Section Al-Furqan – Part 9

We have been studying the Qur’an in a chronological order of revelation and are now in Section Al-Furqan, the 25th Section of the Qur’an. In the last few verses, we investigated the psychology of denial. Those who deserve to be in Hell based on their conscious denial to the truth are told: “Do not pray today for one death but pray for many deaths”. We studied this and discussed why God is torturing them in a way where the deniers will ask for death and God will not grant it to them. Can’t they be given another opportunity? 

Let’s examine the following verse regarding another opportunity being asked for:

فَلَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةًۭ فَنَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

26:102 “If only we could have a second chance, then we would be believers.” 

This may seem to be an innocent request and people may say that one should be given another chance. Why does God not give them another opportunity and let them go back to the world after experiencing Hell? We should notice that it is after the disbelievers are dragged into Hell where they experience the fire that they ask to go back and say that they would now be obeying the prophets, they would now believe in God, and fulfill the requirements of belief as they were supposed to be doing. The following verses will explain why they say this and provide some answers.

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذْ وُقِفُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ فَقَالُوا۟ يَـٰلَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلَا نُكَذِّبَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

6:27 If you could only see when they are made to stand before the fire, how will they say, “If only we could be sent back, we would not reject the revelations of our Lord, and thus be among the believers.

This is what the disbelievers claim that they should be given another opportunity after they have witnessed the fire of Hell. In the presented scenario, God replies in the following verse:

بَلْ بَدَا لَهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يُخْفُونَ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَلَوْ رُدُّوا۟ لَعَادُوا۟ لِمَا نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ

6:28 But no! They only say this because the truth they used to hide became all too clear to them (in this world). Even if they were to be sent back, they would certainly revert to what they were forbidden. Indeed, they are liars!”

Let’s try to understand this reply coming from the Lord of the heavens and the earth by putting myself in the scenario. I am seeing Hell in the next creation where I am recreated as the prophets had mentioned. I am seeing this fire which the prophets had warned me about to be the result of my denial. All of this came true in front of my eyes because now I am standing before the fire. At this stage the disbelievers say, send us back so that we will confirm Revelation and believe in it. After being resurrected, experiencing the next creation, seeing what the prophets had been mentioning to be true, I ask to be sent to the world as if I would be living with belief in God. However, the verse says that is not true, you would still not believe and would go back to living with disbelief. 

How can I be satisfied that these verses are true? I understand that God must know everything, but I need to confirm this information. I must go through why do I believe in God, why do I believe in the Qur’anic message, the prophets employed by God? There are a lot of prerequisites involved. When I read the Quran as an ordinary man and read the translation, I would say these deniers are begging, why does not God give them another opportunity so that they would believe and become good people?

We must understand the psychology of denial. It is a fact that one is given many opportunities to realize the truth while living in this world. I can investigate the universe and see how it is continuously changing; see that it is not stable. I am also within the universe and just like the universe is continuously subject to change and given a new existence. That means everything in existence is experiencing death every moment, I will also die one day. The universe shows me that its Creator is not a negligent creator as everything is so perfectly created; I am witnessing this truth. He sends prophets that tell me not to go against my human reality, not to contradict my feelings. The prophets do not look for any worldly benefits but come to guide me to the truth. How many years and occasions have I been getting to experience the truth presented to me by witnessing the way that the universe is being created and by the message that I have received from the prophets? This is one generally understood answer as to why the deniers should not be returned back to the world.

The verse emphasizes here specifically that they deny knowingly and now say that “we have become aware”. Whereas they were aware of the truth before while living in this world. There are quite a few verses where the disbelievers ask God to be sent back to this world (See for example, 32: 12). The Qur’an doesn’t say that God will send them back to the world. We will look at the second reason as to why they are not sent back to the world.

The verse clearly and explicitly mentions that in this world the truth was clear to them, but they have been hiding it. We can recall from the previous verses of this Section that the disbelievers were making excuses to accept the truth by accusing the prophet of being unlettered, not having an angel with him, not having super qualities, was not treated extraordinarily by God, etc. The deniers were attacking the personality of the prophet and not paying attention to the content of the message of the prophet (pbuh). They know the message is declaring the truth, their reality. From their own feelings they understand that injustices must be punished, there are no accidental happenings in this world, this universe is purposefully arranged for a purpose, the universe is not meaningless as is observed. They knew this and were hiding this reality. They didn’t want to leave their superior positions that they assigned to themselves. They knew all the tricks they were playing. They were misusing their free will to choose to deny the truth which their conscience recognizes.

Everything was obvious to them in this world and upon facing Hell they said that they did not know. The verse mentions that they are lying. They are presenting an excuse saying that: “Oh, we didn’t know that the prophets were telling the truth. They were simple people, not having any extraordinary qualities, why should I have taken notice of them?” They think that they are honorable, distinguished people holding noble status in society just to satisfy their egoistic ambitions. While being well aware of the truth, they denied that the prophet mentioned that they are created beings, they need to take care of the purpose in their existence and watch out for what they are doing because the message threatened their self-imposed superiority.

If someone does not know what the Revelation is all about, what the content of the message of the Prophet (pbuh) really is, they didn’t know if the message is true then we cannot call this person a denier. By definition “denier” means someone who knows the truth but for some reason denies it. Ordinary people don’t know what the Qur’an is saying and think it is Arab’s religion or tradition. They don’t know that it presents serious matters relating to the purpose of human beings. They don’t bother to investigate; how can we call them deniers? In order to deny one has to know what they are denying. One must be a denier to deserve the stand before the fire. To be a denier, one must know the truth to deny it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know as the message didn’t attract my attention; truth was not presented to me. If you knew the truth and didn’t deny it, you wouldn’t be standing in front of Hell. 

The verse mentions that “the truth they used to hide became clear to them” indicating that you were aware of the truth and consciously, knowingly denied the truth. This is the second main reason. 

Let’s delve into the third reason as to why they are not going to be sent back to become good people as they claim. How am I going to benefit from this verse in my practical life now? Let’s carefully examine verse 6:27 again. The scenario of going back to the world arises to them when they see the fire before them. It is impossible to face torture, so they think that I better believe to save myself from the fire. When they see the fire, where they stand before the fire, they say I would like to go back and be a believer. What is the relationship between seeing fire and one’s belief? Belief must be voluntary, not because I don’t want to be subject to fire or punishment. Belief out of fear of punishment is not valid as I want to protect myself from punishment. For example, a student works to fulfill requirements out of fear of failing and not learning the subject. They realize the pain when they get into the work environment and suffer the consequence of not learning. I cannot say that I believe just because I want to be saved from the fire; I must realize the truth and I must admit that the truth must be confirmed, that is why I am confirming it. This is called “belief.’

One must voluntarily submit to the truth when they submit for the sake of the truth, not for the fear of punishment. I may be thinking that there is a possibility in the sayings of the prophets that after we die from this world, we will be resurrected. If I deny this then I may be in fire because someone said so; it’s better to be on the safe side and accept it. Belief is confirmation, certainty, voluntary choice for the sake of truth, not for the sake of the fear of fire. There is this subtle message in this verse that is very practical. For example, I am praying because I must pray, it is for my benefit as it is appropriate to my being. I shouldn’t harm others or exploit people because it is not right. That is why I should watch out for what I believe in. Another example is if one doesn’t pay their tax in the United States, what will happen to them? I know the consequence of what happens according to the law of the United States. Most people pay their tax out of fear of punishment where they don’t want to lose their physical property. Another example is if I will not be parking my car at a particular place because of the fear of getting ticketed for parking violation. Paying the taxes and not parking in a non parking spot out of fear of punishment is not belief or loyalty. Belief is when I know it is the right thing to do. Belief is referred to in the Qur’an, as “belief in Ghaib”. The universe tells me that I must have a creator, the universe must have a creator. I myself cannot be the result of an accident, my human feelings cannot come out of sheer matter. I am made by a conscious being who has given me existence, I am directly communicating with the universe. I witness that I have a Creator and am thankful to this Creator for whatever He has given to me. This is “belief.”

Belief is not because of the fear of punishment. There is a certain tradition in Islamic heritage which mentions that we should not practice Islamic rituals and requirements because of the fear of Hell, or because of the reward of Paradise but just because it is right to do so. As a result of that we hope that we will be saved. We ask God to save us from hellfire and will be hopeful for Paradise. It is not for the sake of Paradise or for securing ourselves from punishment of Hell but for the sake of the truth. I am hoping for my sincere obedience, confirmation of the truth, I am hoping that my Creator will reward my actions with Paradise. That is why the Prophet (pbuh) encourages people to be hopeful for the reward: God will reward you for your good actions but do not do it for the sake of reward. Do it for it is the right thing to do and only then wait for the reward for it from God.

I cannot blame people who do not deny or prevent me from adhering to and sharing the message. Some people speak about Christianity and Islam in public places such as NYC subways. Some may listen to them and others may not, none of them are rejectors. I must take the lesson for myself and shouldn’t reject the truth. It is my responsibility to learn and follow as much as I know and am convinced about. There is no reason I should get into the discussion of what will happen to Christians. Are we going to judge them, or will God judge them? According to a true Islamic administered place, if there is a Christian that would want to live among the Muslims, no one can stop them according to Qur’anic rules of administration. If another religious tradition wants to establish their community, the Islamic administration has no right to stop them. (For example, “If any one of the idolaters should seek your protection, grant it to him so that he may hear the word of God, then take him to a place safe for him, for they are people with no knowledge [of the truth].” (Section Towba, 9: 6) 

There is an example where the Prophet (pbuh) under the Islamic Madina administration executed the people who broke the treaty according to Torah tradition. The prophet asked them, would you like me to pass a judgment according to Islamic rules or according to Torah rules. They requested for a Torah scholar, who passed a judgment accordingly. We must treat people according to their creed, their belief, religious tradition even when it is occurring within the Islamic administration. In modern places now, they judge according to their civil law. We cannot blame anyone or pass judgment to anyone because of their belief. What will happen to them is God’s responsibility, I must take care of my responsibility.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا۟ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًۭا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌۭ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًۭا 

4:94 So, you who believe, be careful when you go to fight in God’s way, and do not say to someone who offers you a greeting of peace, ‘You are not a believer,’ out of desire for the chance gains of this life- God has plenty of gains for you. You yourself were in the same position [once], but God was gracious to you, so be careful: God is fully aware of what you do.

Under the Islamic teachings, if someone conveys greetings to you regardless of them being a believer or not according to my knowledge, I cannot call or label him or her as an unbeliever. It is a big responsibility, and I must be careful to not declare anyone as an unbeliever unless they themselves publicly declare it as such.