Verse 46

2188

Commentary:

The linking of عذاب (punishment) with the Divine attribute الرحمن (the Gracious) in this and other verses of this Surahappears to be somewhat incongruent and inconsistent. Punishment seems more appropriately related to God’s other attributes such as الجبار (the Subduer), القھار (the Most Supreme), ذو انتقام (the Avenger) etc. In fact, every punishment is the result of the defiance or disobedience of a particular Divine attribute. Sometimes a person is punished because he defies the Divine attribute الغفار (the Great Forgiver), at another time punishment comes upon him because he disobeys the Divine attribute الکریم (Most Generous) and so on. In this verse, in fact in the whole Surah, شرک i.e. idolatry, has been repeatedly denounced and condemned in the strongest and most scathing terms and the Divine attribute الرحمن i.e. the Gracious, has also been mentioned again and again because شرک (idolatry) in every shape and form is the direct result of denial of رحمانیةi.e. Divine grace. The two great idolatrous peoples—the Hindus and the Christians, have hopelessly fallen victim to the most degraded form of idolatry because they both deny رحمانیة i.e. Divine grace—the former by believing in the indestructibility and eternity of matter and soul and the latter by subscribing to the foolish doctrine that salvation is impossible without Atonement. So the mentioning together of the Divine attribute الرحمن (the Gracious) and Divine punishment shows that it is not رحمانیة i.e. Divine grace, which is the cause of Divine punishment, rather it is its denial and rejection.

شیطان (Satan), as stated above, may signify man’s evil inclinations and propensities, his bad friends and associates and evil spirits that cast their shadows upon him and lead him deeper and deeper into sin and transgression.