Surah Az-Zumar, Ayah 14

Creating Fear of the Punishment of Allah

Allah `says, say O Muhammad, even though you are the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:'

إِنِّى أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّى عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(Verily, if I disobey my Lord, I am afraid of the torment of a great Day.) meaning the Day of Resurrection. This is a conditional sentence, and if what is referred to here applies to the Prophet , it applies even more so to others,

قُلِ اللَّهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصاً لَّهُ دِينِى فَاعْبُدُواْ مَا شِئْتُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ

(Say: "Allah Alone I worship by doing religious deeds sincerely for His sake only. So, worship what you like besides Him.") This is also a threat, and a disowning of them.

In verse 10, it was said: وَأَرْ‌ضُ اللَّـهِ وَاسِعَةٌ (and the earth of Allah is wide).In the sentence previous to this, Good deeds had been enjoined. This might prompt someone to come up with the excuse, 'The city or country in which I live, or the social milieu I am stuck with around me stops me from doing good deeds.' This sentence carries an answer to this excuse - 'if you find adherence to Islamic legal injunctions difficult while living in some particular country, city or social setup, then, leave it. The earth of Allah is wide enough. Go and live at a place and in a surrounding that is conducive to remaining obedient to Divine commandments.' This persuades one to migrate from a place living in which one cannot dutifully follow and observe what has been enjoined by his religion. Some rules relating to hijrah (emigration) have already appeared in the commentary on Surah An-Nisa' (Ma’ ariful-Qur’ an, Volume II, Index p. 659, see under Hijrah).

When a man attains deep realisation of God, the essential result of this is that he becomes God-fearing. The realisation of the majesty of God makes him humble and he spends his life following the commandments of God. This makes him so serious that he renounces everything and leads a god-oriented life. To build up one’s life on the basis of faith involves a tremendous trial. Only those succeed in this trial for whom faith is the greatest wealth, for the sake of which they are prepared to forego everything else. A life of faith is a life of patience. Those who are prepared to become believers at the price of patience will be the ones who will be blessed with the superior grace of God.