Surah Al-Kahf 18:58

The Worst People are Those Who turn away after being reminded

Allah says, `Who among My creatures does more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of Allah then turns away from them,' i.e., ignores them and does not listen or pay attention to them.

(forgetting what his hands have sent forth.) means, bad deeds and evil actions.

(Truly, We have set over their hearts) means, the hearts of these people,

(Akinnah) means, coverings.

(lest they should understand this,) means, so that they will not understand this Qur'an and its clear Message

(and in their ears, deafness.) means that they will be deaf in an abstract way, to guidance.

(And if you call them to guidance, even then they will never be guided.)

(And your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of mercy.) means, `your Lord, O Muhammad, is forgiving and has great mercy.'

(Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, then surely, He would have hastened their punishment.) This is like the Ayah:

(And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving creature on the surface of the earth.) 35:45

(But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrongdoing. And verily, your Lord is (also) severe in punishment) 13:6. And there are many Ayat which say the same thing. Then Allah tells us that He is patient, He conceals faults and forgives sins. He may guide some of them from wrongdoing to true guidance, and whoever continues in his evil ways, then there will come to him a Day when infants will turn grey and every pregnant female will shed her load. He says:

(But they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no escape.) meaning, they will find no way out.

(And these towns, We destroyed them when they did wrong.) This refers to earlier nations in times past; `We destroyed them because of their stubborn disbelief.'

(And We appointed a fixed time for their destruction.) `We appointed for them a set time limit, not to be increased or decreased. The same applies to you, O ido- lators, so beware or what happened to them will happen to you too, for you have rejected the noblest Messenger and greatest Prophet, and you are not dearer to Us than them, so fear My punishment and wrath.'

Dalam ayat ini, Allah swt menerangkan bahwa Dia Maha Pengampun, dan rahmat-Nya Maha Luas, meliputi seluruh alam, seluruh apa yang ada di langit dan di bumi. Salah satu bukti atas sifat pemurah dan rahmat Allah Yang Maha Luas itu ialah Dia tidak segera menjatuhkan azab atas orang-orang kafir musyrik. Hal ini dimaksudkan untuk memberi kesempatan bagi mereka kembali menjadi sadar, karena setiap manusia mempunyai benih kebaikan di dalam dirinya. Diharapkan pikirannya yang jernih akan menyuburkan fitrah manusiawinya untuk berkembang dan ingat kembali kepada Tuhan. Sehingga kalau mereka mau memohon ampun, meskipun dosa-dosanya menumpuk dan menggunung, niscaya akan di-ampuni oleh Allah Yang Maha Pemurah dan Maha Pengasih. Memang ada di antara orang-orang yang sesat itu yang dapat melepaskan diri dari kesesatan, kemudian kembali ke jalan yang benar.

Meskipun Allah memiliki sifat menahan murka, Maha Pengampun dan Mahaluas Rahmat-Nya, namun kalau tenggang waktu yang sudah diberikan tidak juga digunakan untuk menyadari diri, maka akan datang waktu yang sudah dijanjikan Allah untuk mengazab para musyrikin dan orang-orang kafir itu. Kalau ketentuan batas waktu itu sudah tiba, mereka harus mempertanggungjawabkan segala amal perbuatannya. Mereka harus menanggung azab Allah akibat perbuatan mereka sendiri. Pada waktu itu, tidak ada seorang pun yang dapat membelanya, dan tidak ada suatu tempat pun yang dapat dijadikan untuk berlindung.