The fifth verse then tells us about the lowly thinking of the polytheists.
The Book says, “Do they then wait for anything other than that God should come to them in the shadows of the clouds and the angels?”
The commentators have striven very hard to about this verse; some think that this verse is ambiguous and it should be explained through the established ones (2) Some commentators have given seven different explanations for this verse (3) They thought that there would be day when God and His angels will land on earth under the shadow of the clouds; but this is totally against the verse of the Qura’n (God is free from forms and physique) so their should be a valid explanation.
It is a fact that the meaning of this verse is far separate from their fancies and it contains a surprise in the negative sense. It is like some people may be lethargic in acquiring knowledge and you ask them, “Do you wait for the day when knowledge will be fed to you like a morsel of food?”
This is exactly what the verse is saying, “Do they wait for God and the angels to come to meet them, stand before them and give witness?” This waiting of theirs is baseless and incorrect because it is impossible for God has no body and there is no scope for him to travel the way they want. Now the meaning of this verse is clear and it does not need a complex and profound explanation and there is no need to consider it as ambiguous.
In the end the verse admonishes these excuse makers and says, “The case would be already judged” and they will be punished or have been punished because the verse is in past tense. “And to God return all matters”
No one has the courage or power compared to God and no one has the courage to disobey so if He decides to punish some group it should be taken as done because there is none to stop Him. Does this threat of punishment concerns the hereafter or this world or both? It may be that it belongs to both this world and the hereafter because the meaning of the verse has scope and we find no proof of it being limited either this world or the hereafter.
From the explanation of the five verses we learn that in this long historic period of mankind previous civilizations were so inclined towards material and manifest gods that they distanced themselves from Tawhid and attached themselves to polytheism. This is a truth that cannot be denied. Then there were those nations that were weak in knowledge and wisdom or were ruled over by tyrants and evil person who were anti-God were so enticed by them that they thought that God could be recognized through the idols only and they forgot the natural inclination towards Tawhid to attach themselves to polytheism and idolatry. History tells us that this has been the moving force behind polytheism; people recognized existence only through the senses and that which they could not see or touch did not merit their attention and not acceptable to their minds and hearts.
1. According to Tafsir Kabeer of Fakhr Razi the commentators are unanimous that the other meaning of the word “Nazar” may be waiting
2. Tafsir Al Mizan Vol.2 Page 105
3. Tafsir Kabeer Vol.5 page 213 to 216.
