10. Surah Yunus
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ
لآمَنَ مَن فِي
الأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ
جَمِيعًا...
10: 99. If it had been the Lord's Will, they would all have believed -- all who are on earth!
...أَفَأَنتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٩٩﴾
Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!
C1480. If it had been Allah's Plan or Will not to grant the limited Free-will that He has granted to man, His omnipotence could have made all mankind alike: all would then have had Faith, but that Faith would have reflected no merit on them.
In the actual world as it is, man has been endowed with various faculties and capacities, so that he should strive and explore, and bring himself into harmony with Allah's Will. Hence Faith becomes a moral achievement, and to resist Faith becomes a sin.
As a complementary proposition, men of Faith must not be impatient or angry if they have to contend against Unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing Faith, i.e., imposing it on others by physical compulsion or any other forms of compulsion such as social pressure, or inducements held out by wealth or position, or other adventitious advantages.
Forced faith is no faith. They should strive spiritually and let Allah's Plan work as He wills.
Other versions:
10: 99
Asad And [thus it is :] had thy Sustainer so willed, all those who live on earth would surely have attained to faith, all of them [note 122] do you, then, think that you could compel people to believe, :
Yusuf Ali If it had been the Lord's Will they would all have believed all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind against their will to believe!
Pickthall And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?
Transliteration Wa lau sya_'a rabbuka la'a_mana man fil ardi kulluhum jami'a_(n), afa anta tukrihun na_sa hatta_ yaku_nu_ mu'minin(a).
[[ Ruby’s note 10:99 – This verse conveying that God does not will to impose faith on a human being. However if God wanted He could made everyone believe: He can do anything. The fundamental idea is that God has empowered a human with ability to think, reason and He has given a human the disposition or conscience [“fitra”] to be able to discern right from wrong. With this God has given a human the responsibility of “free will”. God does not generally interfere with the initial human decision making and choosing process. If God wanted He could have enforced faith into human beings, but He gave the choice to human beings, that is His Will. To help He has made the entire reality a message-box – signs inscribed in everything for one to see a greater Will and Patter, if one exercises reason with sincere desire to find truth one does come to believe. ]]
[[Asad’s note 122 – The Quran stresses repeatedly the fact that, “had He so willed, He would have guided you all aright” (6:149) – the obvious implication being that He has willed it otherwise: namely, that He has given man the freedom to choose between right and wring, thus raising him to the status of a moral being (in distinction from other animals, which can only follow their instincts….See surah 6, note 143, as well as …..surah 7, note 16.]].
[[ Ali’s note 1480 -- If it had been Allah's Plan or Will not to grant the limited Free-will that He has granted to man, His omnipotence could have made all mankind alike: all would then have had Faith, but that Faith would have reflected no merit on them. In the actual world as it is, man has been endowed with various faculties and capacities, so that he should strive and explore, and bring himself into harmony with Allah's Will. Hence Faith becomes a moral achievement, and to resist Faith becomes a sin. As a complementary proposition, men of Faith must not be impatient or angry if they have to contend against Unfaith, and most important of all, they must guard against the temptation of forcing Faith, i.e., imposing it on others by physical compulsion. Forced faith is no faith. They should strive. (10.99) ]]