105. In such incidents of history there are instructive signs for all people. Only a little reflection will make them realize that the punishment of the unrighteous is inevitable and that the information provided by the Prophets (peace be on them) in this respect is absolutely true. These signs can also help men have some idea of how horrible the Day of Judgement will be. This realization is likely to create in man's heart a fear which will direct him to righteous behaviour.
One may well ask, what are the signs in human history which indicate that there is an After-life, one in which people are liable to suffer punishment? These signs can easily be appreciated by those who do not consider history to consist merely of a series of unrelated events and who are inclined to reflect over the underlying logic of those events and so derive some conclusion from them. What is most conspicuous in the long record of history is the constantly recurring phenomenon of the rise and fall of nations. Moreover, this rise and fall seems to be tied up with certain moral factors. The way in which certain nations have encountered significant falls and have suffered destruction clearly indicates that man, in this universe, is under a dispensation in which blind physical laws do not predominate. Instead, under that dispensation a moral law is also in operation. The result is that the nations which maintain a given minimum level of adherence to moral principles are rewarded. Those who slide below that minimum level of adherence to moral principles, are granted a temporary respite. However, once a nation falls perceptibly below that minimum level, it meets its tragic end and is made a lesson of for future generations. The occurrence and repetition of these events at regular intervals leaves no doubt whatsoever that retribution is a permanent feature, a fully-fledged law that operates in human history.
Moreover, were one to carefully reflect upon the different forms of punishment which visited these different nations of the world, one would also realize that those punishments only partially accord with the requirements of justice and retribution. Were total justice to be meted out, it would be necessary to do a great deal more. For the punishments which struck the nations of the world in the past, struck only those generations which lived at the time when the punishment visited them. But there are generations of men who sowed the wind of wickedness but disappeared when that wind developed into a whirlwind. The consequences of their evil deeds were faced by the generations that followed after them. It is obvious in this case that the real culprits escaped retribution.
Now, if we are able to grasp the inner workings of this universe by our study of history, this should lead us to the conclusion that the unfulfilled requirements of justice call for a new order of existence to be brought into being. It is only then that those transgressors and wrong-doers who escaped divine punishment in the worldly life can be duly punished and their punishment will be much more severe than that suffered by the evil-doers in the world. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. Ill, al-A'raf, n. 30, pp. 23-6 and vol. IV, Yunus 10, n. 10, p. 9.)
سورة هُوْد حاشیہ نمبر :105
“یہ ان کے اس مطالبہ کا آخری اور قطعی جواب ہے جو وہ ایمان لانے کے لیےشرط کے طور پر پیش کرتے تھے کہ ہمیں کوئی نشانی دکھائی جائے جس سے ہم کو یقین آجائے کہ تمہاری نبوت سچی ہے ۔ اس کےجواب میں فرمایا جا رہا ہے کہ اگر تمہارے اندر حق کی طلب اور قبولِ حق کی آمادگی ہو تو وہ بے حد و حساب نشانیاں جو زمین و آسمان میں ہر طرف پھیلی ہوئی ہیں تمہیں پیغام محمدی کی صداقت کا اطمینان دلانے کے لیے کافی سے زیادہ ہیں ۔ صرف آنکھیں کھول کر انہیں دیکھنے کی ضرورت ہے ۔ لیکن اگر یہ طلب اور یہ آمادگی ہی تمہارے اندر موجود نہیں ہے تو پھر کوئی نشانی بھی ، خواہ وہ کیسی ہی خارقِ عادت اور عجیب و غریب ہو ، تم کو نعمت ایمان سے بہرہ ور نہیں کر سکتی ۔ ہر معجزے کو دیکھ کر تم فرعون اور اس کی قوم کے سرداروں کی طرح کہو گے یہ تو جادو گری ہے ۔ اس مرض میں جو لوگ مبتلا ہو تے ہیں ان کی آنکھیں صرف اس وقت کھلا کرتی ہیں جب خدا کا قہر و غضب اپنی ہولناک سخت گیری کے ساتھ ان پر ٹوٹ پڑتا ہے جس طرح فرعون کی آنکھیں ڈوبتے وقت کھلی تھیں ۔ مگر عین گرفتاری کے موقع پر جو توبہ کی جائے اس کی کوئی قیمت نہیں ۔
