Quran Garden

Session 503

Chapter 3

Verse 176

a continuation

Do not be grieved by those who are quick to disbelieve.  They will not harm God in the least; it is God's will that they will have no share in the Hereafter- a terrible torment awaits them.  (Chapter 3: Verse 176)

Our beloved Muhammad overburdened himself with worry about every person who did not embrace Islam.  Allah wanted to ease this burden, so He granted Muhammad great honors.  Today, we will explore some of the infinite support and honor God blessed the Prophet with, starting with the Quran.  God says,

Did We not relieve your heart for you, and eased you of the burden that weighed so heavily on your back, and raise your reputation high?  So truly, where there is hardship, there is also ease; truly, where there is hardship, there is also ease. (94:1-6)

We continue with the following Hadith:  

Abdullah Ibn Amr narrates that the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited Abraham's words about his people from the Quran, "My Lord! They have misguided many of mankind.  If anyone follows me, he is with me, but if anyone disobeys me, You are Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (14: 36)  Then recited the words of Jesus, peace be upon him, about his people "If You punish them, then surely they are Your servants and if You pardon them, You surely are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (5:118) Then, he, peace be upon him, raised his hands to the heavens, weeping, "My Lord!  My nation, my nation, what about my nation?"  The Almighty said, "Gabriel, go to Muhammad and ask, 'What brought tears to your eyes?'" The Archangel came to the Prophet and asked about a matter God knows well.  Then Allah said: "Gabriel, say to Muhammad: "We shall show you what pleases you in your nation and never upset you."

Imam Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the people of Iraq: "I was told that you consider the following Aya as the most hopeful in God's Book,  

My servants, you who have transgressed excessively against yourselves, do not despair of God's mercy.  Truly, God forgives all sins.  He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.  (39:53)

They said, "You are correct.  It is the most comforting Aya in the Quran," Ali replied, "But we, Ahlul-Al Bayt, the family of Muhammad, say that there is an even more hopeful verse, then Ali recited:

Your Lord will surely give you abundantly that you will be well satisfied. (93:5)

for the Prophet - peace be upon him - said, "My Lord, I will not be satisfied until there isn't a single person of my nation in the Fire."

Our beloved Muhammad also said: "Every Prophet is granted a supplication guaranteed to be accepted, and every Prophet rushed to make his supplication on earth.  Indeed, I have saved my supplication for the Day of Judgment so I can intercede on behalf of my nation before Allah."

We ask: Is there any doubt of Muhammad's immense compassion for humanity?  Thus, when Allah says, "Do not be grieved by those who are quick to disbelieve," we can appreciate the level of pain the Prophet felt for those who rejected faith.  Allah comforts His Messenger by explaining that people did not rush into disbelief because of a shortcoming on Muhammad's part; instead, their enmity was with God Himself.  He says, "They will not harm God in the least," clarifying that the issue is not between the Prophet and Muslims on one side and the disbelievers on the other.  Instead, it is the disbelievers against the Almighty.  God continues,

It is God's will that they will have no share in the Hereafter- a terrible torment awaits them.

The outcome of this antagonism is a foregone conclusion.  They rushed into disbelief, so God responded and destined them to Hellfire.  Can they go against the will of their Lord?  Never!

Here, I would like to highlight the difference between God's will and our will as human beings.  A parent may say, "My son studies well to succeed, and he did." The reason for studying was the desire to do well.  We may also hear a father say sarcastically to his son, "I bought you all these books and drove you to tutoring sessions so you would fail."  Did the father spend money because he wanted his son to fail?  Of course not.  All the father wanted was for his son to succeed, but the outcome was not in line with the father's will. 

Now, let's look at God's will.  Perhaps the best example is the story of our beloved Moses.  God says,

We revealed to Moses' mother, saying, "Nurse him, and then, when you fear for his safety, cast him in the river: do not be afraid, and do not grieve, for We shall return him to you and make him a messenger." (28:7)

Take note of the phrase, "When you fear for his safety, cast him in the river." What woman -in her right mind- would throw her baby into a river when she fears most for his life?  She would be throwing her baby from grave danger into certain death.  If you tell a mother to do that, she would kick you out.  Yet Moses' mother felt entirely at peace with this action after God inspired her.  When it is God's will, no thought can ever oppose it, and no devil would dare contradict it.  Allah further reassured her, "Do not grieve, for We shall return him to you and make him a messenger," highlighting the fact that He did not return Moses because he is her source of joy but because Moses had a far more critical mission to serve.  It was God's will for Moses to be the Prophet who dethrones the dynasty of the Pharaohs.  Let's continue with the story.  God says,  

We inspired your mother, saying, "Put your child into the chest, then cast him in the river.  Let the river wash him onto its bank, and he will be taken in by an enemy of Mine and his." I showered you with My love and planned that you should be reared under My watchful eye.  (20:38, 39)

Allah had prepared Moses' mother for this moment, and now is the time for action; thus, the verse has a faster tempo of successive commands than previous ones.  Pharaoh's soldiers were going door-to-door and taking every Israelite boy and infant to slaughter.  Allah showed us how even inanimate objects that do not possess reason received and implemented the divine command.  The phrase "cast him" indicates speed and force, while "Let the river wash him onto its bank" indicates that the river was to be gentle with Moses and deliver him to a designated address.    

But God's will goes far deeper than inanimate objects.  It is often carried out by the Almighty's enemies!  Listen to the words of Pharaoh's wife to her husband,

Pharaoh's household picked him up––later to become an enemy and a source of grief for them: Pharaoh, Haman, and their armies were wrongdoers–– Pharaoh's wife said, "Here is a joy to behold for me and for you!  Do not kill him: he may be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son." They did not realize what they were doing. (28:8-9)

God's will entered the household of Pharaoh as a wild idea to spare and adopt one Israelite baby.  They saw Moses as a source of joy, but God had a different plan.  We ask: Did it even cross Pharaoh's mind that this weak, abandoned infant would be his downfall?  Listen to God's words, "Pharaoh's household picked him up––later to become an enemy and a source of grief for them." You may plan and set goals, but when God wills, you will carry out His plan, not yours.  Is there any better display of this than Pharaoh adopting Moses, feeding, spoiling, and loving him as a son, while in fact, he was raising his killer as God-willed?  For decades, Pharaoh's every action was the exact opposite of his goals and intentions.  God says,

So leave those who reject this revelation to Me: We shall lead them on, step by step, in ways beyond their knowledge;  I will allow them more time, for My plot is firm and unfailing.

(68:44, 45)

This brings us back to the verse.  The disbelievers of Quraysh and hypocrites of Medina were also implementing God's will.  He says,

Do not be grieved by those who are quick to disbelieve.  They will not harm God in the least; it is God's will that they will have no share in the Hereafter- a terrible torment awaits them.  (Chapter 3: Verse 176)