This section of the sūrah follows its main line, looking at the universal expanse to which people’s lives and events are related. It is in this great expanse that we see how the laws governing life and the universe operate in harmony with the laws of the true faith, suffering no conflict or contradiction.

This section draws an image of how human desires frequently change while God’s rules and laws remain constant. It shows how flimsy idolatrous beliefs are compared with the power of true faith. It describes people’s attitudes in times of ease and hardship, when provisions are plentiful and stinted. Unless people rely on God’s measure, which never fluctuates, and unless they accept God’s will who gives as He pleases, in plenty or in small measure, their values and standards will remain unstable. Since it mentions the provision of sustenance, the sūrah directs them to the means that purifies money and makes it grow, which is in line with true faith. In this way, it makes clear to them who the Creator that gives sustenance, initiates life and causes death is. The false deities they allege to be God’s partners do nothing of the kind. It alerts them to the corruption that idolatry and false beliefs spread everywhere.

The sūrah directs the Prophet and Muslims to remain steadfast in following the true faith before there comes a day when no action is of any use. It is the day when everything people have done is reckoned and when they receive their fair reward for it all. Within the context of what God provides, the sūrah directs their attention to certain aspects of such provisions, some of which relate to their existence, such as the rain that comes from the skies, giving life to the earth after it was dead. Likewise, God’s revelations are given to the Prophet to bring life to hearts and souls. Yet they neither listen nor follow guidance. The sūrah also takes us on a round in which we look at the stages of creation of humans and their lives until they return to their Lord.

At that time, no excuse or justification will benefit the wrongdoers. The sūrah then concludes with reassuring the Prophet. It directs him to show more patience until God’s promise is fulfilled, as it certainly will be.

When harm touches people they call out to their Lord for help, turning to Him in repentance. But when He gives them a taste of His grace, some of them associate partners with their Lord, [as if] to show their ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth]. Have We ever sent down to them a warrant to confirm what they associate as partners with God? When We give people a taste of grace, they rejoice in it; but if evil befalls them as an outcome of what their own hands have wrought, they lose all hope.

Are they not aware that God gives in abundance, or in scant measure, to whom He wills? In this there are clear signs indeed for people who believe. (Verses 33-37)

These verses draw a picture of the human soul that does not rely on solid concepts, or follow clear lines. It thus vacillates between sudden reactions, in response to conflicting influences or events. Thus, when harm touches such people, they turn to God, realizing that only He can save them. Yet when the affliction is over, and things are comfortable again, with God bestowing His grace on them, “some of them associate partners with their Lord.” (Verse 33) These are they who do not follow true faith and who do not benefit from the light it gives to the faithful. Ease and comfort remove the emergency that made them turn to God for support and protection. They forget their earlier hardship. Thus, rather than maintain the path of turning to God and of being grateful to Him, they disbelieve in His guidance and the grace He has bestowed on them.

A warning is given in the first instance to those unbelievers who opposed the Prophet’s message, making it clear that they belong to this group: “Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know.” (Verse 34) It is a serious threat that sends terror into their hearts. People fear threats issued by rulers or presidents. How then will they react to a threat from the Creator of this universe, He who brought it into existence by merely saying to it, ‘Be’?

Having delivered this stern warning, the sūrah questions them about the basis of their associating partners with God when it is He who bestows His grace upon them:

“Have We ever sent down to them a warrant to confirm what they associate as partners with God?” (Verse 35) No one should ever accept anything about faith from any source other than God. So, have they received any clear, powerful argument to warrant an attitude that is contrary to belief in God’s oneness? This is a rhetorical question, one that depicts the fallacy of all types of idolatry. At the same time it serves to state that the only proper and true faith is that revealed by God, with clear sanction from Him.

Otherwise, it remains flimsy, devoid of substance.

The sūrah then depicts a different situation showing people as they euphorically rejoice at any taste of God’s grace. In contrast, they feel frustrated and hopeless when affliction befalls them: “When We give people a taste of grace, they rejoice in it; but if evil befalls them as an outcome of what their own hands have wrought, they lose all hope.” (Verse 36)

The sūrah then discusses the issue of polytheism from the viewpoint of providing sustenance and earning a living, and how this affects their lives as it affected the lives of generations before them. It also shows the end of earlier communities and the ruins standing witness to such ends:

It is God who has created you, and then has provided you with sustenance, and then will cause you to die, and then will bring you to life again. Can any of those whom you associate as partners with Him do any of these things? Limitless is God in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything which people may allege to be partners with Him. Corruption has become rife on land and sea in consequence of what people’s hands have wrought; and so He will let them taste the consequences of some of their doings, so that they might mend their ways. Say: ‘Travel around the world and see what was the fate of those who lived before you. Most of them did associate partners with God.’ (Verses 40-42)

The sūrah puts before them the realities of their lives which they cannot dispute to be of God’s own making and in which they cannot claim a share for their alleged deities. It tells them that it is God who has brought them into existence, provides them with sustenance, causes them to die, and then brings them back to life. They acknowledge the fact that it is God who creates them. As for sustenance, they cannot claim that their alleged deities provide them with any of it. They have no argument against what the Qur’ān states about causing death. It is the question of resurrection that they dispute. The sūrah includes this with other acknowledged realities so that resurrection becomes established in their consciences. The method employed in this Qur’ānic address is uniquely effective. It speaks directly to their nature, sidestepping all deviant thinking. Human nature cannot deny the fact of resurrection.

They are then asked: “Can any of those whom you associate as partners with Him do any of these things?” (Verse 40) No answer to this question is expected. Indeed, the verse puts forward the only possible and negative response in the form of a rebuke, thus doing away with the need for a direct answer. This is followed by a glorification of God which denies partnership with Him in any form: “Limitless is God in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything which people may allege to be partners with Him.” (Verse 40)

The sūrah then makes clear that life situations are directly related to people’s actions, and that when corruption finds its way into people’s hearts, faiths and deeds, both land and sea also become corrupted, to the extent that corruption becomes the order of the day: “Corruption has become rife on land and sea in consequence of what people’s hands have wrought.” (Verse 41) This spreading of pollution across the land and sea does not happen by coincidence. It is a manifestation of the working of God’s laws. The reason being: “so He will let them taste the consequences of some of their doings.” (Verse 41) They will thus suffer the consequences of the evil they do and the corruption they spread. It is hoped that when they have done so “they might mend their ways.” (Verse 41) They might resolve to stop corruption and return to faith and its course of action which sanctions the doing of only what is good.

The sūrah begins a new round showing some of God’s signs and how they reflect His grace as He provides them with sustenance and guidance. They recognize only parts of this, denying others. Nevertheless, they do not give thanks or follow His guidance:

And among His signs is that He sends forth the winds bearing good news, so that He might give you a taste of His grace, and that ships might sail at His bidding; so that you might go about in quest of some of His bounty, and that you might have cause to be grateful. We have certainly sent before you messengers to their own peoples, and they brought them clear evidence of the truth. Therefore, We inflicted punishment upon those who deliberately did evil. It is incumbent upon Us to give support to the believers. It is God who sends forth the winds so that they raise clouds, whereupon He spreads them as He wills across the skies, and causes them to break up so that you can see the rain issuing from within it. As soon as He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants, they rejoice, even though a short while ago, before it was sent down upon them, they had abandoned all hope. Behold, then, the effects of God’s grace:

how He gives life to the earth after it had been lifeless! It is indeed He, the One who can bring the dead back to life; for He has power over all things. (Verses 46-50)

God’s signs here include the winds as heralds bearing good news, sending messengers with clear signs, giving support to believers, sending rain to give life to dead land and bringing the dead back to life. This combination is very significant. All these are aspects of God’s mercy and grace, and they are all part of the laws God has set in operation. Indeed there are close links between the system of the universe, the messages of divine guidance preached by God’s messengers, and the victory granted to the believers. All these are among God’s signs, and aspects of His grace. They are important to human life, and they are closely related to the universal system.

“And among His signs is that He sends forth the winds bearing good news.” (Verse 46)

These winds herald rain. From experience, people know the winds that bring rain which raises their hopes. “So that He might give you a taste of His grace,” with this prospect of rain, fertility and growth. “And that ships might sail at His bidding,” either with the help of rain or by causing rivers to flow and allowing ships to sail on them.

Yet the ships are actually run by God’s bidding, according to the laws He operates in the universe, giving everything its qualities and functions. An aspect of this is that ships are easily carried by water and they float and move, pushed by the wind, either with or against the current. With Him everything is made to measure. “So that you might go about in quest of some of His bounty,” on your business travels, in cultivating the land, and in business exchanges. All this is part of God’s bounty, given by the One who has created everything and perfectly proportioned them all so “that you might have cause to be grateful,” for His grace in all this. This comment at the end of the verse serves as an indication of how people should behave when they receive God’s bounty.

Thus the sūrah describes the fluctuation of people’s desires, their inability to benefit by God’s signs that they see in the universe around them, and their failure to recognize God’s wisdom behind life’s events. It then addresses the Prophet consoling him for not being able to persuade many of them to follow divine guidance. It tells him that this is due to their nature and blindness, which he can never cure.

Indeed you cannot make the dead hear; and you cannot make the deaf hear your call when they turn their backs and go away. Nor can you lead the blind out of their error.

You can only get those who believe in Our signs to listen; and they will then submit themselves [to God]. (Verses 52-53)

The sūrah shows them to be lifeless, deaf and blind, devoid of motion, hearing and sight. They have isolated themselves from the world around them and thus they are unable to understand the universal laws affecting it. Hence, they have no more than an animal life, or even less. An animal is guided by its nature, which rarely lets it down. By contrast, a person who does not respond to God’s revelations despite its powerful effect on hearts and minds is deaf even though he may have ears that hear.

Similarly, the one who does not see God’s signs placed everywhere in the world around him is blind, even though he may have functioning eyes.

“You can only get those who believe in Our signs to listen; and they will then submit themselves (to God].” (Verse 53) These are the ones who listen to the divine message because they have active minds and hearts, as well as sound understanding. When they listen to the divine message, they realize that it is the truth and they declare their submission to Him. They only need that their nature be alerted, and they respond.

The sūrah then takes us on a new round, but this time it is within ourselves looking at the different stages of our life on earth, before it refers to the next life and the close link between the two:

It is God who creates you in a state of weakness, and then after weakness He brings about strength in you, and then after strength He brings about your weakness and old age. He creates what He wills; and He alone has all knowledge and power. When the Last Hour strikes, the evildoers will swear that they had not tarried on earth longer than an hour. Thus they used to delude themselves. But those who were endowed with knowledge and faith will say: ‘Indeed, you have tarried, in accordance with God’s decree, until the Day of Resurrection. This is, then, the Day of Resurrection, but you did not know it.’ And so on that day their excuse will be of no avail to those wrongdoers, nor will they be allowed to make amends. (Verses 54-57)

They see the beginnings in their own life, and they see the end brought to them in a vivid image as though it were happening before their very eyes. They only need to have a receptive mind to gather the inspiration behind these verses.

“It is God who creates you in a state of weakness.” Literally, this is given in Arabic as “it is God who creates you from weakness,” which suggests to the Arabic reader that weakness is the substance from which man is made. The weakness in man’s formation meant here has several aspects to it. It includes the physical weakness of the single, tiny cell that makes the foetus which goes through several stages, remaining weak throughout all of them. This weakness continues during childhood, until the person reaches adolescence and the prime of youth. Another weakness is that of the substance from which man is made, which is clay. Had it not been for the breath of God’s spirit, man would have remained in the physical image of clay or in an animal image. Both of these are very weak compared to man. There is also the psychological weakness that makes man yield to desire, passion and lust. It is again the breathing of God’s spirit into him that gives him the ability and resolve to resist such emotions. Without this spirit man would have been weaker than animals which behave according to their natures.

The sūrah then describes how the unbelievers persist in their ways, after having explained the fate of such persistent unbelief:

We have set for people in this Qur’ān all sorts of illustrations. Yet if you present them with any sign, the unbelievers will say: you are but making false claims.’ Thus does God seal the hearts of those who do not want to know [the truth]. (Verses 58-59)

There is a wide gap here in time and place, but it sounds in the sūrah as if it is ever so near; indeed both time and place have been rolled back. People are again reminded of what the Qur’ān provides by way of illustrations, modes of address, fine touches meant to alert minds and hearts, and inspiring images. They listen to it as it addresses every mind and heart in every social environment and speaks to the human soul in all its moods. Yet they continue to deny every sign. Nor do they stop at this, but rather insult those endowed with true knowledge describing them as making false assertions: “Yet if you present them with any sign, the unbelievers will say:

you are but making false claims.” (Verse 58) The sūrah comments on their disbelief, saying: “Thus does God seal the hearts of those who do not want to know [the truth].” (Verse 59) It is in this way and for this reason that God seals their hearts. They are indeed blind, unable to see God’s signs, arrogant in their disbelief, unwilling to reflect. Hence, they deserve that God should seal their sight and their hearts.

The final note in the sūrah comes in the form of a directive to the Prophet and the believers: “Therefore persevere patiently. For certain, God’s promise will come true. So, let not the ones deprived of certainty trouble your mind.” (Verse 60)

Perseverance is the best policy for the believers as they go along their hard, long way that at times seems endless. They must remain confident of the fulfilment of God’s promise. This will enable them to remain steadfast, free of worry and doubt.

Other people may hesitate, or deny the truth, or doubt that God’s promise will ever be fulfilled, because they have no true knowledge and lack the means of certainty.

Believers, however, must persevere, remain steadfast and confident, even though their path may seem endless, and their goal seem concealed behind thick clouds.

Thus the sūrah that started with God’s promise to grant victory to the Byzantines within a few years, and give support and victory to the believers, now ends with the directive to persevere until God’s promise is fulfilled. Believers are instructed to remain steadfast in the face of all the unbelievers’ attempts to weaken their resolve.

There is perfect harmony between the opening and the end. As it concludes, the lingering impression is that of a firm resolve and unshaken trust that God’s promise will be fulfilled.