“118–119” “Had your Lord willed, He could have made mankind one community. Yet they will continue to differ, except those upon whom your Lord has mercy—and for that He created them. The word of your Lord has been fulfilled: ‘I will surely fill Hell with jinn and mankind, all together.’”

Allah Most High informs us that, had He willed, He could have made all people one community following Islam. His will is not limited, and nothing is impossible for Him. His wisdom, however, entailed that they would continue to differ, opposing the straight path and following the paths that lead to the Fire, with each person regarding what he says as the truth and the views of others as error.

“Except those upon whom your Lord has mercy”: He guided them to know the truth, act upon it, and unite upon it. These are the ones for whom felicity had already been decreed and whom divine care and Allah’s enabling grace encompassed.

As for all others, they are forsaken and left to themselves.

His words, “And for that He created them,” mean that His wisdom entailed creating them such that some would be blessed and others wretched; some united and others divided; one group guided by Allah and another upon whom misguidance was deserved. This is so that His justice and wisdom may become clear to His servants, so that the good and evil concealed within human nature may become manifest, and so that jihad and those acts of worship that cannot be properly fulfilled without trial and testing may take place.

And because “the word of your Lord has been fulfilled: ‘I will surely fill Hell with jinn and mankind, all together,’” there must inevitably be people destined for the Fire who are enabled to perform the deeds that lead to it.