Surah Yunus [ Jonah ] , 10

In this surah we also find a satisfactory answer to that perennial question: Who is this God whom human beings are obliged to worship and shall face in the hereafter it says:

Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself upon the Throne, directing all things. There is no intercessor (with Him) save after His permission. That is Allah, your Lord, so worship Him. Oh, will ye not remind? (3)

This concise answer is expanded further by other verses in the surah. There  are in this world thousands upon thousands of creatures and living things that are in constant need of food and sustenance. Who provides for them and who helps them grow and develop? Who gave these creatures eyes with which to see and ears with which to hear? These and other organs are in fact infinitely intricate and complex systems working together in total harmony within one body. But how was it possible that the same intricate system is being duplicated in millions of creatures.

Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Who provideth for you from the sky and the earth, or Who owneth hearing and sight; and Who bringeth forth the living from the dead and bringeth forth the dead from the living; and Who directeth the course? They will say: Allah. Then say: Will ye not then keep your duty (unto Him)? (31) 

A farmer plants a single seed in the soil out of which a thousand other seeds are produced. Who transform the pungent inedible soil into a cereal with a pleasant aroma and appetizing taste? Who transform organic waste and dead matter into sugar cane, and into roses and flowers reflecting thousands of the most exquisite shades and colors and emitting a vast array of delectable scents and smells? "Such then is Allah, your rightful Lord. After the Truth what is there saving error? How then are ye turned away! "(32)

What is even more baffling is that, rather than reflecting upon creation and trying to understand how it came about, some people have opted to look into the identity and the nature of the Creator Himself. There can be nothing more wasteful or futile. This retrogression in human intellectual pursuit has been one of the main causes of the decline of Islamic civilization a s well as the universal setback it has suffered. While we would not indulge in giving specific and precise interpretation to Qur'anic verses describing the attributes of God, we believe with certainty that God Almighty ascended the Throne in a manner befitting His might and glory. We further believe that God rules over the whole cosmos, which He  alone created  without precedent or the help of a partner, and that He continued to have control over all its affairs. God, a s such, would not be in need of help from  any of His creation; He is Mighty and Self Sufficient. This is a fact which all human beings must acknowledge and understand so that they would need to turn to no one else for help except to God Almighty. The Qur'an strongly censures those who neglect this truth, it says:

They worship besides Allah that which neither hurteth them nor profiteth them, and they say: These are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Would ye inform Allah of (something) that He knoweth not in the heavens or in the earth? Praised be He and high exalted above all that ye associate (with Him)! (18) 

Human beings, not least the prophets themselves, and the angels, not least Gabriel, are servants of God who recognize His authority and bow to His power.

They speak not until He hath spoken, and they act by His command.  He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede except for him whom He accepteth, and they quake for awe of Him. ( al- Anbiya : 27-28)

Once faith is built on a firm basis, man's relationship with God develops along proper lines, and he is rewarded with eternal life in the hereafter, where this life becomes a pleasant memory. Decades of a lifetime and a millennia of human history pass like hours.

.....  And on the day when He shall gather them together, (when it will seem) as though they had tarried but an hour of the day, recognising one another, those will verily have perished who denied the meeting with Allah and were not guided. (45) 

But that day always seems so far in the future, leading some people to conclude wrongly that it will never in fact come. 
Elsewhere in the Qur'an, we are told how in the early days of Islam at Madinah, the Israelites used to greet the Muslims with offensive words.

.... And when they come unto thee they greet thee with a greeting wherewith Allah greeteth thee not, and say within themselves: Why should Allah punish us for what we say? Hell will suffice them; they will feel the heat thereof - a hapless journey's end! (al- Mujadilah: 8)

They ask for their punishment to come and the longer it is delayed the more doubtful they become. The polytheists would also be so confident and convinced of their belief that they would deny God's existence, reject His messenger and oppose him, and insist on daring God to punish them.

They bid thee hasten on the doom (of Allah). And if a term had not been appointed, the doom would assuredly have come unto them (ere now). And verily it will come upon them suddenly when they perceive not. They bid thee hasten on the doom, when lo! hell verily will encompass the disbelievers (al-Ankabut: 53-54)

This tendency to challenge God is what Yunus refers to in the following verse:
If Allah were to hasten on for men the ill (that they have earned) as they would hasten on the good, their respite would already have expired. But We suffer those who look not for the meeting with Us to wander blindly on in their contumacy. (11) 

This warning echoes that given in verse 58 of Al-Kahf that says:

Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn, He would hasten on the doom for them; but theirs is an appointed term from which they will find no escape. 

Would it not be appropriate for the unbelievers to take advantage of the delay in bringing punishment upon them to repent and make up for their misdeeds?

Say: Have ye thought: When His doom cometh unto you as a raid by night, or in the (busy) day; what is there of it that the guilty ones desire to hasten? (50) Is it (only) then, when it hath befallen you, that ye will believe? What! (Believe) now, when (until now) ye have been hastening it on (through disbelief)? (51)

Excerpt from " Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an " 
Muhammad al-Ghazali
[ 1917 - 1996 ]


Reflection by Dr  Israr Ahmed:-
[ verse 38 to verse 75 ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwO3evrGTi0&feature=relmfu