Allah in His Al might is the Al-Muntaqim " ٱلْمُنْتَقِمُ " - The Avenger, The Inflictor of Retribution, The Disapprover !!
Since descend of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), Allah has clearly laid down the path forward and deviators have been warned of severe consequences and later of retribution. When people still deviated from Allah's path, the devastating flood in times of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) and a hellish rain of burning stones descended on people of Prophet Lut (Lot, peace be upon him). Te men still deviated and people of Ad and Thamud were destroyed and only the remains of their mighty abode remain.
Like other Divine scriptures, people have also been warned of Divine retribution in Qur'ān:
فَلَا تَحۡسَبَنَّ اللّٰهَ مُخۡلِفَ وَعۡدِهٖ رُسُلَهٗؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزِيۡزٌ ذُوۡ انْتِقَامٍؕ
So, do not think, (O Prophet), that Allah will go back upon His promise to His Messengers. Surely Allah is Mighty, Lord of retribution. [Surah 14. Ibrahim: 47]
Though the above verse has been addressed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), it is really meant for his opponents. They are being warned that they should not delude themselves because of the delay in their punishment. They should note it well that Allah fulfilled the promises He made to the former Messengers and defeated their opponents. Likewise He will surely fulfill the promises He had made to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
وَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنۡ ذُكِّرَ بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّهٖ ثُمَّ اَعۡرَضَ عَنۡهَاؕ اِنَّا مِنَ الۡمُجۡرِمِيۡنَ مُنۡتَقِمُوۡنَ
And who is more unjust than he who is given good counsel through the Signs of his Lord and yet he turns away from them? Surely We will exact full retribution from such criminals. [Surah 32. As-Sajda: 22]
All these signs proclaim consistently and clearly: “O man, you are neither without God, nor the servant of many gods, but your God is only One God: no other way of life is correct for you except the way of His service and obedience. You have not been left to live a free and independent and irresponsible life in this world, but you have to appear before yow God and render an account of your deeds after your life-activity here has come to an end, and be rewarded or punished accordingly. Therefore, it is in yow own interest that you should follow the guidance which your God has sent through His Prophets and His Books for your instruction and desist from an independent way of lift.” Now, obviously, the man who has been warned in so many different ways, for whose admonition countless different signs have been provided, and who has been blessed with the eyes to see and the ears to hear and the mind to think, and yet he closes his eyes to all these signs, and closes his ears to the admonitions of his well-wishers, and uses his mind for inventing stupid and blind philosophies only can be a wretched and wicked person. He only deserves to be given full punishment for rebellion when he appears before his God after the expiry of the period of test in the world.
The attribute Muntaqim is not specifically used as a Beautiful Name in the Qur'ān. But it has been derived from the many cautions Allah has spelt out in the Qur'ān. Muntaqim and is from the root n-q-m and it is from the Arabic word " انْتِقَامٍؕ " this attribute of Allah, Al-Muntaqim, has been derived which in classical Arabic means: (1) to inflict retribution, avenge, (2) to dislike, disapprove, find fault, and (3) to punish.
فَاِمَّا نَذۡهَبَنَّ بِكَ فَاِنَّا مِنۡهُمۡ مُّنۡتَقِمُوۡنَۙ
We shall inflict retribution on them, whether We take you away from the world (before We do that) [Surah 43. Az-Zukhruf: 41]
يَوۡمَ نَبۡطِشُ الۡبَطۡشَةَ الۡكُبۡـرٰىۚ اِنَّا مُنۡتَقِمُوۡنَ
The Day when We shall seize them with a mighty seizing, that will be the Day on which We shall inflict upon you full retribution. [Surah 44. Ad-Dukhan: 16]
As can be seen from many verse quoted from the Qur'ān, Allah, the Al-Muntaqim leaves no stone un-turned to warn the oppressors, and when they still being adamant, the criminals to be subjected to His retribution. He sends His messengers supported by His signs and miracles to warn people; so, if warning does not benefit someone, He will surely then inflict His penalty and revenge against him. To my reckoning the pandemic of Covid-19 is also a sort of Divine retribution which has taken a heavy toll of people all around the world. May be it is a warning and a strong message of something deadlier coming on to us if we do not mend ways.
So let us obey Allah and try not to deviate from the true path, lest we invoke Divine retribution and perish forever from this world and yet be punished again and thrown in hellfire in the hereafter.
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
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