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Allah grants the wrongdoer respite or a time delay before punishing him in order to see if he will mend his ways, and so that the wrongdoer may fully become deserving of His punishment through his lack of conscience and continued wrongdoing in spite of having been given respite after guidance, and moreover in order to bring upon him a surprise attack just when he has justified his wrongdoing to himself
20ـ رسولُ اللهِِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): إنَّ اللّهَ يُمهِلُ الظَّالِمَ حتّى يقولَ: قد أهمَلَنِي! ثُمّ يَأخُذُهُ أخذَةً رابِيَةً، إنّ اللّهَ حَمِدَ نفسَهُ عِندَ هَلاكِ الظّالِمِينَ ، فقالَ: «فَقُطِعَ دَابِرُ القَوْمِ الّذينَ ظَلَمُوا وَالحَمْدُ للّهِِ رَبِّ العالَمِينَ». |
| 20– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily Allah gives such respite to the wrongdoer, until he says [rejoicingly], ‘He [Allah] has indeed forgotten about me!’ Then Allah seizes him with a terrible seizing. Verily Allah has praised Himself with regard to the way in which He destroys wrongdoers, saying in the Qur’an: “Thus the wrongdoing ones were rooted out, and all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds”[ Qur’an 6:45].[ Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 322, no. 51] |
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21ـ الإمامُ الباقرُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): أملَى اللّهُ عزّ وجلّ لِفرعَونَ ما بينَ الكَلِمَتَينِ ... أربَعينَ سَنَةً، ثُمّ أخَذَهُ اللّهُ نَكالَ الآخِرَةِ والاُولى، وكانَ بينَ أن قالَ اللّهُ عزّوجلّ لموسى وهارونَ عليهماالسلام: «قد أُجِيبَتْ دَعوَتُكُما» وبينَ أن عَرَّفَهُ اللّهُ تعالى الإجابَةَ أربَعينَ سَنَةً. |
| 21– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Allah gave Pharaoh a long respite of forty years, between His two addresses to him, then Allah seized him with the punishment of this life and the Hereafter. So forty years passed between the time that Allah said to Prophet Moses (AS) and Prophet Aaron (AS): “Your supplication has already been granted” and between the time He actually showed them the answer to their supplication [i.e. through Pharaoh’s annihilation].’[Nur al-Thaqalayn, v. 5, p. 500, no. 21] |
