The Qur’ānic āyah 2:165 presents two kinds of people who give two different responses to the Truth when it is presented to them. However, the case of those, among them, who owing to whatsoever reason fail to realise the Truth and eventually reject it, is a matter of concern. Why? Because God, Who is Most Merciful but only to those who are obedient to Him, will punish them. And, it is an undeniable fact that no one can come forward to help a person whom God decides to punish.
In the life of this temporal world, the wrongdoers who reject the Truth commit all their resources – both human and material – and even choose to worship false gods and fall from the high rank God has blessed them with, to the level of non-human, to the fulfilment of their wishes, desires and ambitions, whims and inconsistencies. They perhaps think that their physical life on earth is just to enjoy and make merry, that their death will end their life and that they will never have to stand before the Lord, Creator and Master. But the fact is that this world is temporal and our life here is also temporal; and when we die, we will go to the next world, the hereafter, where God will reawaken us and make us give account of our deeds during our sojourn on earth.
That moment, when the wrongdoers will face the Day of Judgement, will be very hard for them. Nothing of their wealth, none of their resources, none of their relatives, none of their friends and colleagues will come forward to salvage them. Even Satanic forces, the false gods they used to worship or their religious leaders whom they used to follow during their life on earth will disown them. The Qur’ān (2:166) says three things in this regard: one, that “those who have been followed will disown their followers”, two, that “they will see the chastisement”, and three, that “their resources will be cut asunder”.
What will happen then? Will there be any escape route? No, nothing of the sort! Finding themselves in this dismal and precarious condition, they will say: “Oh if only we might return again, we would disown them as they have disowned us?” (The Qur’ān, 2:167) This wish for a second chance of life in order to denounce and disown those false gods or leaders will not be fulfilled.
The āyah further says: “Thus Allah will show them their deeds in a manner causing them bitter regrets. Never will they come out of the Fire.” It presents a very awesome scene full of pain and torment. This will be their dismal end. We pray, and every wise man would love to pray, to God to show the path of guidance and save us from such an end.