Say, "Indeed, I have been forbidden to worship those you invoke besides Allāh." Say, "I will not follow your desires, for I would then have gone astray, and I would not be of the [rightly] guided."
The Prophet Understands What He Conveys; Torment is in Allah's Hands Not the Prophet's
Allah says, just as We mentioned the clear signs that testify and direct to the path of guidance, all the while chastising useless arguments and defiance,
كَذلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الآيَـتِ
(And thus do We explain the Ayat in detail,) that is, whatever responsible adults need explained to them, in the affairs of life and religion,
وَلِتَسْتَبِينَ سَبِيلُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
(That the way of the criminals may become manifest.) so that the path of the criminals who defy the Prophets is apparent and clear. This Ayah was also said to mean, so that you, O Muhammad , are aware of the path of the criminals. Allah's statement,
In the verses cited above, the answer to disbelievers who were demanding that the Divine punishment should come to them posthaste was given in: وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْفَاصِلِينَ (He is the best decision-maker) while the mention of the perfect power of Almighty Allah was made in: وَاللَّـهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالظَّالِمِينَ (Allah knows the unjust best). Next from here, there is a description of the encompassment of the Knowledge and Power of Allah Ta` ala on all conceivable data and destiny.
Tazkirul Quran
Maulana Wahiduddin KhanOn ayahs 55–56
During the period of the Prophet Muhammad, there were those who demanded miracles before accepting his bona fides. Unlike them, there were others who embraced the faith on hearing him recite the verses of the Quran. This sort of test of man goes on in every era. In the present world God does not appear in physical form. He advances His arguments through the medium of the bearer of truth, casting them in verbal form, so that they may be presented to mankind. Now, one in whom nature is alive is able to see the glow of God in these arguments and he accepts it and bows down before it. But, those who have shrouded their nature in artificial veils fail to find God through His ‘words’. They are unable to see God through reasoning and therefore they want God to appear before them physically, in an observable shape. But this is not possible in the present world of trial. Here, only that person will find God who is able to recognise Him while He is still invisible. One who insists on witnessing God in physical form in this world faces spiritual destitution of the most extreme kind. Those who sedulously avoid the truth by adopting a wrong approach, accuse those who accept the Truth of various kinds of wrongdoing, so that they may prove themselves to be much better than them. They are unable to see their own transgressions but, if a truthful person happens to commit any slight mistake, they try to exaggerate it with a view to establishing that those who have rallied to the quest for truth are unreliable. The truth is quite the reverse. Believers who have abjured untruth and accepted truth tread the path of faith and righteousness. In this way, in accordance with the will of God, they become entitled to receive inspiration for the betterment of their present position and share the bounties of God. Unlike them, those who steer clear of the truth only prove by their actions that they are not interested in adopting the way of faith and righteousness. Even when such people are deprived of God’s guidance, their bravado does not come to an end, and it is their effrontery which constitutes the greatest crime in this world of God. God expresses Himself in the language of ‘symbols’. Symbols are useful only to one who has the desire to read or interpret them. Similarly, guidance will be available only to one who is eager to have it. One who shows no interest in guidance has no other option but to go astray.
