Volume 10 Surah 12 - 15 - Enjoy Islam

Ibrahīm (Abraham) | ONE MESSAGE FOR ALL MANKIND
blessings, either by removing them literally, or by removing their effects on one’s
feelings. Many a blessing may become a curse which brings unhappiness, to the
extent that the person given it may envy those who do not have it. Or the
punishment may be deferred to its right time either in this life or in the life to come,
as God may wish. It will however undoubtedly take place, because denying God’s
grace does not go unpunished.
Giving thanks to God for His grace does not benefit God Himself, just as denying
it and being ungrateful does not cause Him any harm. God is in no need of anyone
or anything. He is praised as He is God. He does not need people’s praise or
gratitude. “And Moses said.: ‘If you and whoever lives on earth were to deny God, [know
that] God is indeed Self-Sufficient, worthy of all praise.’“ (Verse 8) Indeed it is human
life that is elevated through thanking God for His grace. People’s souls are purified
by turning to God, and by giving thanks where thanks belong. They are reassured
when they establish a bond with the One who bestows abounding grace. They do
not fear that blessings are withdrawn. They do not feel heart-broken when they
miss something they would have liked. God, the Most Gracious, is there and He
bestows His grace in abundance. Such grace then is increased when people show
their gratitude.
The Dialogue between Messengers and Unbelievers
Moses continues with his reminders, but now he no longer features in the scene
painted in the sūrah. Instead, a picture is drawn of the raging battle between the
community that follows the Prophets and jāhiliyyah society which denies the
messengers and their messages alike. This is a remarkable aspect of the refined style
of the Qur’ān which brings the scene alive, transforming it from a historical one that
someone is reporting to an immediate one that we see in front of our eyes, able to
listen to the people in it as they talk, and notice all their actions and reactions. In
this panoramic scene, all limitations of time and space are done away with.
Have you not received accounts of what befell those who lived before you? The people
of Noah, the `Ād, and Thamūd, and those who came after them? None knows them all
but God. Their messengers came to them with clear evidence of the truth, but they put
their hands to their mouths, and said: ‘We disbelieve in that with which you have been
sent, and we are in grave doubt about that to which you call us.’ (Verse 9)
This reminder is made by Moses, but as he goes behind the scenes the sūrah
continues with its account of what happened to God’s messengers and messages
during all periods of history, and the confrontation between them and jāhiliyyah in its
different states and societies, and the fate of those who denied these messages. It is as
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