In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
To every community We have appointed ways of worship, which they should observe. Let them not draw you into disputes on this score, but call (them all) to your Lord. You are indeed on the right way.
Should they argue with you, say: ‘God knows best what you are doing.’
God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection with regard to all on which you dispute.
Do you not know that God knows all that occurs in heaven as well as on earth? Indeed it is all in a record. All this is easy for God.
And yet they worship beside God something for which He has never bestowed any warrant from on high, and of which they cannot have any knowledge. The wrongdoers shall have none to help them.
As it is, whenever Our revelations are recited to them in all their clarity, you can perceive utter repugnance in the faces of unbelievers. They would almost assault those who recite Our revelations to them. Say: ‘Shall I tell you of something worse than that? It is the fire which God has promised to those who deny Him. How vile an end!’ (The Pilgrimage, Al-Haj: 22: 67-72)
This passage addresses the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructing him to follow his own way, paying no attention to the unbelievers and their futile arguments. He must not allow them to divert him away from the method God has chosen for him, as He assigned to him the task of delivering His message to mankind.
“To every community We have appointed ways of worship, which they should observe. Let them not draw you into disputes on this score, but call (them all) to your Lord. You are indeed on the right way.”
Every community has its own way of life, thought, behavior and beliefs, and these are subject to the consistent and accurate laws God has set to regulate people’s nature, thinking, feelings and reactions to outside influences. A community that opens its hearts to the pointers to divine guidance and responds to relevant pointers in the universe and within the human soul finds its way to God. In this, it will benefit by the numerous signs pointing to His oneness and encouraging compliance with His orders. By contrast, a community that shuts its mind to all this is in the wrong, sinking deeper into error.
Since God has appointed for each community a certain way to follow, then the Prophet need not trouble himself with arguments he may put to the unbelievers, when they turn away from the path of divine guidance and persist in following the path of error. God instructs him not to allow the unbelievers a chance to dispute with him over his mission, or the way of life he advocates. He must continue to implement it, paying no heed to anyone who wants to engage into argument and dispute. His is a straightforward way, as God Himself testifies: “You are indeed on the right way.” This gives him all the reassurance he needs to follow divine guidance.
If unbelievers try to dispute with him, he should cut short such arguments. There is no use in wasting time and effort: “Should they argue with you, say: ‘God knows best what you are doing.’” Argument may be useful with people who keep their hearts and minds open to receive guidance, seeking knowledge and seriously searching for the right evidence. But argument will be futile with those who persist in their erring ways, turning a blind eye to all the indications and pointers they see in the universe and within themselves. The Prophet is told to leave these people to God who will judge between all creeds and ways of life and their followers: “God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection with regard to all on which you dispute.” He is the indisputable judge, because on that day all argument is abandoned. Nor can there be any argument about the final judgment.
God makes His judgment on the basis of His perfect knowledge. He does not lose sight of any circumstances, and no motive or feeling is withheld from Him. He knows everything in the heavens and the earth, including people’s intentions, motives and actions: “Do you not know that God knows all that occurs in heaven as well as on earth? Indeed it is all in a record. All this is easy for God.” God’s knowledge is not subject to any of the influences that erase things from memory or cause forgetfulness. His record is complete and perfect.
The human mind gets overwhelmed when it merely contemplates some of what we see in the heavens and the earth, and tries to imagine how God knows all these perfectly, down to the most minute details of people, thoughts, intentions and actions. But all this is very little compared to God’s full knowledge and power. Hence the verse concludes with the statement: “All this is easy for God.” Having made it clear to the Prophet that he must not allow the unbelievers a chance to dispute with him over his right way, the surah shows how flawed and flimsy is the way followed by the unbelievers. It betrays total ignorance of the truth. They are deprived of God’s help, and as such they have none to help them: “And yet they worship beside God something for which He has never bestowed any warrant from on high, and of which they cannot have any knowledge. The wrongdoers shall have none to help them.”
No situation or system can have any real power except for what is granted by God. What lacks the source of power given by God remains weak and unsupportable. Such unbelievers worship different deities, some of which are idols and statues, and some are human, or they may worship Satan. All these are devoid of God’s power; hence they are weak. Besides, they do not worship these deities on the basis of any solid and convincing evidence. Their basis is myth and superstition. Having been denied God’s help, no other help will they have from any source.
The most singular thing is that while they worship false deities of which they have no knowledge, they refuse to listen to the voice of truth. They are hardened in their attitude, threatening to strike at those who recite God’s revelations to them: “As it is, whenever Our revelations are recited to them in all their clarity, you can perceive utter repugnance in the faces of unbelievers. They would almost assault those who recite Our revelations to them.” They cannot answer an argument with an equally valid argument, or reply to one evidence with a similarly powerful one. Instead, they resort to heavy-handed tactics, violence and oppression, realizing that they have no leg to stand on. This is always the case with tyrants who can only think of suppressing the truth, knowing that they have no other way to answer it. Hence, the Qur’an makes a clear warning, pointing out the inevitable outcome: “Say: Shall I tell you of something worse than that?” What is worse than the evil they harbor within themselves, and the oppression they embark upon?
“It is the fire which God has promised to those who deny Him.”
This is the right reply for the oppression they engage in. And the final comment is: “How vile an end!”
Arab News Islam 6 December 2002
