(170) “O mankind, the Messenger has come to you with the truth from your Lord, so believe—it is better for you. But if you disbelieve, then surely to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
Allah Most High commands all people to believe in His servant and messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. He mentions the reason that makes belief in him incumbent, the benefit of believing in him, and the harm of not believing in him. The compelling reason is His declaration ⦗216⦘ that the Messenger has come to them with the truth. That is, his very coming is true, and the sacred law he brought is true. A person of sound reason recognizes that it is incompatible with Allah’s wisdom and mercy for creation to remain wandering blindly in ignorance and floundering in disbelief while messengership has ceased among them. It is therefore part of His wisdom and immense mercy that He sent the Messenger to them, so that he might make guidance distinct from misguidance and sound judgment from error. Simply reflecting upon his mission provides conclusive proof of the truth of his prophethood.
The same is true of reflecting upon the magnificent sacred law and the straight path that he brought. It contains accounts of unseen events, past and future, and knowledge concerning Allah and the Last Day—matters that can be known only through revelation and messengership. It commands every form of goodness, rectitude, sound judgment, justice, benevolence, truthfulness, righteousness, maintaining family ties, and good character. It also forbids evil, corruption, transgression, injustice, bad character, lying, undutifulness, and other such things. All of this conclusively establishes that it is from Allah.
The more insight a servant gains into it, the more his faith and certainty increase. This, then, is the reason that calls for faith. As for the benefit of faith, Allah declares that it is better for you, and good is the opposite of evil. Faith is good for believers in their bodies, hearts, and souls, and in this world and the Hereafter, because of the benefits and advantages that result from it. Every reward, immediate or deferred, is among the fruits of faith. Victory, guidance, knowledge, righteous deeds, happiness and joy, and Paradise with all the bliss it contains—all of these result from faith.
Likewise, misery in this world and the Hereafter results from the absence or deficiency of faith. As for the harm caused by not believing in him, peace and blessings be upon him, it can be known from the opposite of the benefits that result from believing in him. Moreover, the servant harms none but himself. Allah Most High has no need of him and is not harmed by the disobedience of those who disobey. Thus He says: “To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth.” That is, all of them are His creation and His dominion, and they are subject to His governance and disposal. “And Allah is All-Knowing” of everything and “All-Wise” in His creation and command. He knows best who deserves guidance and misguidance, and He is wise in assigning guidance and misguidance to their proper places.