Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 233
233 Malfuzat – Volume IV The Mere Denial of Messengers does not bring Punishment in this World It is also worthy of note that the Meccans did not simply reject the Holy Prophet sas. Mere denial owed to a person’s simplicity does not move Allah the Exalted to send down punishment in this world. However, when the person who rejects a Prophet departs from the limits of nobility and humanity, and begins to raise allegations in a shameless and abusive manner, and when they do not stop at allegations, but increase their efforts to the extent that they conspire to inflict all sorts of anguish and injury, it is then that the jealousy of Allah Almighty is roused, and for the sake of His divinely commissioned ones and Messengers, He destroys the oppressors, as He destroyed the people of Noah as , or the people of Lot as. Divine chastisement of this nature always descends due to these sorts of evils and cruelty inflicted upon the ones commissioned by God and their communi - ties. Otherwise, divine punishment for mere denial is not given in this world. The affair of such people is with God. He has created another world for their punish - ments. Divine chastisement descends when denial is taken to the level where pain is inflicted and when denial takes on the form of mockery and jest. If a person courteously and respectfully says that they do not understand the matter at hand and therefore they are reluctant to accept, such a form of denial does not draw in the punishment of God, because this is solely due to a person’s simplicity and lack of knowledge. I can honestly say that if the people of Noah as had objected in a noble manner, Allah the Exalted would not have seized them. It is a nation’s own wrongdoing that invites the punishment of God. God Almighty even states that those who come to listen to the Quran should be conveyed back to their places of security, even if they are opponents who reject the message. There is no compul - sion or coercion in religion, as the Holy Quran states: 1 ِ ُن ْ ُي ِ ْلْد ا ِـي َف َ ٗہ َْرَا ُك ِ ا َٓا ْل There should be no compulsion in religion. However, if someone kills or conspires to kill, and strives in the way of mis - chief and to inflict harm, it is inevitable that they will be punished. It is a mat - ter of principle that anyone who indulges in criminal behaviour is apprehended. Hence, on account of their atrocities and criminal actions, the people of Mecca too were worthy of receiving harsh punishments, and it would have been good 1 al-Baqarah , 2:257