Surah Hud , 11 : Epilogue...

Surah Hud, Recitation by Mishary Rashid al-Afasy:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o96CgcIfhkI&feature=related





ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS FLAWS in human nature is that of hastiness and impetuosity. Many humans live for the moment. They turn to God for help and support in the face of adversity and afflictions, but as soon as these are alleviated or lifted, they behave as if they had never occurred.

And if we cause man to taste some mercy from Us and afterward withdraw it from him, Lo! he is despairing, thankless. (9) And if We cause him to taste grace after some misfortune that had befallen him, he saith: The ills have gone from me. Lo! he is exultant, boastful; (10) Save those who persevere and do good works. Theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward. (11) 

Human beings need divine revelation to explain to them where they have come from and where they are going. This is at its most effective when it comes with such force and eloquence as the Qur'an did when it was first introduced to the Arabs. It posed a challenge to its detractors. In Yunus, the Arabs were invited to produce even a single passage or chapter comparable to the Qur'an, but  in Hud, the challenge is raised, and they are asked to produce ten chapters of a similar quality as the Qur'an. It is certainly more demoralizing and humiliating to be asked to take a test when one has already failed an easier one.

Or they say: He hath invented it. Say: Then bring ten surahs, the like thereof, invented, and call on everyone ye can beside Allah, if ye are truthful! (13) And if they answer not your prayer, then know that it is revealed only in the knowledge of Allah; and that there is no God save Him. Will ye then be (of) those who surrender? (14) 

When Muhammad introduced Islam to people, he had the support of God behind him. Prior to that there were the prophecies of earlier Scriptures which anticipated his coming. With such support he would have nothing to fear.

Is he (to be counted equal with them) who relieth on a clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him reciteth it, and before it was the Book of Moses, an example and a mercy? Such believe therein, and whoso disbelieveth therein of the clans, the Fire is his appointed place. So be not thou in doubt concerning it. Lo! it is the Truth from thy Lord; but most of mankind believe not. (17)

Muhammad and the prophets and messengers before him could not have fabricated the revelation they received. All the advocated was that there was only one God whom men would meet for judgement; those who do good deeds would reside in Paradise and those who transgress would end up in hell. How this could be taken as lie and why would those good and trustworthy men fabricate such ideas? Earlier communities who denied and rejected such beliefs had met their destruction, for which archaeological  and historic evidence can still be found today. The Qur'an brings the attitudes and reactions of those generations into question, wondering why none of these people had been honest and brave enough to stand up and defend the truth and warn their own people. The surah says:

If only there had been among the generations before you men possessing a remnant (of good sense) to warn (their people) from corruption in the earth, as did a few of those whom We saved from them! The wrong-doers followed that by which they were made sapless, and were guilty. (116) In truth thy Lord destroyed not the townships tyrannously while their folk were doing right. (117]

To discharge his obligations towards God, Prophet Muhammad had adopted a proper and clear approach. Many continue to argue among themselves. Controversy and disagreement continue to plague mankind and tear them apart. God was then, and is now, perfectly capable of making the whole of mankind live as one peaceful and harmonious nation, believing in the same faith, but He elected, in His transcendent wisdom, to give human beings the freedom to choose and to use their own perceptions and powers of discernment.
"And if thy Lord had willed, He verily would have made mankind one nation, yet they cease not differing, "(118).
Strife, competition, and rivalry are inherent features of human nature and behavior, and they are essential for human progress and development. The next verse however, qualifies the statement by adding:

Save him on whom thy Lord hath mercy; and for that He did create them. And the Word of thy Lord hath been fulfilled: Verily I shall fill hell with the jinn and mankind together. (119)

God could have easily created humankind with totally different faculties and features, like angels, for instance, who have no power to disobey, or like the animals who behave instinctively and are not accountable for their actions. However, He gave u humankind the ability to differentiate between right and wrong and the freedom to choose between them. THE CONSEQUENCE OF THAT CHOICE ARE THEREFORE PARAMOUNT IN CAUSING HUMANKIND EITHER TO SINK TO THE DEPTH OF DESPAIR OR RISE TO THE STRATOSPHERE OF HAPPINESS AND PROGRESS.