Surah An-Najm, Ayah 55

Some Attributes of the Lord, that He returns Man as He originated Him, and some of what He does with His Servants

Allah the Exalted said,

وَأَنَّ إِلَى رَبِّكَ الْمُنتَهَى

(And that to your Lord is the End.) meaning, the return of everything on the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Amr bin Maymun Al-Awdi said, "Once, Mu`adh bin Jabal stood up among us and said, `O Children of Awd! I am the emissary of Allah's Messenger ﷺ to you; know that the Return is to Allah, either to Paradise or the Fire."' Allah's statement,

وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ أَضْحَكَ وَأَبْكَى

(And that it is He Who makes you laugh, and makes you weep.) means that He created in His creatures the ability to laugh or weep and the causes for each of these opposites,

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَ‌بِّكَ تَتَمَارَ‌ىٰ (Then, which of your Lord's bounties would you dispute?....53:55). Tamara means to dispute and oppose. According to Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، the verse is addressed to every human being. After seeing so many and so clear and invincible arguments in the preceding verses and the Signs in the scriptures of Musa and Ibrahim (علیہما السلام) that support and substantiate the claims of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about the truth of his revelation, the verse says to the obstinate disbelievers: How long will you continue to deny the truth and wander in the wilderness of disbelief? The verse further makes it abundantly clear for those who think and deliberate that there should be no room for any doubt in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، his revelation and his teachings. Having heard about the stories of destruction and punishment of past nations, this is an opportune occasion for them to straighten out. This well-timed occasion is a favour of Allah. They should take advantage of it instead of fighting and opposing it.

A nation makes superb progress and surpasses other nations. It is apparently impossible for it to be overpowered. Thereafter, certain factors come into play and that nation is destroyed or faces decline and fades into oblivion. This indicates that there is a Super Power over human beings that decides about the future of nations. If even such events of history do not impart a lesson to a human being, what will?