We all very know the concept of stick and carrot. To enforce discipline, there is a dire need of forceful corrections which are most often than not are essentially needed. Allah has in the past taken stern actions against people of Noah and Lot (peace be upon them) when their people transgressed all limits of decency and blatantly refused to walk the way of truth and honour.
This does not mean that Allah is always unleashing His anger for He is An-Nafi' (النافع) too - The Creator of Good, The Propitious -The Benefactor which is exactly the opposite of attribute under discussion, i.e. The Aḍ-Ḍārr " ٱلْضَّارُ " - the Corrector and Afflicter. These opposing attributes are often inseparable, since that which is the sweetest nectar to one person may be bitter poison to another. These both attribute appear together in 49th verse of Surah 10. Yunus:
قُلْ لَّاۤ اَمۡلِكُ لِنَفۡسِىۡ ضَرًّا وَّلَا نَفۡعًا اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ اللّٰهُؕ لِكُلِّ اُمَّةٍ اَجَلٌؕ اِذَا جَآءَ اَجَلُهُمۡ فَلَا يَسۡتَـاخِرُوۡنَ سَاعَةً وَّلَا يَسۡتَقۡدِمُوۡنَ
"Tell them: 'I have no power to harm or benefit even myself, except what Allah may will. There is an appointed term for every people; and when the end of their term comes, neither can they put it off for an hour, nor can they bring it an hour before."
Now in His own wisdom, Allah may test His servants by bringing harm to them in the form of sickness, shortage of wealth, taking away kith and kin, properties and livestock, and means of earning to see whether they remain steadfast and faithful to him or not. Likewise when evil exceeds tolerable limits, Allah brings in hurricanes, earthquakes, hurricanes, long spells of droughts and excessive rains to punish them, though in so doing many favoured servants also do suffer. But they will be compensated by entering them to Paradise, while the evil ones will taste the real affliction and cherishment in the raging fire of hell.
Allah also does not like men equating Him with other worldly deities. Those who take deities other than Allah, the Omnipotent, do not know that their deities cannot save them from the wrath and affliction of Allah, nor can they intercede to save them if Allah decides to unleash his anger for disobeying them and worshiping anyone but He.
ءَاَ تَّخِذُ مِنۡ دُوۡنِهٖۤ اٰلِهَةً اِنۡ يُّرِدۡنِ الرَّحۡمٰنُ بِضُرٍّ لَّا تُغۡنِ عَنِّىۡ شَفَاعَتُهُمۡ شَيۡـئًا وَّلَا يُنۡقِذُوۡنِۚ
"Am I to take as deities instead of Him those whose intercession, if the All-Merciful desires affliction for me , will not help me at all and cannot save me?" (Surah Ya Sin, 36:23)
Those who do so, should expect Allah's affliction for then the followers of worldly deities would find them standing all alone, tasting the punishment for doing so and their deities would stand helpless against the wrath of Aḍ-Ḍārr:
If Allah desires harm for me, can those you call upon besides Allah remove His harm? Or if He desires mercy for me, can they withhold His mercy?” Say: “Allah is enough for me. All those who truly trust put their trust in Him.” (Surat Az-Zumar, 39:38)
May we never walk the ways that draw Allah's affliction on us and that may we always be protected and blessed. Aameen.
You may refer to our post "99 Attributes of Allāh" for complete list of 99 attributes of Allah Almighty with meaning and explanation.
You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran
You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran
Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
Follow @IslamUltimate
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.