Torture within Quranist Viewpoint (6): The Disbelievers and Their Asking for the Infliction of Torture/Torment in This World

Published in September 16, 2017

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Firstly: as per the Quranic stories, most ancient nations who rejected the messengers asked to be tormented as "proof" of the Truth:

1- The people of Noah said to him the following: "They said, "O Noah, you have argued with us, and argued a great deal. Now bring upon us what you threaten us with, if you are truthful."" (11:32).

2- The Aad tribe said the following to Hood, their messenger: "They said, "Did you come to us to make us worship God alone, and abandon what our ancestors used to worship? Then bring us what you threaten us with, if you are truthful."" (7:70). The winds typically brought to the Aad tribe rain and prosperity, and when they saw the clouds, they thought of prosperity and bounties coming; they did not know that the clouds contained destructive winds to smite them. At first, the Aad tribe and Hood engaged into a dialogue: "They said, "Did you come to us to divert us from our gods? Then bring us what you threaten us with, if you are being truthful." He said, "The knowledge is only with God, and I inform you of what I was sent with; but I see you are an ignorant people."" (46:22-23), then they were smitten by this torment: "Then, when they saw a cloud approaching their valley, they said, "This is a cloud that will bring us rain." "In fact, it is what you were impatient for: a wind in which is severe torment." It destroys everything by the command of its Lord. And when the morning came upon them, there was nothing to be seen except their dwellings. Thus We requite the criminals." (46:24-25).

3- The Thamood tribe said the following to their messenger Saleh: "..."O Saleh, bring upon us what you threaten us with, if you are one of the messengers." Whereupon the quake overtook them, and they became lifeless bodies in their homes." (7:77-78).

4- The Madian people said the following to their messenger Shuaib: "So bring down on us pieces from the sky, if you are truthful."" (26:187).

5- The people of Lot said the same thing: "..."Bring upon us God's torment, if you are truthful."" (29:29).

6- These nations and tribes were polytheists believed in God along with other deities/gods and saints, and they were so corrupt to the extent that they were so arrogant and haughty; they asked (in mockery and ridicule) their messengers for bringing torment inflicted upon them, in defiance of the Lord God. This incurred upon them the just and fair divine retribution as they wished for it.    

Secondly: Qorayish and their asking for torment/destruction:

  God has said the following to Muhammad in the Quran: "Nothing is said to you but was said to the messengers before you..." (41:43); this means that the divine message inspired to Muhammad contain what has been inspired to the previous messengers/prophets. This also means that the people of Muhammad, the Qorayish tribe, denied and rejected the divine message and asked for torment as proof of the Truth, just like other peoples/tribes have done with their messengers/prophets. Within the topic of Qorayish asking for torment/destruction, we assert the following points below.

The Qorayish tribesmen's rejection and denial of the Quran is the cause of their asking for torment to be inflicted upon them:

1- God says the following about the Quran itself: "It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. The Honest Spirit came down with it. Upon your heart, that you may be one of the warners. In a clear Arabic tongue." (26:192-195). God asserts that what is mentioned in the Quran is also written in previous celestial messages/scriptures: "And it is in the scriptures of the ancients." (26:196). This is why the Israelite scholars recognized the Quran and knew about it, and this should have been enough proof for the gentiles among Arabs and Qorayish that the Quran is God's Word: "Is it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Israelites recognized it?" (26:197). Yet, the Qorayish tribesmen denied the Quran and will never believe in it as the Truth until they are tormented in Hell: "Had We revealed it to one of the foreigners. And he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it. Thus We make it pass through the hearts of the criminals. They will not believe in it until they witness the painful torment. It will come to them suddenly, while they are unaware. Then they will say, "Are we given any respite?"" (26:198-203). Yet, the Qorayish tribesmen sought to hasten torment of the Lord God during their lifetimes on Earth: "Do they seek to hasten Our torment?" (26:204).  

2- God mentions in the Quran how the Qorayish tribesmen insisted on rejecting and denying the Quran to the extent that they invoked God to inflict torment upon them if the Quran is truly His Word revealed from Him: "And they said, "Our God, if this is the Truth from You, then rain down on us stones from the sky, or visit us with a painful torment."" (8:32).

When did Qorayish suffer torment in this world?:

1- There are conditions that if fulfilled, Qorayish will suffer torment as per divine warning in the Quran: "But God would not torment them while you are amongst them. And God would not torment them as long as they seek forgiveness. Yet why should God not torment them, when they are turning others away from the Sacred Mosque, although they are not its allies? Its rightful allies are the pious; but most of them do not know." (8:33-34). Thus, Qorayish were warned that they will not be tormented in this world as long as they seek God's forgiveness and never to drive Muhammad from Mecca, and they will be tormented if they drive Muhammad out and prevented believers from entering into the Sacred Kaaba Mosque. These verses were revealed in Yathreb, after immigration to it, and Qorayish stopped early believers from entering into Mecca for pilgrimage. This means that unlike history written by men about Mecca, the Qorayish tribe had torment inflicted upon them by God after believers immigrated to Yathreb. 

2- The Quran indicates in the following verse this torment inflicted upon the Qorayish tribesmen in Mecca: "Even if We had mercy on them, and relieved their harm, they would still blindly persist in their defiance." (23:75). We infer that this ''harm'' was most probably economic troubles; other Arabian tribes dared to attack and threaten the trade caravans of Qorayish after the tribe lost its awe and respect because of its failed attempts to crush Muhammad and the early believers within the military struggle against the Yathreb city-state. These verses show that the Meccans of Qorayish were tormented severely, even if history books do not mention this Quranic fact: "We have already gripped them with torment, but they did not surrender to their Lord, nor did they humble themselves.  Until, when We have opened before them a gate of severe torment, at once they despaired." (23:76-77).   

3- Moreover, their torment in the future (i.e., after Muhammad's death) is also predicted in the Quran in verses within the Chapter 6 revealed in Mecca. This prediction was fulfilled in the Arab civil war when men of Qorayish fought against one another (Ali vs. Mu'aweiya) and with other desert-Arabs or Bedouins during the caliphate of Ali. This prediction is found in the following verse: "Say, "He is Able to send upon you a torment, from above you, or from under your feet. Or He can divide you into factions, and make you taste the violence of one another. Note how We explain the verses, so that they may understand."" (6:65). This is done in the civil wars that followed only few decades after the death of Muhammad, and until now as the Muhammadan Shiites and the Muhammadan Wahabi Sunnites fight against each other until the present moment. The reason for this perdition is the fact that Qorayish denied and rejected the Quran: "But your people rejected it, though it is the truth. Say, "I am not responsible for you."" (6:66). God says the following about this prediction: "For every happening is a finality, and you will surely know." (6:67). There other verses that indicate this predicted torment inflicted upon Qorayish in this world as they hasten it mockingly: "And they say, "When is this promise, if you are Truthful?" Say, "Perhaps some of what you are impatient for has drawn near."" (27:71-72).         

The stance of Prophet Muhammad regarding their hastening the torment:

1- Muhammad was growing impatient with their mockery by invoking God's torment to be inflicted upon them, and God has told him the following: "So be patient, as the messengers with resolve were patient, and do not be hasty regarding them..." (46:35). This shows that the timing of their torment in this world has been preordained; God has said further to Muhammad: "So do not hurry against them. We are counting for them a countdown." (19:84).

2- God has commanded Muhammad to tell the Qorayish tribesmen that the torment they hasten (in mockery) is as per the commands of the Dominant Lord, not according to his own wishes; otherwise, it would have occurred during his lifetime: "Say, "I stand on clear evidence from my Lord, and you have rejected Him. I do not possess what you seek me to hasten; the decision belongs solely to God. He states the Truth, and He is the Best of Judges." Say, "If I possessed what you seek me to hasten, the matter between you and me would have been settled. God is well aware of the unjust ones."" (6:57-58).

3- God is the Sole Owner of the commands related to torment in this world and in the Hereafter, and He has commanded Muhammad to announce this fact as God destroys the unjust ones: "Say, "Have you considered? If God took away your hearing and your sight, and set a seal on your hearts, what deity other than Allah would restore them to you?" Note how We explain the verses in various ways, yet they still turn away. Say, "Have you considered? if God's torment descended on you suddenly or gradually, would any be destroyed except the unjust people?"" (6:46-47).

4- Yet, God saves the pious ones and spares them any torment: "And God will save those who maintained righteousness to their place of salvation. No harm will touch them, nor will they grieve." (39:61).

5- Torment inflicted in this world has a preordained timing which is inevitable, but God's mercy postpones it to give a chance for those seeking repentance: "Your Lord is the Forgiver, Possessor of Mercy. Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, He would have hastened the torment for them. But they have an appointment from which they will find no escape." (18:58).

6- Thus, we infer that the threat of torment inflicted in this world is a chance to those who seek to repent sincerely and be accepted by God: "We will make them taste the lesser torment, prior to the greater torment, so that they may return." (32:21). There are those most unjust ones who adamantly reject the Quranic Truth and believe in false  and devilish narratives: "Who is more unjust than he, who, when reminded of his Lord's verses, turns away from them? We will certainly wreak vengeance upon the criminals." (32:22)

7- Typically, the unjust disbelievers admit to their being among the unjust ones once the torment is inflicted upon them; God says the following in the Quran about Qorayish: "And when a breath of your Lord's torment touches them, they say, "Woe to us, we were truly unjust!"" (21:46). Their confession here is in vain, after it is too late for them, and the same applies to ancient nations smitten by God and declared their monotheistic faith and belief in God and their rejection of other deities when they were dying within torment: "Then, when they witnessed Our torment, they said, "We believe in God alone, and we reject what we used to associate with Him." But their faith could not help them once they witnessed Our torment. This has been God's way of dealing with His servants. And there and then the disbelievers lost." (40:84-85).

Lastly: the torment inflicted upon the Muhammadans in this world because of their disbelief, as they have abandoned the Quran:

1- This is the main issue as always in all eras: would one believes only in God without saints/deities/allies associated with Him? Or would one believes in God alongside with saints/deities/allies associated with Him?

2- It will be too late for the losers when they say (in vain): "... We believe in God alone, and we reject what we used to associate with Him..." (40:84), when they feel the torment, and when they enter Hell, this will be said to them: "That is because when God alone was called upon, you disbelieved; but when others were associated with Him, you believed..." (40:12).

3- The vast majority of human beings never believe only in Allah as God! Most of those who call themselves as ''believers'' associate other names of saints/deities/allies alongside with God, by deifying mortals: "And most of them do not believe in God unless they associate others." (12:106).

4- This applies to Muhammadans in particular; this is why torment in this world is inflicted upon them in every era, even today. In the following verse, God warns polytheists against torment in this world and torment in the Hereafter that comes suddenly: "Do they feel secure that a covering of God's torment will not come upon them, or that the Hour will not come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware?" (12:107). The next verse is about the Quranic Message of God conveyed and preached by Muhammad, as the Quran is the Path/Way and its verses are insights to believers, and those who follow the Quran are following the footsteps of Muhammad by preaching only the Quran and nothing else (e.g., Quranists): "Say, "This is my way; I invite to God, based on clear knowledge - I and whoever follows me. Glory be to God; and I am not of the polytheists."" (12:108).  

5- God preserves the Quranic text till the end of days; yet, the Muhammadans have discarded and rejected monotheism as they deify and sanctify (alongside with God) other mortal deities: Muhammad, Ali, Abou Bakr, Othman, Omar, Hussein, Aisha, Al-Bokhary, Mehdi, etc. and the list is too long. The Muhammadans hate to consider Allah as the Only God and the Only Saint, Ally, and Supporter; this is because more than 99% of deification and sanctification in their beliefs is dedicated to names of the dead persons, whereas less than 1% is dedicated to Allah! This is why their being tormented in this world is something recurrent, exposing them in worldwide media today. This is because they have abandoned and disregarded that Quran preserved by God and followed 'holy' books authored by mortals.    

6- When Quranists preach peaceful religious reform based on the Quran as the only criterion, Muhammadans hate Quranists and Quranism the more and their disbelief, tyranny, and injustices increase, just as the stance of their forefathers and ancestors was, who hated the Quran very much. God has told Muhammad the following about such Quran-hating polytheists: "...Certainly, what was revealed to your from your Lord will increase many of them in defiance and disbelief..." (5:64); "...Certainly, what was revealed to your from your Lord will increase many of them in defiance and disbelief, so do not be sorry for the disbelieving people." (5:68).  

7- This applies to all Muhammadans. Is not that true?!