Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 46

أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ سَمْعَكُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَكُمْ

(Tell me, if Allah took away your hearing and your sight.) just as He gave these senses to you. In another Ayah, Allah said;

هُوَ الَّذِى أَنشَأَكُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالاٌّبْصَـرَ

(It is He Who has created you, and endowed you with hearing, seeing.) 67:23. The Ayah above might also mean that Allah will not allow the disbelievers to benefit from these senses in religious terms. This is why He said next,

وَخَتَمَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ

(and sealed up your hearts,.) He also said in other Ayat,

أَمَّن يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ والاٌّبْصَـرَ

(Or who owns hearing and sight) 10:31, and,

وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ

(And know that Allah comes in between a person and his heart.) Allah said;

مَّنْ إِلَـهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِهِ

(Is there a god other than Allah who could restore them to you) Meaning, is there anyone except Allah who is able to give you back these senses if Allah took them from you Only Allah is able to do so, and this is why He said here,

انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الاٌّيَـتِ

(See how variously We explain the Ayat,) and make them plain and clear, testifying to Allah's Oneness in lordship and that those worshipped besides Him are all false and unworthy.

ثُمَّ هُمْ يَصْدِفُونَ

(yet they turn aside.) After this explanation, they still turn away from the truth and hinder people from following it. Allah's statement,

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَـكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ بَغْتَةً

(Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly...") means, while you are unaware -- or during the night -- striking you all of a sudden,

أَوْ جَهْرَةً

(or openly) during the day, or publicly,

هَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلاَّ الْقَوْمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ

(will any be destroyed except the wrongdoing people) This torment only strikes those who commit injustice against themselves by associating others with Allah, while those who worship Allah alone without partners will be saved from it, and they will have no fear or sorrow. In another Ayah, Allah said;

الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُواْ إِيمَـنَهُمْ بِظُلْمٍ

(It is those who believe and confuse not their belief with Zulm, (wrong or Shirk).) 6:82 Allah's statement,

وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ

(And We send not the Messengers but as bearers of glad tidings and as warners.) means, the Messengers ﷺ bring good news to Allah's servants, as well as, command all that is good and righteous. They also warn those who disbelieve in Allah of His anger and of all types of torment. Allah said,

فَمَنْ ءَامَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ

(So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds.) meaning, whoever believes in his heart with what the Messengers were sent with and makes his works righteous by imitating them;

فَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ

(upon such shall come no fear,) concerning the future,

وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

(nor shall they grieve.) about what they missed in the past and left behind them in this world. Certainly, Allah will be the Wali and Protector over what they left behind. Allah said next,

وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَايَـتِنَا يَمَسُّهُمُ الْعَذَابُ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْسُقُونَ

(But those who reject Our Ayat, the torment will strike them for their rebelling.) The torment will strike them because of disbelieving in the Message of the Messengers, defying Allah's commands, committing what He prohibited and transgressing His set limits.

In the last verse (45), it was said that, when the mass punishment of Allah Ta` ala came, the people who did wrong were uprooted to the last man. Said immediately after was: وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ رَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds) where the hint given is: Whenever the wrongdoers and the unjust are visited by some punishment or calamity, that is a blessing for the whole world for which people should be grateful.

When a man is faced with the truth and he does not accept it, God does not seize him immediately, but gives him some jolts by way of monetary loss or physical trouble, so that he should review his way of life, and his thinking should be revolutionised. Life’s events are not mere happenings but vibrant messages from God sent to wake a man up from his sleep of forgetfulness. But man learns nothing from these things. He consoles himself by saying that these are normal ups and downs and that such ups and downs do occur in life. In this way, Satan all too often diverts the mind of the individual from possible divine disfavour and pushes him into negligence of his religious duties by providing him with plausible justifications. When a man indulges in this type of behaviour again and again, his heart loses all sensitivity to what is true or false, right or wrong. His conscience eventually becomes totally blunted. When a man ignores the warnings received from God, His approach towards him changes. Now, God’s decision for him is that the doors to comfort and success should be opened for him; he should be granted prosperity in full measure; his honour and popularity should increase. This is in reality, a punishment, so that the evil hidden in him should come out clearly. The purpose of this is that man should feel satisfied with himself and become more and more insensitive and much bolder in ignoring the Truth. And, as a result, his meriting punishment is fully established. When this purpose is achieved, God’s retribution suddenly overwhelms him. He is deprived of worldly life and presented before the court of the Hereafter, so that he may be awarded the punishment of Hell. This world is God’s world. Here the right to have one’s greatness extolled belongs to only one Being. So, if a man ignores the divine truth, he is in fact disrespecting God. In a world overarched by the majesty of the Almighty, he wants to establish his own greatness. In this way he is indulging in unparalleled transgression. He is being insolent to God before whom no behaviour other than that of the utmost humility is proper.