Surah al-Anbiya' (The Prophets ) 21 : 17

Overview (Verses 12 - 17)

Still, Silent and Lifeless
 
Indeed, the words the Qur’ān uses here add, by their very sound, strong connotations of an overwhelming strike that leaves everything lifeless. We look and see how those communities ran around frantically as God’s power struck their land. They appear like trapped mice jumping here and there before they fall motionless: “As soon as they began to feel Our might they took to their heels and fled.” (Verse 12) They run so that they might leave a town which they felt was doomed. They run as though their very running will save them from God’s power. It is not that they imagine that they are faster than God’s strike; it is a thoughtless movement, like that of trapped mice.
 
They are then sarcastically told: “Do not run away. Return to all your comforts and to your dwellings, so that you might be called to account.” (Verse 13) You do not need to run away from your homes. Go back to your luxuries and comforts. You may perchance be asked about all this luxury and how you have used it. But the time for questioning is already over, and the Qur’ān delivers this final cataclysm as bitter sarcasm.
 
This brings their situation clearly before their eyes, for there is no means of escape. They cannot run away from or flee God’s punishment. Hence, they change tactic and admit their faults: “They said: Woe betide us! We were indeed wrongdoers!” (Verse 14) But the time for all this is over. They can say what they like, but it is all to no avail. They are left to their devices until they are lifeless: “And that cry of theirs did not cease until We caused them to become like a field mown down, still and silent as ashes.” (Verse 15) But it is a field of humans, all of whom are motionless, lifeless; yet only a minute earlier, it was bustling, vibrant, full of life.
 
At this point the sūrah establishes a link between the faith already mentioned, its essential laws under which unbelievers are punished and the fundamental truth and seriousness which form the pivot around which the whole universe turns. If the unbelievers receive every new Qur’ānic revelation with jest and play, oblivious to its seriousness and the truth it outlines, heedless of the fast approaching Day of Reckoning and what awaits them on that day, then they should know that God’s laws never fail. “We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in mere idle play. Had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have found one near at hand; if ever We were to do so! Nay, but We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter, and behold, it withers away. But woe to you for all your false claims.” (Verses 16-18)
 
God has created the universe for a definite purpose, not to indulge in a pastime or idle play. He conducts its affairs in His infinite wisdom, and does not leave it to run aimlessly. One aspect of the seriousness involved in the creation of heaven and earth is that He has sent messengers, revealed books, and outlined for mankind their duties and obligations. We see, then, how seriousness is inherent in the nature of this universe and its laws, and in the faith God wants people to embrace and implement, as well as in the way He holds people accountable after they die.
 
Had God wanted to indulge in a pastime, He would have chosen something for Himself alone; it would have nothing to do with His mortal creatures. But this is merely a theoretical assumption: “Had We willed to indulge in a pastime, We would indeed have found one near at hand.” (Verse 17) The mode of expression here indicates that both parts of the conditional are negated. God has not willed to indulge in a pastime, and none has taken place. Besides, it never will, because God has not willed it in the first place: “If ever We were to do so!” (Verse 17)