The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 731
PT. 22 FĂŢIR CH. 35 وَكَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَمَا كَانَ اللهُ. stronger than these in power And Allah is not such that لِيُعْجِزَهُ مِنْ شَيْ فِي السَّمواتِ وَلَا anything in the heavens or the فِي الْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَلِيمًا قَدِيرًا earth should frustrate His plans; verily, He is All-Knowing, All- Powerful. 3211 وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا And if Allah were to punish. 46 people for what they do, He would not leave a creature on the surface of the تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَلكِنْ living تُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ earth; but He grants them respite until an appointed term; اَجَلُهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ بَصِيرَان and when their appointed time comes, then they find that Allah has all His servants well under His eyes. 3212 3211. Commentary: a10:12; 18:59. 7:35; 10:50; 16:62. The verse means to say that if disbelievers have any doubt that their rejection of and opposition to the Holy Prophet will not be punished, then let them "travel in the earth and see how evil was the end of those who were before them," and who rejected God's Prophets in their own time. Let them remember that it is God's unalterable decree that all their plans and plots to bring the Holy Prophet to naught will end in failure and the cause of Islam will triumph over disbelief. 3212. Commentary: The verse purports to say that though, by their rejection of truth and iniquitous deeds, disbelievers have made themselves deserving of Divine punishment, yet the Merciful God is slow in punishing them. He grants respite and affords opportunities to the wicked and the rebellious people in order that they may mend their ways and accept the truth. If God had meted out swift and quick punishment to sinners, they would have been destroyed in no time, and the world would have come to an end, and all life on earth would have become extinct, because there would be no purpose left in the beasts, animals, birds, etc. remaining alive after man's destruction. Being created for man's use, they too would have perished. But this respite and delay in punishment should not be understood to signify that disbelievers indefinitely escape or avoid it. When the cup of their iniquities is full, says 2645 can