Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ {وَ لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ لَجَعَلَهُمْ اُمَّةً وَّاحِدَةً:} This is the answer to the question of why Allah made one group destined for Paradise and another for Hell, and why He did not make everyone the same. That is, if Allah had willed, just as He created all things in the universe without free will, He could have created jinn and humans without any choice. If He had done so, they would all have been upon the true religion, but He created them with freedom of choice and will, so that they may be tested and so that His attributes of mercy, wrath, and justice may be manifested. This is His will, in which there are countless wisdoms, which only He fully knows; even if a human desires, he cannot reach their depths, he can only know as much as the Lord wills.

➋ {وَ لٰكِنْ يُّدْخِلُ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ فِيْ رَحْمَتِهٖ:} After giving the ability to distinguish between good and evil and the freedom to choose either, He admits whomever He wills into His mercy, but His will is not blind, without any rule; rather, the next sentence makes it clear who are those who become deserving of Allah’s mercy and who are those who are deprived of it.

➌ {وَ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ مَا لَهُمْ مِّنْ وَّلِيٍّ وَّ لَا نَصِيْرٍ:} In the terminology of the Qur’an, the word “zulm” (wrongdoing) and “zalimun” (wrongdoers) is used for shirk (associating partners with Allah) and the polytheists (see Al-An’am: 82), and the words “qist” and “adl” (justice) are used for tawheed (monotheism), because the greatest wrongdoing is shirk and the greatest justice is tawheed, as He said: « شَهِدَ اللّٰهُ اَنَّهٗ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ وَ اُولُوا الْعِلْمِ قَآىِٕمًۢا بِالْقِسْطِ» [آل عمران : ۱۸ ] “Allah bears witness that there is no deity except Him, and so do the angels and those of knowledge, maintaining His justice.” After being given the freedom of will and action, those who wronged themselves, instead of making their Creator, Owner, and Sustainer the only deity and remaining steadfast in His worship, made others their deities, who have no power at all, so they have neither any friend nor any helper. It is clear that such people will not be admitted into Allah’s mercy, because admitting them into His mercy is against Allah’s justice and will, and they themselves are hopeless of Allah’s mercy, otherwise they would never turn to others, as He said: « اُولٰٓىِٕكَ يَىِٕسُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَتِيْ » [ العنکبوت : ۲۳ ] “They have despaired of My mercy.” This same point has been stated with great clarity in Surah Ad-Dahr (29, 30). However, those who believed and did not mix their faith with the greatest wrongdoing, i.e., shirk, only they will be admitted into Allah’s mercy and only they can hope for it, as He said: « اُولٰٓىِٕكَ يَرْجُوْنَ رَحْمَتَ اللّٰهِ» [ البقرۃ : ۲۱۸ ] “They are the ones who hope for Allah’s mercy.”

➍ In this verse, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims have also been comforted that if some people, even after the truth has become clear, do not believe and persist in disbelief and shirk, then you do not need to be worried. If Allah had willed, He would have guided all people, but that would have been compulsion, which is not Allah’s will. He has, according to His wisdom and will, given humans free choice; whoever wishes may believe, and whoever wishes may disbelieve, so this difference among people will always remain. This subject has been mentioned in numerous verses; see Surah Yunus (99, 100), Hud (118, 119), and Surah As-Sajdah (13).