Will thou then compel the people till they become believers ?

" Commentary : People are neither compelled to accept the faith(according to the previous verse)nor can they succeed in accepting the faith without His guidance and Divine Providence.

The verse says: " And it is not for a soul to believe except by the Will of Allah, ..." Divine favor and Divine Providence shine their light upon the sage and those people who use their reasoning and he who does not meditate and reason under his own volition, will suffer His Punishment and will abide in wretchedness. The verse continues saying: "... and He appoints uncleanness(of infidelity)on those who do not ponder.

" Commentary : In the previous verses the issue in question was that faith is a voluntary matter; it is not a matter that springs up in emergency situations, nor is it compulsory. It is for this reason that the means of acquiring faith is shown in this verse.

Addressing the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) , the Qur'an implies that he should say to the unbelievers to carefully observe the wonderful, profound system at work in the skies and on the earth each part of which exhibits the magnitude, power, knowledge and wisdom of Allah. The verse says: "Say: 'Observe you what is in the heavens and the earth! " The above sentence explicitly rules out the issue of fatalism and the lack of freedom of will.

It indicates that accepting faith is consequential upon studying the world of existence which is a task left entirely in our hands.