Sunday, January 16, 2011

Divine punishment: Qur'anic teaching




"
Say: Have you considered [Ara-aytaakum], if the punishment of Allah comes to you [In Ataakum 'Adhaabullaah] unexpectedly or manifestly [Jahratan], will any be destroyed, except the wrongdoing people [Hal Yuhlaku illa Qawmidh-dhaalimeen]?" [Q 6:47]


The context in which this ayah appears speaks of God's authority being rejected by those who are misguided, who have engaged consistently in a pattern of abuse and Dhulm in the world. In fact, we are told that Satan [ Q 6:43] makes their actions seem attractive. Repeatedly, God says, these people should have examined and considered the Ayaaat of Allah [ Subhaanahu wa Ta'alaa] [Q 6:46].


Finally, we come to the verse which is the center of this brief article. Allah Ta'alaa says that ONLY the Dhaalimeen are punished, no one else. This verse refutes such ideas that are found in the religious traditions of others such as original sin, or the notion that God punishes 'seven generations" of descendants for the crimes of a particular society!

If such a notion was true- that God punished the descendants of a criminal, then the son of 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, the leader of the Madeenan hypocrites, who engaged in many intrigues against the Prophet Muhammad- upon whom be peace and blessings- and the Islamic state- should have been punished by Allah, and indeed by the Prophet himself- who was God's representative on earth. Yet, we know that the son was not punished, and even 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy himself was never tried or punished in this world.


This section of the Qur'an speaks to the important picture, the broad fate of civilizations who have not articulated spiritual values into their conduct or culture.

For those, living both within and outside of a spiritual [or spiritually lacking] environment, who have able to internalize the Divine principles, Allah says:

"... So whoever has Imaan {faith} and reforms, they shall have no fear, and they shall [have no reason to] grieve." { Q 6:48}

2 comments:

Shamsuddin Waheed said...

It is worth noting that 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy's son is said to have been a serious Muslim, so much so that, upon seeing the actions of his father, is said to have expressed a willingness to execute his father. Obviously, this did not occur.

NB said...

Hi Waheed. I find this short article very puzzling. Are you talking about punishment in this world or in the next?

We know that "wrongdoing people" often go unpunished in this world. We also know that catastrophic events destroy without distinction both good people and bad. You can't be talking about the real world.

Yet, you go on to choose 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy as your example. Because he was never punished in this world, can you conclude anything? Perhaps he was punished in the next world, or perhaps he wasn't actually guilty of any wrongdoing (what crime do you allege?), or perhaps Allah forgave him. who knows?

The Torah repeatedly states that the iniquity of the fathers will be visited until the fourth generation (not seventh). I don't see this as a "law", rather as an observation about the real world. For example, if you think about the Germans, the children and grandchildren of the Nazis suffered from their wrongdoings. Only now, with the fourth generation, are the scars inflicted on that nation finally being fully healed. And that was possible because the Germans sought redemption.

My view of the Palestinian problem is that the Palestinians today are still being punished for the wrongdoings of the generations of the first half of the 20th Century... now going beyond the fourth generation. They failed to welcome the Jewish refugees fleeing from the persecution and catastrophe of European antisemitism. There was nowhere for these Jews to flee so many chose to migrate to the land of their spiritual ancestors. When granted self-government, the Arabs rose up against them. These unrepentant Arabs and their children and their children's children, until the fourth generation (FROM NOW!), will continue to suffer until they embrace God's law that demands that we treat our neighbours with love and respect, fairness and justice, charity and compassion.