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ʾinna lladhīna fatanū l-muʾminīna wa-l-muʾmināti thumma lam yatūbū fa-lahum ʿadhābu jahannama wa-lahum ʿadhābu l-ḥarīqi
Indeed those who persecute the faithful, men and women, and do not repent thereafter, there is the punishment of hell for them and the punishment of burning.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Buruj, Verses 10-16
10. "Surely (as for) those who persecute (or draw into temptation) believing men and believing women, yet repent not, for them is the punishment of Hell and for them is the punishment of the Burning Fire.”
11. “Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds, for them are Gardens underneath which rivers flow, that is the great salvation, (the fulfillment of all desires),”
12. "Surely the Grip of thy Lord is severe."
13. “It is He Who creates (everything) from the very beginning and causes to return,”
14. "And He is All-forgiving, All-loving,”
15. “Lord of the 'Arsh (Throne), the Glorious,”
16. The Doer of whatever He wills.”
Allah's Punishment for the Persecutors
After describing, in the former verses, the terrible persecutions carried out by some past generations who burnt the resisting believers, in the following verses it points to the grievous punishment of Allah, for them, in contrast with the great rewards for the believers. The warning is quite clear:
The term /fatanu/ is derived from /fatn/ which originally means 'to try or prove' (as gold in the fire to ascertain its purity), then the term is used in the sense of examination and persecution (by burning) or both. It is also used with the meaning of either punishment or leading into temptation. In this verse, it is used with the meaning of 'punishment and penalty', similar to Surah Zariyat, No. 51, verses 13-14 which say:
The words
in the verse, shows that it is possible for the persecutors to repent, and this signifies the highest Mercy of Allah to the sinners. In the meantime, it warns the pagans of Mecca to leave off with the persecuting of the believers and return to the way of Allah before it is too late. In principal, the Qur’an does not close the door of repentance on anyone. Then, it can be understood that the settlement of the painful punishments are for the improvement of the sinners and returning them to the way of Allah as a consequence.
It is noteworthy that there are two kinds of distinguishing chastisements, mentioned in the verse for the persecutors: the first is
and the second is
The case is, perhaps, for the reason that there are many kinds of punishment in Hell, one of which is ‘the Blazing Fire' and it is especially mentioned for those persecutors who burnt the believers of Mecca with fire and should be punished with Fire on That Day. But, how different these two kinds of fire are! Some commentators have cited that
is for their
and
is for their deeds of persecuting others. Then, paying attention to the rewards of the Righteous, it says:
“Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds, for them are Gardens underneath which rivers flow, that is the great salvation, (the fulfillment of all desires)”.
What a great Salvation! What can be better or higher than being the Nearest to Allah, honourably, in the midst of the Gardens of Bliss, the Etemal blessings? But, it should be noted that the essential means of obtaining this 'great Salvation' is 'Belief and doing good deeds'. The phrase
denotes that a mere good action, or a few of them done temporarily, are not enough, but good deeds must be done continuously by the believers. The term
in Arabic, is generally used for pointing to something or someone that is in the distance. But, here it is used to show importance and highness, then it means that their 'great Salvation' is so important and high that imagination cannot touch it. Then, threatening the pagans once more, it says:
So, it emphasizes that one should not think that there is no Hereafter and that one does not return to life again. Nay, it says:
The term /bataŝa/ means 'to take or seize by force' and since this action is the cause of punishment, then it is used in the sense of 'chastisement'. The term
is for soothing the Prophet (S) and is an emphasis on Allah’s support for him. It is noteworthy to mention that there are five emphases concentrated on here:
1. The term /bataŝa/, meaning 'to take by force', contains the connotation of severity.
2. A noun-phrase is usually used for emphasis.
3. The term
itself.
4. The word
5. The Arabic letter 'lam' (ل), used in cases like this, is also used for emphasis, here.
Therefore, the Holy Qur'an threatens them precisely about the punishment. And the sentence:
is an evidence for the Resurrection which can be counted as another emphasis, added to the above ones. Then, five qualities of the divine attributes are mentioned. It says:
The terms
and
both are 'of the utmost amplification' which refer to the extreme forgiveness and love of Allah: He is 'forgiving' of the sins of those sinners who repent, and is 'Loving' to the servants who are good-doers. In fact, these divine attributes are mentioned to be added to the threats given in the former verses to illustrate the fact that the sinners can repent and be forgiven because, while Allah is strict in punishment, He is
and
The term /wadud/ has the sense of being in the subjective case, which fits the other attribute, i.e. 'All-forgiving'. The third attribute is
And 'Arsh, which means 'Royal throne', in such cases, refers metaphorically to power and Sovereignty. This touches on the fact that the rulership of all creatures is His, and Allah’s Will is, itself, the Word and the Deed. There is no interval between them. No circumstance whatever can come between His Will and the execution thereof. Therefore, it is quite easy for Him to call the dead to life, again, and punish the persecutors and the oppressors.
The term /majid/ is derived from /majd/ which means 'to excel in glory' which is used only for Allahas a quality. The association of these five Divine attributes are clear, because Allah is All-forgiving and All-loving under the absolute Power (Omnipotence), Graciousness and with His Will so that nothing can stop Him, no one is able to confront Him, nor does His Will fade.