Translation
We [God] did indeed sent messengers to communities before you and let distress and afflictions touch them to see if they would find humility. Why did they not seek humility when misfortune decreed by Us [God] fell on them? Instead, their hearts hardened, and the Devil [their evil inclinations] made their activities as if it were good for them. While they were negligent of what they were told to be mindful about, We opened up the gate of all things—so that joy and abundance seemed permanent to them. Then We seized them suddenly, and they found themselves in utter despair. So, in the end, the stance of those who did evils was removed. Praise be to God, the Sustainer of the Universe! 332
Say: “Have you considered this possibility—If God were to take away your hearing and your sight and harden your heart, who is there besides God that can bring these back to you?” This is how We expound the message in different ways, yet they walk away in arrogance. Say: “If God’s displeasure were to descend suddenly or in a perceptible way, would it destroy anyone other than those who do evil?”
We [God] do not send messengers except as the expounders of goodness and to warn; therefore, whoever believes and acts righteously will have no reason to fear or grieve, but for those who reject Our Guidance, evil consequence will envelop them because of their corruptions. Say: “I do not claim [as a prophet] that I own treasures from God or that I know what is hidden by God or that I am an Angel; I strictly follow what has been revealed to me (by God).” Are the blind and the one who has sight the same—how can you not then reflect? 333
Interpretation
332 I truly believe that all misfortunes and difficulties that we face are due to our own doing (or to the failure to do what we should do) and that all good fortune comes as a result of our endeavors and God’s grace. Sometimes God’s grace comes even when we do not deserve it. In all our conditions, we are constantly being tested and evaluated as to how we conduct ourselves and how we serve the purpose of our individual and collective existence. We should never take our good fortune for granted or feel that our good fortune validates our way of life. As God has said in other places in the Qur’an, and as we have seen through our own lives and throughout human history, we use our good fortune to persist in evil and unjust ways without realizing that God uses good fortune and misfortune equally to drive us toward consciousness of human purpose and to propel us toward correcting our way of life, which should be based on truth, human dignity, and acknowledgment of God’s grace to us.
333 Our physical and intellectual capabilities, such as the abilities to see, hear, comprehend, and so on, are all finite and time bound. Making maximum use of such gifts and abilities in our lives is an obligation and should be directed to enhance our personal well-being, improve human condition on this planet, and establish truth and justice for all as God has endowed us to do. Despite our ever-increasing technical competencies and human knowledge, we are still bound by such limitations and are under the same obligations to be grateful for and thoughtful of our God-given capabilities. Such realization and consciousness are fundamental human attributes and an expectation from God. Only by conscious exercise of such capabilities we can prove our true faith in God and our alignment with His guidance.
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REFLECTION
Life and living is a constant reminder of our wonderful capabilities and endowment from God, the Creator. Our intellectual and physical capabilities and our human conditions—whether it is good fortune or misfortune—all coalesce in a holistic way to help us develop ourselves further each day and to get closer to the vision of that God has for us.
ACTION
The key challenge for each one of us and for the human race is to what extent we desire and endeavor to fulfill our common goal of a peaceful coexistence and continually improve human potential by submitting us to the Will of God and to His Guidance!