The Qur’ān is the Final Revealed Book. It invites people to realise and acknowledge the importance of Tawhīd(monotheism or the oneness of the Godhead) in human life. It employs different arguments in styles galore to impress this ultimate reality upon the human beings. Some people who listen to this call accept the message and surrender their wishes and ambitions to the Will of God; they are blessed with God’s bountieshere on earth and will be welcomed in the Paradise where they will remain for ever in the life hereafter.
But some other people persist in their denial and hostile attitude to the truth. They do not pay heed to the Message of God conveyed to them by the Prophets and remain obstinate and haughty enough to finally reject it. Such people, in the final analysis, deserve divine chastisement. The Qur’ān (36:7) makes the stern announcement: “Surely most of them merit the decree of chastisement; so, they do not believe.” This is because of their obstinacy, stubbornness, haughtiness and hostile attitude to the truth.
The next āyah presents such people as hardcore criminals: “We have put fetters around their necks which reach up to their chins so that they are standing with their heads upright.” Here “fetters” implies their own obstinacy and stubbornness which was preventing them from accepting the truth. “Reaching to chins” and “so they are made stiff-necked” shows the stiffness of the neck caused by pride and haughtiness. The Qur’ān means to assert: “We have made their obstinacy and stubbornness the shackles of their neck, and their pride and haughtiness has made them so stiff-necked that they will not pay heed to any reality, however clear and evident it may be.”
In the āyah 36:9 the Qur’ān says: “And We have put a wall and barrier before them and a wall and barrier behind them, and have covered them up, so they are unable to see.” The tone here is like that of the Final Verdict. This is because they will all their faculties of minds and hearts turned away from the truth, and were unable to see guidance. Commenting on this āyah, Maulana Maudoodi writes in Tafhīm al-Qur’ān: “Setting a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, means that the natural result of their stubbornness and pride is that they neither learn any lesson from their past history nor ever consider the consequences of the future. Their prejudices have so covered them from every side and their misconceptions have so blinded them that they cannot see even those glaring realities which are visible to every right-thinking and unbiased person.”
This discussion brings into light that stubbornness and haughtiness ruins life. While real success lies in reflection on the glaring realities of life and willing suspension of disbelief.