Documents of the Right Word

5- “Doing the command will tire the human slave, and he shall
be tormented if otherwise. Both choices are harmful to the slave.
Allah is Hakîm (All-Wise), He does not do harmful things.”
Answer: Our response to this is that all the commandments
are useful both in this world and in the Hereafter. Their
usefulness surpasses multiple times over the exhaustion they
require. It is unwise to miss so many benefits by trying to avoid
so little labour.
6- “If there is no advantage in the recompense for the
exhaustion caused by doing the command, it is nonsensical to give
the command. If there are benefits in it and if all of them are useful
for Allah, this means that He needs His slaves, which is contrary to
fact. If they are useful to men, it is unreasonable to command
something useful and then to punish those who do not do it. In
other words, this command means, ‘Either do what is useful to
yourself or I shall torture you eternally!’ “
Answer: The intellect’s finding something beautiful, ugly or
nonsensical is not always valid. Nor is it correct to say that all the
creations of Allâhu ta’âlâ must be useful. We shall prove this later
on. Eternal punishment will be given not because something useful
is not acquired, but because the slave did not carry out the
command of his Owner and Creator. Not doing His command is
infidelity, sacrilege and irreverence towards Him.
7- “Even though Allah knows that His slave cannot do it or that
he will not want to do something useful for himself, why does He
command it? Wouldn’t such a command be ugly and harmful to
His servant?”
Answer: As we have stated above, even if we were to admit
that such a command might be harmful to His slave, attaining great
rewards necessitates putting up with insignificant difficulties.
According to the Mu’tazila, one of the seventy-two heretical
groups in Islam, there is also some value in proposing [Allâhu
ta’âlâ’s] commands and prohibitions to a disbeliever. Encouraging
him to earn thawâb is valuable. Thawâbs are blessings resulting
from the performance of the commandments by the one who is
propositioned. They are not blessings arising from the proposition.
[For example,] a person invites someone to dinner though he is
certain that he will not come. Thus, he wants to show his
generosity and kindness. If he does not invite him, he will not be
able to express his intentions. At this point I find it useful to report
the statements of Muslim thinkers:
– 352 –