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burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy
on us. Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against faith." 340341342
340 Cf. ii. 233. In that verse the burden was in terms of material wealth: here it is in terms of spiritual duty. Assured by
God that He will accept from each soul just such duty as it has the ability to offer, we pray further on for the fulfilment
of that promise. (2.286)
341 We must not be arrogant, and think that because God has granted us His favor and mercy we have no need to exert
ourselves, or that we are ourselves superior to those before us. On the contrary, knowing how much they failed, we
pray that our burdens should be lightened, and we confess our realization that we have all the greater need for God's
mercy and forgiveness. And so we end the whole argument of the Sura with a prayer for God's help, not in our own
selfish ends, but in our resolve to uphold God's truth against all Unbelief. (2.286)
3:25 - But how (will they fare) when We gather them together against a day about which there is no
doubt and each soul will be paid out just what it has earned without (favor or injustice)?
3:30 - "On the day when every soul will be confronted with all the good it has done and all the evil it
has done it will wish there were a great distance between it and its evil. But Allah cautions you
(to remember) Himself. And Allah is full of kindness to those that serve Him.
3:145 - Nor can a soul die except by Allah's leave the term being fixed as by writing. If any do
desire a reward in this life We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the hereafter
We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve Us with) gratitude. 461
461 There is a slight touch of irony in this. As applied to the archers at Uhud, who deserted their post for the sake of
plunder, they might have got some plunder, but they put themselves and the whole of their army into jeopardy. For a
little worldly gain, they nearly lost their souls. On the other hand, those who took the long view and fought with
staunchness and discipline,-their reward was swift and sure. If they died, they got the crown of martyrdom. If they
lived, they were heroes honoured in this life and the next. (3.145)
3:185 - Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid
your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the garden will
have attained the object (of life): for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of
deception. 491492
491 The death of the body will give a taste of death to the soul when the soul separates from the body. The soul will then
know that this life was but a probation. And seeming inequalities will be adjusted finally on the Day of Judgment.
(3.185)
492 Cf. Longfellow's Psalm of Life: "All this world's a fleeting show. For man's illusion given". The only reality will be when
we have attained our final goal. (3.185)
3:193 - "Our Lord! we have heard the call of one calling (us) to faith `Believe ye in the Lord' and we
have believed. Our Lord! forgive us our sins blot out from us our iniquities and take to thyself
our souls in the company of the righteous.
4:79- Whatever good (O man!) happens to thee is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee is
from thy (own) soul. And We have sent thee as an Apostle to (instruct) mankind: and enough
is Allah for a witness. 598
598 To blame a man of God for our misfortunes is doubly unjust. For he comes to save us from misfortune, and it is
because we flout him or pay no heed to him, that our own rebellion, brings its own punishment. If we realise this truth
we shall be saved from two sins: (1) the sin of injustice to Allah's Messengers, who come for our good, and not for our
harm: (2) the sin of not realising our own shortcomings or rebellion, and thus living in spiritual darkness. If the
Message is from Allah, that carries its own authority: "enough is Allah for a witness." (4.79)
4:110 - If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness he will
find Allah Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.
4:111 - And if anyone earns sin he earns it against his own soul: for Allah is full of knowledge and
wisdom. 624
624 Kasaba = to earn, to gain, to work for something valuable, to lay up a provision for the future life. We do a day's labour
to earn our livelihood: so in a spiritual sense, whatever good or evil we do in this life, earns us good or evil in the life to
come. In verses 110-112 three cases are considered: (1) if we do ill and repent, Allah will forgive; (2) if we do ill and
do not repent: thinking that we can hide it, we are wrong; nothing is hidden from Allah, and we shall suffer the full
consequences in the life to come, for we can never evade our personal responsibility: (3) if we do ill, great or small,
and impute it to another, our original responsibility for the ill remains, but we add to it something else; for we tie round
our necks the guilt of falsehood, which converts even our minor fault into a great sin, and in any case brands us even
in this life with shame and ignominy. (4.111)
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