Sūrat Āl ʿImrān
Section 9 of 22 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
There Is Always a Way Out
Finally, Allah (swt) turns upon disbelief in earnest, speaking of all the evils of disbelief and of what is to follow from it. But whenever anything is discouraged, encouragement always accompanies it. That is why Allah says:
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“except those who repent afterwards and mend their ways. Then, Allah is All-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” (3:89)
There is always a way out: except those who repent, and who, after doing wrong, then reform — for Allah (swt) is ever Forgiving and Merciful. And the final verse of the passage is:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَمَاتُوا۟ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِم مِّلْءُ ٱلْأَرْضِ ذَهَبًا وَلَوِ ٱفْتَدَىٰ بِهِۦٓ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن نَّـٰصِرِينَ
“Those who disbelieve and die as disbelievers, even an Earth-full of gold shall never be accepted from any of them, even if one were to offer it as ransom. They are the ones for whom there is a painful punishment, and for them there are no helpers.” (3:91)
There is a severe punishment for those who do not come to the right path, and they will have no assistance in the Hereafter.
Allah (swt) tells us, in one very particular verse — verse 113, or rather verse 175,* of Āl ʿImrān — Allah says:
۞ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِۦٓ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لَّا يُؤَدِّهِۦٓ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَآئِمًا ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِى ٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ سَبِيلٌ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
“Among the people of the Book there is one who, if you entrust him with a heap (of gold or silver), will give it back to you; and among them there is one who, if you entrust him with a single dīnār (a coin of gold), he will not give it back to you, unless you keep standing over him. This is because they have said, “There is no way we can be blamed in the matter of the unlettered.”And they tell lies about Allah knowingly.” (3:75)
That even among the People of the Book, one must not paint them all with the one brush. Their beliefs may be wrong; but in their conduct they are not all alike. Some of them may be entrusted with a great quantity of wealth and will return it; they are entirely trustworthy. Others, however, must be chased, and chased, and chased again for a single dīnār, and still will not return it.