Non-Believers are Cruel and Arrogant

Humans making mistakes is inevitable because they are humans, not angels! After a person commits a sin, the real issue begins. If a sinner adopts the behavior of repentance, humbleness, and seeks forgiveness, then his mistakes and embarrassments can take him to the highest levels of heaven. And if the wrong-doer takes the attitude of being proud of his mistake, continuing it, instead of repentance, then he is arrogant. These arrogant people are those who are actually losers. Committing a sin is not cruelty but sticking to it is definitely a cruel behavior. Because they disobey no one but their Lord. Those who deny Allah and His Laws are non-believers. And non-believers are cruel and arrogant in fact.

Past summary:

In the previous article, it was clear to us that:

“Man has no control to acquire knowledge and wisdom by himself.”

Both things are given by Allah SWT and He distributes them as He wills. No one has the authority to change Allah’s will and His distribution. On this topic, we have studied five selected verses of Surah Yunus 66, 67, 68, 69, and 74, in detail. With the explanation of the subject of knowledge and wisdom, the following three questions arise:

1. Who are those people who, despite having both knowledge and wisdom, deny the truth and fabricate lies against Allah?
2. Why do they do this?
3. Are they using any of their authority here?

Each of these questions requires complete detail and only after knowing the details of one question we will be able to open the next. Let’s find the answer to our first question in the Qur’an.

Pointing to the Right Direction:

The first question is:

Who are those people who, despite having both knowledge and wisdom, deny the truth and lie about Allah?

The answer to this question lies in the very next two verses 75 and 76 of Surah Yunus. The way Allah SWT has given the answer to the questions that arise in the human mind in sequenced verses is really an amazing and faith-enhancing fact. And it is also a sign that we are heading in the right direction with the right questions.

(1) Then We sent Moses and Aaron with Our revelations to Pharaoh and the chiefs of his (people), but they behaved arrogantly and they were criminal people.
(Yunus - 75)

(2) Then the truth came to them from us, so they said: Surely this is an open magic.
(Yunus-76)

I have highlighted the letters of the password in these verses.

Verse 1:

1) Then We sent Moses and Aaron with Our revelations to Pharaoh and the chiefs of his (people), but they behaved arrogantly and they were criminal people.
(Yunus - 75)

  If the highlighted words in the first verse are written together as a combination, it looks like this:

Pharaoh (king) + chieftain + arrogant + criminal

The story of Moses and Pharaoh is the most repeated story in the Qur’an. From this most repeated story, we get to know that the people who deny the factuality first are those who have an influential position in society. Kings and chieftains are those people of a society who possess wealth, fame, and outwardly countless honors. They have leadership, which means that people are subordinate to them and their orders are executing.

Non-Believers are Cruel and Arrogant

Being a king or a chief is not a reason to deny the truth, nor is it a fault. The problem starts when these influencing icons also have the two things that Allah SWT has mentioned in this verse:

1. They are arrogant.
2. They are criminals.

A criminal is someone who is committing a crime. And he who commits the crime is the one who is cruel. And the tyrants are those who fulfill their desires in any way, without caring about anything good or bad. They only love themselves. They prefer their selves over justice. One after the other, the atrocities continue to increase.

Sticking to a Mistake is a blunder

Committing a mistake is not that much problem, the problem is when there is no guilt. Rather they feel proud of their iniquity. If there is a regret, advice benefits. If someone forbids a regretful person from doing wrong, he unavoidably thinks and stops. But on the contrary, if an arrogant person is advised, he does the same brutality and oppression to the person giving advice. The same thing has been explained by Allah SWT in this verse.

The Prophets went to the king and chiefs with the verses. Verses are not ordinary words spoken by humans but are the words from the Lord of this universe. That undoubtedly contains logical arguments and pierces directly into the hearts as facts. The listener acknowledges that this is the most righteous thing ever. But the transgressors and the arrogant people, who own everything they want, deny the truth. Even though they recognize the truth. This is no doubt a violating attitude.

Verse 2:

Then the truth came to them from us, so they said: Surely this is an open magic.
(Yunus-76)

It is Allah’s mercy that is devoted to His servants. The matter was not limited to advice with verses. Allah SWT also shows His signs after giving advice. There have been signs and miracles for people of all ages according to their mental level. The “truth” mentioned in the above verse was the “bright miracles” that were given to Moses. We find mention of them in the other verses of the Qur’an, in which the same story of Moses and Pharaoh has been narrated.

Allah said: O Musa! Throw it down. Then when he threw it, it became a running snake. [Allah] said: Hold it and don't be afraid, we will return it to its former condition. And draw in your hand to your armpit, it will come out shining white without any disease, this is the second sign.
(Surah Taha-22-19)

These verses show that those two miracles were:

  Moses’s staff becomes a dragon

  And his hand shines bright and white.

Difference between Truth and Magic:

The noticeable thing here is that at the time when magic was at its peak, Moses (A.S.) brought miracles that were not magic. So it seems to be a confusing point that:

How to know the difference between magic and truth?

From the Qur’an we know that the staff of Moses (A.S.) became a big snake i.e. a dragon and the ropes of magicians also became snakes.

They said: O Muses, either you throw it or we will be the first to throw it. He said, "Rather, you throw." And suddenly, their ropes and sticks seemed to him running with their magic.
(Surah Taha-65, 66)

So how do you know which is magic and which is the truth?

The answer to this matter has been given by Allah SWT in a very beautiful way in this verse of the Holy Qur’an:

This is because, surely Allah makes the night enter the day and the day enters the night. And surely Allah is All-Knowing and All-Seeing. This is because surely Allah is the Truth, and surely those whom they call upon other than Allah are false. And without a doubt, Allah is the Exalted, the Greatest.
(Hajj - 61, 62)

In these verses, Allah SWT has called Himself “the truth” and has described two signs of truth. These verses tell us that the truth is as visible and affecting as the change of day and night. In which there is no doubt. Can anyone in this world say that these clear signs of Allah SWT are false or magic? Can this alternation of day and night be called anything other than truth? Absolutely not!

In early ages, when science had not been discovered the process of change for day and night. This was the truth even then. Not magic nor a lie. This is the difference between truth and magic. Magic is always doubtful and a lie. While it cannot be said about the truth that it is a lie. No way!

The truth becomes clear to everyone on the spot. A certain situation that penetrates deep down the heart and cannot be denied. Because Allah SWT is truth and every sign of Him is a truth itself. This was the difference between the snakes of Moses and the snakes of magicians. The snake of Moses was a truth and the snakes of sorcerers were snake-like lies. The difference between these two things was as clear as the reality of day and night in front of us. Despite this, Pharaoh and the chiefs denied it and said: “It is an open sorcery”. While they clearly knew it was not magic.

Amazing Sequence of Quran:

The very next verse 77 of Surah Yunus also confirms the same situation as mentioned above.

Musa said: Do you say (this) about the truth when it came to you? 
Is it magic? However, magicians do not prosper.
(Yunus-77)

The questioning words of Moses “Is it magic?” depict that the situation was clear, proven, and beyond the shadow of a doubt. But still, they refused.

The next words of Moses (A.S) “However, magicians do not prosper”, also showing the fact that in the eyes of those people, magicians were not good people. No matter how great magic they bring. It was the time when magic as a skill was at its peak. But those people including Moses (A.S), knew that magic belongs to evil and falsehood. And can never lead to success.

Result:

At the end of this article, by pondering over verses 75, 76, and 77 of Surah Yunus, we have come to know that those who first deny the truth despite having knowledge and wisdom are:

Kings, chiefs, or influential people in society who are cruel and arrogant.

The same conclusion of the entire article has been described by Allah SWT in another place in the Qur’an in these words:

Translation:

Then when our clear and bright miracles came to them, they said: “This is obvious magic”. And they rejected out of cruelty (injustice) and arrogance, while their hearts were convinced. So see how the end of the corrupters was.
(Al-Naml-14, 13)

The words “while their hearts were convinced” make it completely clear that Pharaoh and his leaders recognized the truth. Their hearts had believed in Moses. But because of their injustice and arrogance, they lied and refused. But how could they hide the condition of their hearts from the One who made it?

End:

In the above verse, describing the same situation, Allah SWT has used the word “Mufsedeen” When you google its meaning in Arabic following are the results that come up:

The corrupters and those who spread corruption!

If we consider this word of Mufsedeen along with the whole explanation of this article, its spectrum of understanding widens. In this one word, Allah has told us that the corruption of these oppressive and arrogant kings and chiefs is not limited to themselves but spreads. It means other people do join it. So now the questions are:

1. Who are those people and why do they join?
2. What is their behavior and psychology?

With these questions, we shall begin the next article, and will conclusively arrive at the answer to the question:

Who are those people who, despite having knowledge and reason, deny the truth and lie about Allah?

We got half of the answer to this question and to know the other half, we will try our best with Allah’s will in the next article. In Sha ALLAH!