In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
How many a community that persisted in evildoing have We dashed into fragments, and raised another people in their stead. And as soon as they began to feel Our might they took to their heels and fled.
"Do not run away. Return to all your comforts and to your dwellings, so that you might be called to account."
They said: Woe betide us! We were indeed wrongdoers!"
And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become like a field mown down, still and silent as ashes.
We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play.
Had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have found one near at hand; if such had been Our will at all!
Nay, but We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter, and behold, it withers away. But woe to you for all the falsehoods you ascribe (to Us).
(The Prophets: 21: 11-18)
At the end of our commentary last week, we discussed the first statement in this passage describing the total destruction visited on many a past community which persisted in evildoing. We mentioned that the words used add, by their very sound, strong connotations of an overwhelming strike that leaves everything lifeless.
We look and we see how the people of those communities ran around as God’s power struck their land. They appear like trapped mice jumping here and there before they fall and become motionless: "As soon as they began to feel Our might they took to their heels and fled." They run so that they may be able to leave their town which they feel to be doomed. They run as though their running will save them from God’s power. It is not that they imagine that they are faster than God’s strike; it is a thoughtless movement, like that of trapped mice.
They are then told in utter derision: "Do not run away. Return to all your comforts and to your dwellings, so that you might be called to account." You do not need to run away from your town. You may go back to your luxuries and enjoy your comforts. You may perchance be asked about all this luxury and how you have used it. But the time for questioning is already over. It is all a bitter sarcasm.
This brings their situation clearly before their eyes, and they realize that they have no escape. They cannot run away or flee from God’s punishment. Hence, they change tactics and admit their faults: "They said: Woe betide us! We were indeed wrongdoers!" But the time for that is over. They may say what they like, but it is all to no avail. They are left to their devices until they are lifeless: "And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become like a field mown down, still and silent as ashes." But it is a human field, all motionless, lifeless; yet only a minute earlier, it was bustling, full of life.
At this point the Surah establishes a link between the faith already mentioned, its essential laws under which unbelievers are punished and the fundamental truth and seriousness which form the pivot around which the whole universe turns. If the unbelievers receive every new Qur’anic revelation with jest and play, oblivious to its seriousness and the truth it outlines, heedless of the fast approaching Day of Reckoning and what awaits them on that day, then they should know that God’s laws never fail. "We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play. Had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have found one near at hand; if such had been Our will at all! Nay, but We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter, and behold, it withers away. But woe to you for all the falsehoods you ascribe (to Us)."
God has created the universe for a definite purpose, not to indulge in a pastime or idle play. He conducts its affairs in His infinite wisdom, and does not leave it to run aimlessly. One aspect of the seriousness involved in the creation of heaven and earth is that He has sent messengers, revealed books, and outlined for mankind their duties and obligations. We see, then, how seriousness is inherent in the nature of this universe and its laws, and in the faith God wants people to embrace and implement, as well as in the way He holds people accountable after they had died.
Had God wanted to indulge in a pastime, He would have chosen something that applies to Him alone; it would have nothing to do with His mortal creatures. But this is merely a theoretical assumption: "Had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have found one near at hand." The mode of expression here indicates that both parts of the conditional are negated. God has not willed to indulge in a pastime, and none has taken place, neither close to Him nor with His creatures. Besides, it will never be, because God has not willed it in the first place: "If such had been Our will at all!"
It is all a theoretical argument given here in order to establish the basic truth that whatever relates to God is, like Him, ever-present and eternal. Hence, if God wants to have some pastime, such pastime would not be related to anything that is created such as the heavens, the earth or anything in between. All these are new, in the sense that they are created at a certain point in time. What relates to God remains with Him, eternally, so as to fit in with His Majesty.
But the law that operates for all time is that there is no such a thing as pastime in respect of God. There are only seriousness and truth. Thus, the intrinsic truth will triumph over the incidental falsehood: "Nay, but We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter, and behold, it withers away. But woe to you for all the falsehoods you ascribe (to Us)."
The equivalent of "Nay" in Arabic signifies turning away from whatever is at hand. Here it indicates putting aside this point about having a pastime to turn to a more serious point about the real world and the laws operating in it which ensure that falsehood is vanquished and the truth remains triumphant.
The Qur’anic verse paints this in a vivid picture, showing the truth as a missile hurled by God on falsehood, breaking its head and leaving it in utter destruction. It cannot survive.
We will speak further about this conflict between the truth and falsehood next week, God willing.