Surah Al-An'am 6:43

The Idolators Call On Allah Alone During Torment and Distress

Allah states that He does what He wills with His creatures and none can resist His decision or avert what He decrees for them. He is the One Who has no partners, Who accepts the supplication from whomever He wills. Allah said,

(Say: "Tell me if Allah's torment comes upon you, or the Hour comes upon you, would you then call upon any one other than Allah (Reply) if you are truthful!") This means, you -- disbelievers -- will not call other than Allah in this case, because you know that none except He is able to remove the affliction. Allah said,

(if you are truthful) by taking gods besides Him.

(Nay! To Him alone you call, and, if He willed, He would remove that (distress) for which you call upon Him, and you forget at that time whatever partners you joined with Him (in worship)!) for in times of necessity, you only call on Allah and forget your idols and false deities. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon besides Him vanish from you except Him (Allah)) 17:67. Allah said;

(Verily, We sent (Messengers) to many nations before you. And We seized them with extreme poverty...) That is, loss of wealth and diminished provisions,

(and loss of health) various illnesses, diseases and pain,

(so that they might believe with humility) and call Allah and supplicate to Him with humbleness and humility. Allah said;

(When Our torment reached them, why then did they not believe with humility) Meaning: Why do they not believe and humble themselves before Us when We test them with disaster'

(But their hearts became hardened,) for their hearts are not soft or humble,

(and Shaytan made fair-seeming to them that which they used to do. ) That is, Shirk, defiance and rebellion.

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded,) by ignoring and turning away from it,

(We opened to them the gates of everything,) Meaning: `We opened the gates of provisions for them from wherever they wished, so that We deceive them.' We seek refuge with Allah from such an end. This is why Allah said,

f(until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given,) such as wealth, children and provisions,

(all of a sudden, We took them to punishment and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) They have no hope for any type of good thing. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "Whomever Allah gives provision and he thinks that Allah is not testing him, has no wisdom. Whomever has little provision and thinks that Allah will not look at (provide for) him, has no wisdom." He then recited the Ayah,

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) He added, "By the Lord of the Ka`bah! Allah deceived these people, when He gave them what they wished, and then they were punished." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement.

Sebenarnya yang paling baik bagi umat-umat terdahulu ialah mengikuti seruan para pasul yang diutus Allah kepada mereka, tunduk dan patuh kepada Allah ketika datang azab, malapetaka atau penderitaan yang ditimpakan itu, agar Allah mengampuni dosa-dosa mereka serta memberikan nikmat dan rahmat kepada mereka.

Tetapi hati mereka telah sesat dan terkunci mati, tidak dapat lagi menerima peringatan dan pelajaran apa pun yang disampaikan kepada mereka. Setan menanamkan ke dalam hati dan pikiran mereka rasa senang dan gembira mengerjakan perbuatan-perbuatan dosa dan syirik, serta mendorong mereka agar selalu melakukan perbuatan-perbuatan yang tercela itu.