny what is so clear and undeniable. The Qur’ān depicts this type of people in its own inimitable style, using only a few words to bring it to life in front of our eyes: “Even if We had sent down to you a book written on paper, and they had touched it with their own hands, surely the unbelievers would still say: ‘This is nothing but plain sorcery’.” (Verse 7)

What causes them to turn away from God’s revelations is not the lack of strong and clear evidence of their truthfulness. They are only being unreasonably stubborn.

Their denial is firmly held as though it was a matter of principle. Such an attitude allows no consideration of any evidence or proof. Had God chosen to send down the Qur’ān to His Messenger by means other than revelation, which they cannot see, and put it on paper which they can feel and see, and had they touched this paper with their own hands, they would still reject the evidence of their own hands and eyes.

They would emphatically claim: “This is nothing but plain sorcery.” (Verse 7)

This is an image of a singularly contemptible nature, one which invites strong hostility. With such a nature there is no room for argument or scholarly discussion.

Yet we meet such people in all communities and across all generations. Depicting their nature in this way serves more than one purpose: it delineates to the rejecters themselves their spiteful attitude in its true colours, just like one who lifts the mirror in front of a person with an ugly face so that he can see himself and put a stop to his overbearing behaviour. It also gives the believers an added incentive to adhere strongly to the truth, uninfluenced by the general atmosphere of denial and rejection they see around them. They are, thus, more resilient in the face of oppression and persecution.

It also tells us how compassionate and forbearing God is, as He gives those rejecters a chance to mend their ways and does not smite them immediately for their stubbornness. All these elements were part of the weaponry available to the Muslim community in their fight against the unbelievers.

The sūrah then gives us an example of the suggestions made by the unbelievers, and this reveals both their hardened stubbornness and their ignorance. They suggest that an angel could have accompanied the Prophet in conveying his message to give proof that he was truly God’s Messenger. The reply shows how ignorant they were of the angels’ nature and why God sent them to do the tasks He assigned to them. It is only because of His mercy that God does not act on their suggestion: “They say:

‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ If We had sent down an angel, all would have been decided, and they would have been allowed no further respite. And even if We had appointed an angel as Our messenger, We would certainly have made him [appear as] a man, and thus We would have confused them just as they are now confusing themselves.” (Verses 8-9)

The second issue was that the Arabs knew about the angels and requested that God should send down an angel to support His Messenger and confirm the truth of his message. They knew nothing, however, of the nature of this type of creation, i.e.

the angels, which is known only to God. Hence, they formulated their own arbitrary conceptions of these creatures and the sort of relationship which existed between them and their Lord on the one hand, and with the earth and its inhabitants on the other. The Qur’ān refers to the Arabian misconceptions about the angels and the legends of pagan nations. It points out their errors so that anyone who is guided to accept the Islamic faith will revise their concepts about the universe and its creatures.

As such, Islam provides a method to set man’s reason, feelings, heart and conscience on the right course and to rectify both situations and practices. One of the Arabs’ ill- conceived concepts, identified in the Qur’ān as having been formulated in their pre- Islamic days, was their belief that the angels were God’s daughters. Limitless is He in His glory and sublimely exalted above anything that people may ascribe to Him! As such, they believed angels were able to intercede with God and their intercession was never refused. It is thought that some of the more important idols were symbols of angels.

The Qur’ān refutes on several occasions the first erroneous concept the Arabs held.

For example, in Sūrah 53, The Star, we read: “Have you ever considered al-Lāt and al- `Uzzā as well as Manāt, the third of this tirade? Why for yourselves would you choose only male offspring, whereas to Him you assign female: that is indeed an unfair division! These [idols] are nothing but empty names which you have invented, you and your forefathers, for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high. They who worship them follow nothing but surmise and their own wishful thinking, although right guidance has indeed come to them from their Lord. Does man imagine that it is his due to have all that he might wish for, despite the fact that both the life to come and this present life belong to God alone? For, however many angels there be in the heavens, their intercession can be of no avail to anyone, except after God has given leave [to intercede] for whomever He wills and with whom He is well- pleased. It is only such as do not really believe in the life to come that regard the angels as female beings; and since they have no knowledge of that at all, they follow nothing but surmise: yet never can surmise take the place of truth.” (53: 19-28)

The Qur’ān also provides the true facts, correcting the Arab unbelievers’ erroneous concept about the angels’ nature. This is provided in these two verses in this sūrah as it is given elsewhere in the Qur’ān: “They say: ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ If We had sent down an angel, all would have been decided, and they would have been allowed no further respite.” (Verse 8)

This is part of the information provided in the Qur’ān on the nature of the angels created by God. The unbelievers proposed that an angel should be sent down, but it has been part of God’s law that He sends down angels to this planet only to destroy a particular community for having rejected their messenger. Had God responded to the Arab unbelievers’ suggestion and sent down an angel, then the whole issue would have been resolved and they would have been destroyed without allowing them any further time to consider their position. Was this the alternative they wished for? Would it not be better for them to realize how limitless God’s grace is when He does not respond to their suggestion, because it would have brought about their own destruction? They are, thus, made to see the facts with their own eyes, so that they may realise how ignorant they are about their own interests and about the process of sending down angels. It is their ignorance which has brought them to the edge of ruin and which causes them to reject proper guidance and divine mercy. Hence, they persistently demand evidence and proof.

The third issue raised in these verses is that of the nature of Islamic philosophy, particularly with regard to the world we see all around us and the worlds which lay beyond our perception. Islam teaches its followers to formulate a particular understanding of these worlds and a proper approach to them. One of these is the world of angels in whom we believe. Believing in the angels is an essential component of Islamic faith which requires every Muslim to believe in God, His angels, books, messengers, the Last Day and destiny, believe in an imperceptible world represents a great departure in man’s life, helping him to break out of his limited and narrow physical existence and to perceive the existence of a world beyond.

Thus, man is not limited to the narrow world of physical perception. Indeed, to impose such a limitation is to force human perception backwards. This is advocated by some materialistic doctrines which claim to be progressive. Fuller treatment of this subject follows later on, when we comment on Verse 59 of this sūrah. Here, we limit our discussion to the angels who are part of the world which lies beyond our human senses.

The Qur’ān tells us about some of the qualities and attributes of the angels. These are sufficient for us to formulate a proper concept of them and of our relationship with them. They are a species of God’s creation who submit themselves totally to God and who obey Him all the time without hesitation. They are near to God although we do not know what sort of proximity is meant here. “They say: ‘The Most Gracious has taken to Himself a son!’ Limitless is He in His glory! No; they are but His honoured servants. They do not speak until He has spoken, and they act at His behest. He knows all that lies before them and all behind them. They do not intercede for any but those whom He has already graced with His goodly acceptance, since they themselves stand in reverent awe of Him.” (21: 26-8) “Those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary of that. They extol His limitless glory by night and day, without ever flagging.” (21: 19-20)

They carry God’s Throne and surround it on the Day of Judgement. We do not know how this happens, because we only know what God has revealed to us of the world beyond: “Those who bear God’s Throne and those who stand around it extol their Lord’s limitless glory and praise and believe in Him.” (40: 7) “You will see the angels surrounding the Throne, extolling their Lord’s glory and praise. Judgement would have been passed in justice on all, and the word will be spoken: all praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds.” (39: 75)

They provide the keepers of the heavens and hell, receive the inhabitants of the first with greetings and prayer, while they receive those bound to hell with reproach and warnings of great suffering. “In throngs the unbelievers shall be urged on towards hell, till, when they reach it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will ask them: Have there not come to you messengers from among yourselves who proclaimed to you your Lord’s revelations and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgement]?’ They will answer: ‘Yes, indeed!’ And thus the sentence of suffering would have already fallen due upon the unbelievers. They will be told, ‘Enter the gates of hell, therein to abide!’ How vile an abode for those who were given to false pride. But those who were God-fearing will be urged on in throngs to Paradise till, when they reach it, they will find its gate wide open; and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be to you! Well have you done: enter this Paradise, herein to abide’.” (39: 71-3) “We have appointed none but angels to guard the Fire.” (74: 31)

manner which afflicts and humiliates the unbelievers.

The angels have also had a relationship with human beings ever since the creation of Adam, the first man. This relationship extends throughout life until the hereafter.

References to this relationship abound in the Qur’ān.

There is, then, a wide expanse in which human life is linked to the life of the supreme society of angels. It provides a broader vision and understanding of this universe and enables man to feel his existence, his actions and reactions in a much wider world. In this way what we witness in our world is closely related to the world and beyond.

Those who wish to deprive man of this world, and of the expanse of the realm that lies beyond our human perception, have nothing but evil in store. They want to confine man to the narrow, material world, thus forcing him into the animal world.

God has given man the ability of conception, which enables him to understand what no animal can understand, allowing him to live in a wider realm of knowledge and feeling, giving him the facility to look at this world through his heart and mind, and helping him to purify himself as he moves towards this spreading light.

In their pre-Islamic days, the Arabs held all sorts of misconceptions, but they were nevertheless better placed than the advocates of today’s materialism who deride the whole idea of a world beyond. These describe believing in an imperceptible world as naive, unscientific. They consider the two mutually exclusive. We will discuss their claims, which are devoid of any scientific or religious substance when we comment on Verse 59. Here we are only speaking briefly about the angels.

We wonder: what does science divulge to those who claim to believe only in 'scientific' rationalism to make them categorically deny the existence of the angels, making them outside the realm of belief? Science cannot preclude the existence of life, of a type other than the one that exists on earth, on other planets or stars which differ from earth in nature, conditions and atmosphere. How can they deny the existence of such worlds when they have no single evidence to prove that they do not exist?

In this, we are not asking them to submit to the rule of our faith or to God’s words.

We are simply asking them to submit to the dictates of their own 'science', which they have made into a deity. Although they can provide no evidence based on their science, they persist in their totally unscientific denial. Yet it is no exaggeration to say that the imperceptible world which they deny is the very truth which human knowledge has come to recognise, even in our world which we touch and see.

This passage concludes with a reference to what happened to those who derided God’s messengers. The new rejecters of the faith are called upon to reflect on the fate of those who preceded them. They are told to travel all over the earth to see for themselves the fate of earlier unbelievers, because that tells them of God’s law which never fails: “Indeed other messengers have been derided before your time, but those who scoffed at them were eventually overwhelmed by the very thing they have derided.” (Verse 10)

Having shown their attitude as stubborn rejection and their suggestions as marks of total ignorance, and having established that God’s refusal to act on their suggestions is an aspect of His mercy and forbearance, the surah refers to the treatment received by earlier messengers. Such reference has a dual purpose. It firstly provides some solace to the Prophet who was at the receiving end of their obstinate rejection of the truth. It reassures him that God will certainly punish those who deride and scoff at His messengers. It tells him that such rejection is not a new phenomenon.

Earlier messengers received similar treatment from their peoples, but those who scoffed at them were soon to suffer God’s punishment. Ultimate victory belongs to the Truth.

Secondly, it reminds the Arabs who rejected the Prophet’s message of the fate of their earlier counterparts. A similar fate awaits them if they persist in their ridicule and rejection. God’s punishment destroyed earlier generations who were much more powerful and who enjoyed greater wealth. This reference, then, shakes their hearts violently.

Let us reflect a little here on this Qur’ānic directive: “Say: Go all over the earth and see what was the fate of those who denied the truth.” (Verse 11) To travel all over the earth for the simple objective of reflection and drawing lessons on the basis of past events and on history told by one generation to the next was something totally new to the Arabs. It shows how great was the gulf between their level of ignorance and the much higher level of intelligence, knowledge and reflection to which Islam carried them. They used to travel for trade and to earn their living. Travelling to gain knowledge and draw lessons was unheard of. This new Islamic method took them by the hand, elevating them from the depths of their ignorance and gently coaxing them along the road to the high zenith they were soon to achieve.

Moreover, it was totally new for mankind in that period of time to try to interpret human history according to methodical and well-defined rules based on cause and effect, such as those pointed out by the Qur’ān to the Arabs. All people can easily observe these laws and formulate their own concept of premises, stages and results. Up to that period in time, the best that people knew of history was the recording of events and narratives about customs and social habits. No particular method, whether analytic or synthetic, was followed to determine links between events or to relate results to premises. The Qur’ān elevated mankind to a new horizon and gave them a method to analyse and reflect upon the events of human history.