Surah Al-Mu'minun, Ayah 94

The Command to call on Allah when Calamity strikes, to repel Evil with that which is better, and to seek refuge with Allah

Allah commands His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to call on Him with this supplication when calamity strikes:

رَّبِّ إِمَّا تُرِيَنِّى مَا يُوعَدُونَ

(My Lord! If You would show me that with which they are threatened.) meaning, `if You punish them while I am witnessing that, then do not cause me to be one of them.' As was said in the Hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi, who graded it Sahih:

«وَإِذَا أَرَدْتَ بِقَومٍ فِتْنَةً فَتَوفَّنِي إِلَيْكَ غَيْرَ مَفْتُون»

(If You want to test people, then take me to You cause me to die without having to undergo the test.)

وَإِنَّا عَلَى أَن نُّرِيَكَ مَا نَعِدُهُمْ لَقَـدِرُونَ

Commentary

قُل رَّ‌بِّ إِمَّا تُرِ‌يَنِّي مَا يُوعَدُونَ رَ‌بِّ فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي فِي الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

(0 prophet) say (in prayer), "0 my Lord, if You are to show me (in my life) that (punishment) which they (the infidels) are threatened with, then, my Lord, do not place me among the wrongdoing people." (23: 93, 94)

There are many verses of the Qur'an which contain warnings of punishment to the unbelievers. While the award of punishment is a certainty on the Day of Judgment, it is possible that it may be awarded in this world also - and even during the life time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . And when Allah's wrath descends upon a people, it is not confined to sinners alone, but sometimes it afflicts virtuous people too, who may not be punished in the Hereafter and may even be compensated by extra rewards for the undeserved punishment which they suffered in this world. The Qur'an says اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً (And beware of a punishment which shall not fall on the wrongdoers only - 8:25). In these verses, the Holy Prophet has been told by Allah to pray to Him that if His wrath were to descend upon the infidels in his life time, then He should be removed from their company. This prayer was suggested to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in spite of the fact that he was impeccable and infallible, the intention being that He should at all times remember Allah and beseech His mercy so as to increase his own reward in the Hereafter.

The nature of power is such that it does not tolerate division. If there are multiple power centres, each strives unceasingly to overpower the others. Now take a look at the universe. The stellar bodies follow their regime strictly and harmoniously. Had there been a separate god for every entity, each one would have distanced himself from the others along with his own part and no harmony would have existed among the different parts. Due to conflict among the various gods, the entire system of the universe would have been disturbed. Given the above, it is clear that the theory of the unity of Godhead is the Truth while the theory of polytheism stands discarded.