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qāla ʾammā man ẓalama fa-sawfa nuʿadhdhibuhū thumma yuraddu ʾilā rabbihī fa-yuʿadhdhibuhū ʿadhāban nukran
He said, ‘As for him who is a wrongdoer, we will punish him. Then he shall be returned to his Lord and He will punish him with a dire punishment.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Kahf – Verses 87 - 88
87. “He said: ‘As for him who is unjust we will chastise him, then he shall be returned to his Lord and He will chastise him with a grievous chastisement’.”
88. “But as for him who believes and does righteousness, for him shall be a goodly reward, and we will assign easiness for him by our command.”
The duty of a godly leader and governor is execution of justice, and struggling against injustice, and making the social regulations easy. That was why Zul-Qarnayn warned people in such a manner that the verse says:
Such cruel and tyrannical people taste both the punishment of this world and the chastisement of the next world. The person who believes and does righteous deeds, will be given a good reward. He will be faced with kindness and pleasant words, then his duties will not be hard and heavy, and he will not be forced to give heavy taxes. It seems that the purpose of Zul-Qarnayn from this statement is a hint to this meaning that people, regarding his invitation to Unity and Faith, which is standing against injustice and corruption, will be divided into two groups. Those who accept that godly and constructive program will surely be rewarded a good recompense, and will live in a state of security and ease.
But, those who reject that invitation with enmity, and continue their faithlessness, injustice, and corruption, will be punished. The verse says:
However, the Qur’anic term /man zalama/ (he who is unjust), which has occurred in contrast with the holy phrase /man’amana wa ‘amila salihan/ (he who believes and does righteousness), indicates that the word /zulm/ in this verse means ‘infidelity’ and also means ‘impious deed’, which is amongst the bitter fruits of the evil tree of ‘disbelief’.