In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
Was the message given to him alone out of all of us?” In fact they are in doubt concerning My reminder; they have not yet tasted My punishment. Or do they own the treasures of your Lord’s grace, the Almighty, the Munificent? Or do they have dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them? Let them, then, try to ascend by all conceivable means. Whatever hosts, of any affiliation, may be raised will suffer defeat. Before their time, the truth was rejected by Noah’s people, the Ad, Pharaoh of the tent-pegs, the Thamud, Lot’s people and the dwellers of the wooded dales: These were different groupings; yet each one of them accused God’s messengers of lying. Therefore, My retribution fell due. These, too, have but to wait for one single blast; and it shall not be delayed. They say: “Our Lord! Hasten to us our share of punishment even before the Day of Reckoning.” (SAD: 38: 8-16)
The unbelievers never stopped remarking about God’s choice of the man to deliver His message to mankind. The first verse in this passage begins by quoting their questioning denial. The answer the surah gives to this question is laden with sarcasm and warning: “In fact they are in doubt concerning My reminder; they have not yet tasted My punishment.” They had asked: “Was the message given to him alone out of all of us.” This when they doubted the very message itself and were unable to accept that it was from God, even though they realized no human being could have produced anything like it.
The surah sets aside what they said about the Qur’an to issue them with a warning: “They have not yet tasted My punishment.” It is as if the surah is stating that they say whatever they say because they are still safe, not having tasted anything of God’s punishment. When they do experience this, they will say nothing of it because then they will know.
The surah then comments on their wonder at God’s choice of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be His Messenger. It asks them whether they control God’s mercy: “Or do they own the treasures of your Lord’s grace, the Almighty, the Munificent?” Do they seek to interfere with what belongs to God to decide? It is God who gives whatever He wishes to any of His servants and who withholds it from anyone He wishes. He is the Almighty whose will applies to all and cannot be resisted, and whose grace is limitless. If they find it hard to accept that God has chosen Muhammad (peace be upon him) for his role, by what right and in what capacity can they decide how God’s favors be granted when they do not own the treasures of His grace?
“Or do they have dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them?” This is something that they do not dare to claim. It is the One who owns and controls the heavens and the earth who decides who should receive what and who should be assigned to what role. If they do not have dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, how come they interfere with the decisions of the One who has this dominion? A sarcastic and reproachful comment then follows: “Let them, then, try to ascend by all conceivable means.” If that is the case, let them take control of the universe and administer the treasures of God’s grace. Let them decide who should receive such favors and who should be deprived.
This sarcastic remark is followed by a statement of fact describing their real status: “Whatever hosts, of any affiliation, may be raised will suffer defeat.” They are no more than the remnants of a defeated army left aside. They have no ability to change or object to God’s will. The phraseology of this verse makes it hard to capture its sense in translation. The subject, “whatever hosts”, refers to something insignificant that no identity can be assigned to. The verbal phrase, “will suffer defeat,” is expressed in the Arabic original in one adjectival word, mahzum, which suggests that defeat is an essential characteristic of such hosts and that they cannot get rid of it. This is a very true description. God’s enemies can never be in any position other than the one indicated by this Qur’anic expression which connotes powerlessness and absolute lack of control, no matter how mighty they may appear or when they appear.
The surah gives examples of former communities who treaded the same course, and we discover that they all faced utter defeat: “Before their time, the truth was rejected by Noah’s people, the Ad, Pharaoh of the tent-pegs, the Thamud, Lot’s people and the dwellers of the wooded dales: These were different groupings; yet each one of them accused God’s messengers of lying. Therefore, My retribution fell due.” These communities were the Quraysh’s predecessors. All of them, including Pharaoh who built the pyramids that stand firm like tent pegs, and Shuayb’s people who dwelled in the wooded dales, rejected God’s messages. What eventually happened to these tyrannical peoples? God’s retribution fell due and they were all decimated. There is nothing left of them except the ruins that tell of their defeat.
Such was the fate of past communities of unbelievers. As for the present ones, they are, generally, left until a blast brings about the end of life on earth just before the Day of Judgment: “These, too, have but to wait for one single blast; and it shall not be delayed.” Once this blast falls due, it will not be delayed even for a short moment. It occurs at its appointed time. God has willed that this community of the last message will be given its time, and that He will not destroy it as He did past communities. This is an act of grace, but they do not appreciate this or thank God for it. On the contrary, they hasten their own punishment, asking God to give them their lot now, before the day He has appointed: “They say: Our Lord! Hasten to us our share of punishment even before the Day of Reckoning.”
At this point the surah ends its reference to the unbelievers and turns instead to the Prophet. He is comforted and directed to remember what happened to earlier messengers, the hard tests they went through and the grace God bestowed on them when they proved themselves.
