x200B;gt; **As for those who persist in disbelief, it is the same whether you warn them or not—they will never believe.**
Here, Allah, the narrator, establishes that some people will never believe. He warns us of these people, yet he created them, knowing that they will never believe.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and their sight is covered. They will suffer a tremendous punishment.**
Here, Allah, the narrator, states that he has essentially shut down any chances of them ever believing. Now, in the prior verse, he claims that they would never believe anyway. So, Allah doing this is redundant, which also makes this verse redundant. Removing this verse would shorten the Qur’an and thus improve it.
So, did they have the free will to believe and chose not to, or did Allah seal their heart? Or did both occur? If so, one is redundant.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **And there are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” yet they are not ˹true˺ believers. (2:8) They seek to deceive Allah and the believers, yet they only deceive themselves, but they fail to perceive it. (2:9)**
These two verses demand clarification.
1) If they are not believers, then how can they seek to deceive that in which they do not believe? Do they believe in Allah or not? If not, they cannot seek to deceive him.
2) If they believe in Allah, but they do not worship Allah, just say so instead of being ambiguous. Another easy improvement to the Qur’an.
This poses another problem: nobody who believes that Allah is the true, omnipotent creator of the Universe, the prime mover, would ever (in their right mind) reject his Grace, knowing what’s at stake (eternal torture, buttressed by the following verse).
And if they do not fully appreciate Allah’s divinity and omnipotence, then could you really blame them for not worshipping Allah? And if so, can Allah truly be just and omnibenevolent for punishing such a position? I’ll let you answer that.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **There is sickness in their hearts, and Allah ˹only˺ lets their sickness increase. They will suffer a painful punishment for their lies.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
What kind of sickness? Is he talking about heart disease? Is Allah punishing people for being sick? That doesn’t seem right and just. Nobody chooses to be sick. Even humans try to treat sick people before punishing them.
But we all know what kind of sickness he’s talking about, sickness in the mind.
So… a better way of framing this would be: **there is sickness in their minds.** Because delusions and other forms of abhorrent behavior exist in the mind, not the heart. Another improvement to the Qur’an.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **Indeed, it is they who are the corruptors, but they fail to perceive it.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
If they fail to perceive it, that means they are not fully aware of their actions. It is not right to punish those who cannot accurately perceive their own behavior.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **And when they are told, “Believe as others believe,” they reply, “Will we believe as the fools believe?” Indeed, it is they who are fools, but they do not know.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
Again, if they do not know, they need help – not punishment.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **Their example is that of someone who kindles a fire, but when it lights up all around them, Allah takes away their light, leaving them in complete darkness—unable to see.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
This metaphor is really bad. Plus, he’s already told us that they are unable to see. We get it, they are blind and dumb.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **They are ˹wilfully˺ deaf, dumb, and blind, so they will never return ˹to the Right Path˺.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
Suddenly, they are willfully deaf, dumb and blind but in the verses prior, Allah claims that they cannot perceive their own actions and that they do not know.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **And if you are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a sûrah like it and call your helpers other than Allah, if what you say is true.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
Seems like a challenge that would be hard to assess or quantify.
x200B;amp;#x200B;
x200B;gt; **How can you deny Allah? You were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, and then to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned.**
x200B;amp;#x200B;
Allah knows how and why, so why is he asking this question? Redundant.
God’s verses are clear cut, and it look like you are trying to underline a regime of people which condoned slavery, where God said “No” in Torah. Isn’t it interesting when you don’t find an example from a Prophet about slavery, yet scholars of the deemed Book underwrite it, apparently they couldn’t escape from God’s wrath.
> Here, Allah, the narrator, establishes that some people will never believe. He warns us of these people, yet he created them, knowing that they will never believe.
The key noun is “persist”, everybody is responsible of their own belief, so nobody can change it for another, this is why people who end up in hellfire go there because of their own doing. God is not responsible for their end.
> So, did they have the free will to believe and chose not to, or did Allah seal their heart? Or did both occur? If so, one is redundant.
Baqara 2:7 showcases the Arabic has a special case, and you need to read this sentence with “as if” in front of it. Otherwise all the “otherwise” would become “different mages”.
> If they are not believers, then how can they seek to deceive that in which they do not believe? Do they believe in Allah or not? If not, they cannot seek to deceive him.
As the definition of hypocrite suggest, they claim they are believers but they don’t, there are plenty of belief systems based on hypocrisy.
> If they believe in Allah, but they do not worship Allah, just say so instead of being ambiguous. Another easy improvement to the Qur’an.
Maybe an example is this verse: Baqara 2:88
> What kind of sickness? Is he talking about heart disease? Is Allah punishing people for being sick? That doesn’t seem right and just. Nobody chooses to be sick. Even humans try to treat sick people before punishing them.
Hypocrisy.
> If they fail to perceive it, that means they are not fully aware of their actions. It is not right to punish those who cannot accurately perceive their own behavior.
People who support lending with usury, do you think they obtain a benefit when God banned it completely?
> Again, if they do not know, they need help – not punishment.
They don’t know the other side, the grass is greener there.
> This metaphor is really bad. Plus, he’s already told us that they are unable to see. We get it, they are blind and dumb
> This metaphor is really bad. Plus, he’s already told us that they are unable to see. We get it, they are blind and dumb.
Do you know the 3 monkeys depiction? It talks about 3 virtues, which are also special forces of hypocrisy.
> Suddenly, they are willfully deaf, dumb and blind but in the verses prior, Allah claims that they cannot perceive their own actions and that they do not know.
The “as if” is missing in that Baqara 2:7
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Second verse you quoted is an explanation as to why they will never believe. Why would God remove it?
>If they fail to perceive it, that means they are not fully aware of their actions. It is not right to punish those who cannot accurately perceive their own behavior.
So a serial killer that thinks that he’s in the right, shouldn’t be punished?
>**How can you deny Allah? You were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, and then to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned.**
>Allah knows how and why, so why is he asking this question? Redundant.
Rhetorical question. God is basically saying, you were once nothing then came to life, so why is coming back to life after death hard to grasp to you?
People doubted the resurrection a lot back then, but were willing to believe that God created the universe as if that is easier. Check the last few verses of surat alqiyama.