“Which of Allah’s signs, then, do you deny?” That is, which of His signs do you refuse to acknowledge? It has become firmly established for you that every sign and blessing comes from Him, Exalted is He. Thus, no ground remains for denial and no cause for turning away from them. Rather, they require people of sound understanding to exert every effort and spare no capacity in striving to obey Him, devoting themselves wholly to His service and turning to Him alone.
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⦗82 - 85⦘ “Have they not traveled through the land and observed the fate of those who came before them? They were more numerous than them, greater in strength, and left more impressive works upon the land. Yet all that they used to acquire availed them nothing. * When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they exulted in the knowledge they possessed, and the very punishment they used to ridicule overtook them. * When they saw Our punishment, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and reject all that we used to associate with Him.’ * But their faith could not benefit them once they saw Our punishment. Such has always been Allah’s established way with His servants, and there the disbelievers were lost.”
The Exalted urges those who reject their messenger to travel through the land with both their bodies and their hearts, and to question those who possess knowledge. “And observed”—that is, with reflection and inference, not with heedlessness and neglect.
“The fate of those who came before them”—among the nations of old, such as Ād, Thamūd, and others. They were mightier than them, possessed greater wealth, and left more impressive works upon the land, including fortified structures, beautiful plantations, and abundant crops. “Yet all that they used to acquire availed them nothing” when Allah’s command came upon them. Their strength did not benefit them, they could not ransom themselves with their wealth, and their fortresses could not protect them.
He then mentioned their grave offense, saying: “When their messengers came to them with clear proofs”—including divine scriptures, astounding miracles, and beneficial knowledge that clearly distinguished guidance from misguidance and truth from falsehood—“they exulted in the knowledge they possessed,” which contradicted the religion brought by the messengers.
It is well known that their exultation in that knowledge shows how deeply pleased they were with it, how firmly they clung to it, and how hostile they were to the truth brought by the messengers, while making their own falsehood out to be truth. This applies generally to every field of knowledge used to contradict what the messengers brought. Foremost among those falling under this condemnation are philosophy and Greek logic, through which many verses of the Quran were rejected, its standing in people’s hearts was diminished, and its definitive and certain proofs were reduced to merely verbal arguments that yield no certainty whatsoever. The reasoning of the proponents of foolishness and falsehood was then given precedence over them. This is among the gravest forms of impious distortion of Allah’s signs, opposition to them, and contradiction of them. Allah is the One whose help is sought.
“And overtook them”—that is, descended upon them—“the very punishment they used to ridicule.”
“When they saw Our punishment”—that is, Our torment—they acknowledged the truth when acknowledgment could no longer benefit them. “They said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and reject all that we used to associate with Him’”—namely, idols and false objects of worship. They also renounced every doctrine and deed that conflicted with the messengers.
“But their faith could not benefit them once they saw Our punishment”—that is, in that state. This is “Allah’s established way,” His practice “which has always prevailed among His servants”: when Allah’s might and punishment descend upon those who reject the truth, their subsequent faith is neither sound nor capable of saving them from punishment. This is because it is faith compelled by necessity and prompted by direct sight. The beneficial faith that saves a person is voluntary faith in the unseen, before the signs of punishment appear.
“And there the disbelievers were lost”—that is, at the time of their destruction and their being made to taste the punishment. They lost their religion, their worldly lives, and their Hereafter. Nor will theirs be merely a loss in that abode; rather, it is a loss that condemns them to misery in severe punishment, wherein they will remain forever and ever.
The commentary on Sūrat al-Mu’min has been completed, with praise to Allah and by His grace and aid—not through any power or strength of our own. To Him belong all thanks and praise.