S.4 A.167-171
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167. Those who reject Faith And keep off (men) From the Way of Allah, Have verily strayed far, Far away from the Path. 168. Those who reject Faith And do wrong,-Allah Will not forgive them Nor guide them To any way169. Except the way of Hell, To dwell therein for ever. And this to Allah is easy. 673
o mankind! the Messenger Hath come to you in truth From Allah: believe in him: It is best for yoU. 674 But if Ye reject Faith, to Allah Belong all things in the heavens And on earth: and Allah Is All-knowing, All-wise. 171. 0 People of the Book! Commit no excesses67S
673. Easy-not in the sense Ihal Allah takes any pleasure in any of His creatures going astray. The conlrary is the case: for Allah's Grace recognises all good in us to such an extent that it is compared to gratitude in iv. 147: see n. 653. We must understand easy in the sense that Allah is Supreme in knowledge and power; if any forces of rebellion foolishly think that they can evade punishment, they are mistaken. Punishment comes as a matter of course. It is not a matter of difficulty or exertion on the part of Allah. 674. Allah's solicitude for us is for our own good, not because He gets any advantage from it. For He is independent of all things, and everything declares His glory and praise. 675. Just as a foolish servant may go wrong by excess of zeal for his master, so in religion people's excesses may lead them to blasphemy or a spirit the very opposite of religion. The Jewish excesses in the direction of formalism, racialism, exclusiveness, and rejection of Christ Jesus have been denounced in many places. Here the Christian attitude is condemned, which raises Jesus to an equality with Allah: in some cases venerates Mary almost 10 idolatry: attributes a physical son to Allah: and invents the doctrine of the Trinity, opposed to all reason, which according to the Athanasian Creed, unless a man believes. he is doomed to hell for ever. Let our Muslims also beware lest they fall into excesses either in doctrine or in formalism.
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