Allah's Punishment

The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having a healthy fear of Allah as well as a sincere belief in His infinite forgiveness and mercy. Islam views that a life without fear of Allah leads to sin and disobedience. On the other hand believing that one has sinned so much that Allah will not possibly forgive you, can lead to feelings of despair. In light of this, Islam teaches that only misguided people despair of their Lord's Mercy.

Allah created the universe, bestowed human beings with a privileged position within it and left the world to function under the laws that He has decreed for it. Allah constantly observes to what level people appreciate the life He has given them and how they behave in the environment He has placed them in. Allah allows the universe to exist for a certain length of time. At the end of this time, following portents of the end of the world as we know it, mankind will be brought in front of Allah for Judgment and man will be rewarded or punished according to his good or bad deeds.

Human beings have also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the human being as created by Allah in His wisdom. In Islam though, the avenue of repentance is always open to every human being. So much so that Almighty Allah loves the repentant sinner as He alone is the All-Forgiving Most Merciful. For those individuals and nations who consistently rebel against Allah's divine law, Islamic belief holds that inevitably there will be consequences.

Throughout the Quran, Allah describes numerous past nations who rejected Divine guidance and were subsequently destroyed. These stories serve as warnings to humanity of the consequences of rebellion against the commandments of Allah. The punishment may come in a variety of different ways. It could take the form of a flood or earthquake or perhaps in the form of new diseases that have never been seen before. The emergance of the AIDS virus, for example, has reached epidemic levels in some African countries. This may well be an example of a new disease that has arisen as lewdness and promiscuity has increased in open rebellion of the natural Divine Laws.

"And how many a city which was unjust have We shattered and produced after it another people. And when its inhabitants perceived Our punishment, at once they fled from it."
(Quran, The Prophets 21: 11-12)

"...Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest"
(Quran, The Thunder 13:28)