(… وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا) (And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah a lie …): Oppression is darkness, as the Prophet (saws) has said in a Hadith Qudsi that he relays from his Lord (swt):

“O My slaves, I have made oppression unlawful for myself and I have made it unlawful among you, so do not oppress one another.”[1]

The worst type of oppression is a person’s oppression of himself. This is when he offers himself the fleeting desires and denies it of the permanent blessings, by committing atrocities. It is true that he believes that he has gotten what he wants; but with this obtaining of this transient thing which will cease together with the ceasing of the world, comes loss in the hereafter. Thus, he is truly oppressing himself, so Allah Most High tells us: (And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah a lie or denies His verses?) This person fabricates lies against Allah (swt), forbids what He permits, allows what He forbids, denies all the signs He has sent and also rejects and casts doubts regarding the truthfulness of the Prophet’s conveyance, all that the Quran brings and all the commands in it.

(  إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ… ) (…Indeed, the wrongdoers will not succeed): This is a divine pronouncement, that the oppressors will never succeed, i.e., the oppressor who wrongs himself and oppresses others. The Prophet (saws) has said:

“There are three whose supplication is not rejected: The just leader, the fasting person when he breaks his fast, and the supplication of the oppressed person; Allah raises it up above the clouds and opens the gates of heaven to it. And the Lord says: ‘By My might, I shall surely aid you, even if it should be after a while.”[2]

So, be wary of the supplication of the oppressed, as there is no veil between it and Allah (swt).

[1] Sahih Muslim: The Book of Virtue, Enjoining Good Manners, and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, Chapter of Prohibition of Oppression, Hadith No. 2577.

[2] Sunan at-Tirmidhi: Book of Paradise Description, Chapter of Description and blessings of the Paradise, Hadith No. 2526.