( وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْضِ ) (And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth): The word (successor) has two meanings:
- It either means that mankind are the ones who Allah (swt) made successors on earth, because Allah (swt) entrusted them with His creations and made them His successors in the worldly life.
- The other meaning could be, that one person succeeds the other; one generation succeeds another; sons succeed their fathers…etc. If this city belonged to us right now, it will belong to someone else after a hundred year.
(وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ) (and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank]): The question is: “Who are those whom Allah (swt) raised in ranks and who are those whom He caused to be of lower ranks?” The answer is: each person is granted with certain talents. One person could be raised in rank above another in a certain field, while this another person is raised in rank in a different field. As such, Allah (swt) bestowed some people with wits, others with strength, and others with experiences. Indeed, it is Allah (swt) who wills to elevate some people above others in rank.
( لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ) (that He may try you through what He has given you): This is because Allah (swt) wants to test people with the talents Allah (swt) bestowed upon them.
(إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ) (Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty): Allah’s (swt) punishment is coming. Wrongdoers have mistakenly thought that the punishment was late, so they said: “bring forth the wrath of God, where is God?” And so on. So, Allah (swt) tells us that His punishment is swift, because no matter how long a person may live, he will eventually die:
قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ عَدَدَ سِنِينَ (112) قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ (113) قَالَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ۖ لَّوْ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
((112) [Allah] will say, “How long did you remain on earth in number of years?” (113) They will say, “We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate.” (114) He will say, “You stayed not but a little – if only you had known.) (Al-Muminoon: 112-114)
When death comes to a person, life will seem to him as if has been a mere second. This is why Allah’s (swt) is swift in punishment; for it is inevitable.
( وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ) (but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful): Allah (swt) is reassuring his believers that He is Merciful and Forgiving, for He (swt) overlooks bad deeds, forgives mistakes, and has mercy on His believers. The Holy Book of Allah (swt) tells us that He (swt) sent His Messenger (saws) with guidance and mercy to forgive our sins. There are several Hadiths about the mercy of Allah (swt), one of which is narrated to us by Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
“Some prisoners were brought to Messenger of Allah (swt) amongst whom there was a woman who was running (searching for her child). When she saw a child among the captives, she took hold of it, pressed it against her belly and gave it a suck. Messenger of Allah (swt) said, “Do you think this woman would ever throw her child in fire?” We said, “By Allah, she would never throw the child in fire.” Thereupon Messenger of Allah (swt) said, “Allah is more kind to his slave than this woman is to her child”[1]
Allah (swt) truly is Merciful and Forgiving. In another Hadith:
“Habib bin Al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him), said to the Prophet (saws): “I am a man of sins”, he told him “repent to Allah”, Habib said: O’ Messenger of Allah, I do repent, but then I sin again”, he said: “every time you commit a sin, you should repent”, Habib said: O’ Messenger of Allah, in this case I would commit many sins”, he said to him: “Habib bin Al-Harith, Allah’s forgiveness is far greater than your sins”[2]
[1] Shu’ab al-Iman, 75, Hadith No. 11018.
[2] Majma’ az-Zawaed wa Manba’ al-Fawaed, Hadith No. 17531.