Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 316
Covenants, their Different Categories, Punishments and Rewards 309 and show forbearance. Surely, Allah loves those who do good. (S u rah al-M a ’idah; Ch. 5: V. 14) This verse mentions in detail the reasons resulting in God’s wrath upon them. It does not require much prudence to infer that the punishment mentioned here is of such a nature as results in further punishment. The punishment of this crime hardens their hearts and emboldens them to commit more crimes, each bringing a new punishment in its wake. Addressing such people, the Holy Quran warns them that this progressive tendency to commit crime would ultimately lead to destruction. The curse of God is what initiates this process, which means that such people as break their covenants gradually move away from God. Thus, the signs of nearness to God are ultimately completely wiped out from their daily life until they fully deserve to be entitled 'the cursed'. The second characteristic of these people is mentioned to be the hardening of their hearts. The same hardening commands their religious as well as their worldly affairs. The hard-heartedness of the Jews has become a byword but the same applies to all those who commit the crime of breaking their covenant. This hardening is a natural consequence of their crime. Thus, you will observe that such violators of covenants do not only incur the wrath of God, but also that of the people. In turn, they become callous of the suffering of common people and distance