Quran Garden

Session 504

Chapter 3

Verse 177

Indeed, those who have purchased disbelief with faith will not harm God in the least, and for them is a painful punishment.  (177)

'To purchase' something is a transaction that requires a price and a buyer.  In the verse under study, the price paid is faith because the preposition "with" is always associated with the payment method.  We say, "I bought oranges with money," meaning I had some money and decided to let go of it in exchange for a bag of oranges.  The buyer is any human being who engages in such a transaction.  We ask: do people really buy disbelief and pay faith as a price?  Doesn't this mean that they had faith, to begin with?  We answer: yes.  Allah instilled the seed of faith in every human being.  It is the instinct to search for the creator we share across geography, culture, and time.  Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, "Every child is born in the natural state of belief, and it is his parents who later make him Jewish, Christian, or Magian."  God instilled this drive towards faith within us and took an oath from all humankind to seek His path.  He says,

And when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, "Am I not your Lord?" and they replied, "Yes, we bear witness." So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were not aware of this." (7:172)

Allah -the All-Merciful- did not leave us with just instinct; He also sent a precession of Prophets and Messengers with heavenly guidance since the time of Adam.  So, yes, people let go of their faith in exchange for disbelief.      

Another way to look at this transaction is that people who purchased disbelief had, both, faith and disbelief equally within reach.  God granted us free will so we can make such choices.  However, belief and disbelief are mutually exclusive; The price you pay for choosing one is leaving the other behind. 

It is critical for you to understand that this life-altering choice is for your own benefit or detriment.  Your faith will not benefit Allah just as faithlessness "will not harm God in the least."  Listen to the following Hadith Qudsi –sacred narration-.  God says,

"O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself, and I have forbidden it among you, so do not wrong one another.  O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance from Me, and I shall guide you.  O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so ask me to feed you, and I shall feed you.  O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing from Me, and I shall clothe you.  O My servants, you sin by night and day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me, and I shall forgive you. 

O My servants, know that you cannot harm me, nor can you benefit me.  O My servants, were the first and the last of you, the human and the Jinn of you, to be as pious as the most pious heart among you, it would not increase My dominion at all.  O My servants, were the first and the last of you, the human and the Jinn of you, to be as sinful as the most sinful among you, it would not decrease My dominion at all. 

O My servants, were the first and the last of you, the human and the Jinn of you, to rise in one place and make requests of Me, and were I to give each one all he or she has requested, that would not diminish what I have any more than a needle would decrease the ocean if dipped into it. 

O My servants, all you have are your deeds.  I record them for you and then repay you for what you did.  Let he who finds good praise Allah, and let he who finds otherwise blame no one but himself."

Before you were brought to life, the universe already existed with all its magnificence.  You did not bring anything with you or add to the universe.  Allah is your Creator and does not need any material or immaterial help from you.  He had all His attributes of perfection before He brought you to life.  When the Almighty wants something, He says, "Be," and it becomes.  Prophet Muhammad taught us that "Be" is the shortest command known to humans; thus, God used it to clarify the matter.  In reality, His command is beyond our comprehension and much more instant than "Be." Thus, not you nor anyone can "harm God in the least." 

As for those who pit themselves against the Almighty, "for them is a painful punishment." If you spend time reading the Quran, you will notice that God sometimes describes the punishment of the Hereafter as painful, while on other occasions, the punishment is great, or humiliating.  Why?  Some people say this is just variety of lietreary expression.  We answer that every word in God's book has a specific place and meaning.  When it comes to punishment, God wants to cover all forms of human psychology.  For the one who does not feel ordinary pain from something small will find themselves in great pain.  For example, some people pride themselves that when they experience pain, they can hide it and stay strong.  For such people, God describes the punishment as "Humiliating" or "Great." In other words, there is no hiding it; the pain will be so severe that people will scream and beg for it to stop.  It is humiliating in breaking and crushing the human soul and its pride.  God says,  

"Our Lord!  Take us out of this suffering.  Then, if we ever revert to evil, we will indeed be wrongdoers."  He will say: "Remain condemned in it, and do not speak to Me.  Among My servants there were those who said, "Lord, We believe.  Forgive us and have mercy on us: You are the most merciful of all.  You used to take them in mockery, so much so that your hostilities to them caused you to forget My remembrance, and you simply persisted in laughing at them." (9: 107-110)

The disbelievers were so preoccupied with mocking people of faith, gesturing behind their backs, or accusing them of traditionalism.  They continued to do so until they could no longer remember God or look at the issues of faith objectively.  When you surround yourself with friends that mock God, you would not dare approach faith.  Such people deserve a painful, great, and humiliating punishment because they earned it.