Qur'an 10:99
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Sura Yunus (Qur'an 10) |
| Verse | 99 |
| Juz' | 11 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| About | Undesirability of forced faith |
| Related Verses | Qur'an 2:256 |
Qur'an 10:99 emphasizes the futility of forced faith and states that, had God willed, all people on earth would have believed without exception.[1] This verse is considered to complement the preceding verses, which state that faith is of no benefit when Divine Punishment descends, because in such circumstances people believe out of compulsion and fear of punishment rather than through free choice and heartfelt conviction.[2]
Commentators attribute the revelation of this verse to the grief of Prophet Muhammad (s) over people's refusal to believe. God revealed it to console him[3] and ease the burden of his responsibility for conveying the message.[4] According to a narration from Imam al-Rida (a), some Muslims asked the Prophet (s) to compel certain people to accept Islam so that the Muslims would become stronger against their enemies. The Prophet described this act as an innovation that he did not wish to encounter God while it was widespread.[5]
According to Naser Makarem Shirazi, the verse addresses the Prophet (s) and points out that, if forced faith were beneficial, God could easily compel all people to believe through His own will. However, since the divine will is based on freedom of choice, the Prophet (s) should not distress himself over whether others accept faith.[6]
| “ | وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَآمَنَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا أَفَأَنْتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ
|
” |
| — Qur'an 10:99 | ||
Many commentators, in discussing this verse, address the theological issue of the role of human will and choice in accepting faith. They maintain that God does not compel people to believe and that the Prophet (s) cannot force them to do so either.[7] Accordingly, the verse has been regarded as evidence against the theory of determinism.[8] It is also argued that, had the divine will been for everyone to believe, all people would have believed; however, the Divine tradition is based on freedom of choice.[9] Faith must therefore be freely chosen to be consistent with divine wisdom and the testing of human beings in this world.[10] Thus, if faith were imposed by force, reward and punishment in the Hereafter would be meaningless.[11] Fadlallah and al-Mudarrisi also emphasize that faith takes root in people's hearts only through reasoning and good admonition. Faith adopted under compulsion or duress is not genuine, because faith is a matter of the heart and cannot be imposed through pressure.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, vol. 4, p. 194; Riḍāyī Iṣfahānī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr, vol. 9, p. 151.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 206; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 390.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 206; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 390.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 435; Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, vol. 4, p. 194.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, pp. 123–124.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 390.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 10, p. 126; Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, al-Furqān, vol. 14, pp. 169–170; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 390; Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 9, p. 133; Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 460.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 206.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 10, p. 126; Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, al-Furqān, vol. 14, pp. 169–170.
- ↑ Qarāʾatī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 3, p. 624.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Kāshif, vol. 4, p. 194.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 9, p. 133; Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, vol. 4, p. 460.
References
- Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Malāk, 1439 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī. Min hudā l-Qurʾān. Tehran, Dār Muḥibbī l-Ḥusayn (a), 1419 AH.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. al-Kāshif fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
- Qarāʾatī, Muḥsin. Tafsīr-i nūr. Tehran, Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Dars-hāyī az Qurʾān, 1388 Sh.
- Riḍāyī Iṣfahānī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mihr. Qom, Pzhūhish-hā-yi Tafsīr wa ʿUlūm-i Qurʾān, 1387 Sh.
- Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, Muḥammad. al-Furqān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1406 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī... al-. ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1393 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan... al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1408 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan... al-. al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.