Overview (Verses 1 - 2)
 
This first passage speaks about God’s oneness. It makes use of all the tools we outlined in the Prologue: the numerous signs and indicators the great variety of God’s creation exhibit, the countless favours He has bestowed on man in every stage of his life, His perfect knowledge of what is kept secret and what is left public, the life of this world and the life to come.
 
An Imminent Grave Event
 
God’s judgement is bound to come; so do not seek to hurry it on. Limitless is He in His glory and sublimely exalted above anything people may associate with Him. He sends down angels with this divine inspiration, [bestowed] by His will on such of His servants as He pleases: ‘Warn [mankind] that there is no deity other than Me: so fear Me.’ (Verses 1-2) The unbelievers in Makkah used to ask the Prophet to hasten their punishment in this life, or to hasten the punishment God has in store for them in the life to come. As time passed with no punishment being inflicted, they urged the Prophet more and more to hasten it, demonstrating that they could not care less. They thought that Muĥammad was warning them against something that would never happen. His only aim, as they imagined, was to get them to believe what he said and accept his faith. They could not understand God’s wisdom in giving them time. Nor could they appreciate His grace. They would not reflect on the signs He has placed everywhere in the universe around them. Nor would they reflect on His revelations in the Qur’ān which address people’s minds and hearts. That is after all a much more effective address than punishment and suffering. It is more worthy of man whom God has honoured when He gave him a mind, feelings and an independent will to study, reflect and make free choices.
 
The opening of the sūrah is very decisive: “God’s judgement is bound to come.” It implies that the command has been given, and that God’s will has been made. This is sufficient for the judgement to come to pass at the time appointed for it by God Himself. “So do not seek to hurry it on.” God’s laws operate in accordance with His will. They cannot be hurried, nor can they be postponed to satisfy people’s wishes. The statement here tells us that God’s judgement, to resurrect people or to inflict His punishment on those who deserve it, has been made. It will come to pass at the time God has determined. There will be no hurrying and no delay.
 
The decisive nature of this statement is especially effective, even on those who try to wear a careless face. Moreover, it expresses the truth. Whatever God wills is bound to take place. The fact that He has made a judgement means that it is carried out, and that it becomes part of reality. Hence, there is neither an overstatement of facts nor a deviation from them.
 
Their beliefs, associating partners with God, and all the false concepts that they formulate on that basis, are far removed from God’s true nature: “Limitless is He in His glory and sublimely exalted above anything people may associate with Him.” (Verse 1) Beliefs that ascribe divinity to anyone other than God all lack foundation. They are the result of degenerate and disgraceful thinking.
 
God, who does not abandon mankind to their erring beliefs and baseless concepts, sends down from on high what gives them life and saves them: “He sends down angels with this divine inspiration, [bestowed] by His will on such of His servants as He pleases.” (Verse 2) This is God’s greatest favour and blessing. He not only sends down water from the sky to make the earth quicken and to give physical life, but He also sends down the angels with His divine inspiration. The Arabic expression uses the word rah, which also means ‘spirit’, for inspiration. This adds connotations of life within people’s souls, consciences and feelings, and within society so as to preserve them all from corruption. This is the first thing that God sends down to people from on high, and it is His most important blessing and bounty. God’s purest creation, the angels, are sent down to His chosen servants, the prophets, giving them a message that is summed up in these words: “Warn [mankind] that there is no deity other than Me: so fear Ale.” (Verse 2)
 
The emphasis here is on God’s oneness, which is the central point of the Islamic faith. It breathes life into people’s souls. It is also the parting point between the way which gives life and the way which destroys it. A soul that does not believe in God’s oneness is lost, confused, pulled in all directions by diverse and contradictory concepts and beliefs. It cannot move with its whole being towards a definite goal. Use of the term rib in reference to God’s message implies all these. Indeed it provides a fitting reference to them at the beginning of this sūrah which speaks of the great variety of God’s favours. It is the top of all these blessings, without which all others lose their value. Indeed man does not make a proper use or derive proper benefit from anything on earth unless his soul comes alive with the great blessing of faith.
 
The warning is given a special mention so as to appear to be the central point of the message, because the larger part of the sūrah speaks about the unbelievers who deny God’s blessing, prohibit what God has made lawful, violate their covenant with
 
God and reject faith altogether. This makes the warning more appropriate at the outset, coupled with a call to fear God and avoid incurring His displeasure.