Quran Garden

Session 511

Chapter 3

Verse 182

That is for what your hands have put forth; God is never a tyrant over His slaves.

(Chapter 3: Verse 182)

The phrase "That is" refers to the punishment of Hellfire mentioned in the Aya 181.  God says,

God has indeed heard the words of those who said, "God is poor while we are rich." We shall record everything they say, as well as their killing of prophets in defiance of all that is right; and We shall say to them, "Taste the torment of the scorching fire." (3:181)

Allah points out that His punishment, while severe, is not unjust.  Those who enter Hellfire have willingly and repeatedly wronged themselves.  Does the phrase: "for what your hands have put forth" mean that the hands commit every sin?  No, the eyes sin, so do the tongue, leg, and heart.  But God singled out the hand because it is usually the most visible and final actor in the chain of sin.  If you plan a bank robbery, you will commit many transgressions, such as spying with your eyes and ears, lying with your tongue, and walking to the bank with your legs.  But all these sins culminate with your hands grabbing the money.  So the statement "what your hands have put forth" covers all. 

The verse continues with, "God is never a tyrant over His slaves," meaning that the punishment of burning in the fire is fair and a direct result of the words and deeds of the sinner.  In the verses under study, the words of the Jews of Medina were, "God is poor while we are rich," and the deed was "their killing of prophets in defiance of all that is right."

Here, we should pause and study the general case of "God is never a tyrant over His slaves" because it has been a topic of criticism from the opponents of Islam.  They claim that while Allah denies being a tyrant, it does not mean he is fair or reasonable.  Tyranny is extreme injustice.  When God says, I am not a tyrant; it only means that he is not extremely unjust but may still be unjust now and then. 

To respond to such criticism, we must understand the nuances of our language.  Exaggerations come in many forms; for example, we say of a man doing a task that 'He works.' But someone with a regular job is called a 'worker,' while a person who spends long hours at work is a 'workaholic.' When you describe a person as a workaholic, it necessitates that he is a worker first.  Likewise, when a person is described as a tyrant, he or she is, by necessity, unjust.  However, the opposite is not true.  If you say that your father is not a workaholic, it does not mean he is not a worker.  It only implies that he does not spend all his hours at work.  If we say that this leader is not a tyrant, it does not necessarily mean he is fair. 

This is the loophole from which the critics of the Quran launched their attack.  They hoped to mislead people who don't have a solid linguistic background or take the time to study the Quran.  

We answer with the following question: how does a person become a tyrant?  It happens in one of two ways.  First, he could be unjust towards thousands of people.  Even if he commits a slight injustice to each person, the collective injustice would transform him into a tyrant.  Second, he could be a tyrant by inflicting grave injustice onto a single person, such as knowingly accusing and executing this person of murder. 

The oppressor is, by definition, stronger than the oppressed, and the degree of injustice a person can inflict is directly proportional to his or her authority.  For example, an abusive husband can only inflict injustice on his wife, but a terrible president can inflict injustice on an entire population and thus would quickly become a tyrant dictator.

God is the Almighty.  If He had allowed Himself to be unjust, then He would not be an oppressor; His great power would make Him, by necessity, a tyrant.  He is the creator of all humanity from the time of Adam.  If He were unjust towards each one of us, even a tiny bit, the collective injustice against billions and billions of people would make Him a tyrant.  May Allah forgive us for saying that, for Our Lord is the All-Just, All-Merciful.  

Listen to the following two examples from the Quran.  God says:

God does not wrong anyone, not even the equal of an atom (chapter 4: verse 40)

And in another verse,

That is for what your hands have put forth; God is never a tyrant over His slaves.

(Chapter 3: Verse 182)

At first glance, there seems to be a contradiction: Verse 182 of chapter 3 does not negate God being unjust; it only negates him being extremely unjust or a tyrant, while the 40^th verse of chapter 4 negates all unjustness from God.  But if you take time to study the nuances of the language, you will find the answer. 

The first verse negates all injustice from God concerning a single being, while the second verse mentions the plural word 'slaves,' meaning all of God's creation.  Given the enormous number of God's creations, if each person is inflicted even with an atom's weight of injustice, the total would add to tyranny.  Thus, both verses negate all unjustness from God, but the expression of hyperbole "tyranny" is used for the large number of people to whom the verse applies.  God does not treat anyone unjustly; his fairness is absolute and consistent, just like his mercy.