Faith requirements and nullifiers:

Oh Believing Brother, we have reached the sixty second lesson in Surat An-Nisa’a, in the one hundred and forty fourth verse. Allah Almighty says:

﴾O you who believe! Take not for Auliyâ' (protectors or helpers or friends) disbelievers instead of believers. Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves? ﴿

[verse 144]

Maybe this is the most required verse for the Muslims nowadays, so that they avoid what this divine verse warns them from. When the Believer takes the infidel as a supporter, and the meaning of ‘Walliy” ‘supporter’ means someone he considers as his master, someone he loves, protects, obeys and follows, so when the Believer takes the infidel as his protector, it means he has positioned himself with the hypocrites, because hypocrisy is blended with disbelief. The disbeliever is similar to a hypocrite in that he appears to be a Muslim, but deep inside he is a disbeliever, so the hypocrite takes the disbeliever as a supporter, because of the common characteristics between them, whereas if the believer supports the disbeliever, it means that he puts himself in the same category as a hypocrite. And if that wasn’t a fact that was happening or that there was a possibility of that happening then Allah Almighty would not have prohibited it.
Problems in the Islamic world are happening because we support disbelievers over the believers, we help the disbelievers against the believers, and we aid the disbelievers to fight against the believers. We seek refuge from Allah against this, for it is all related to our faith. There are matters which weaken one’s faith, and other matters that revoke one’s faith. So among those that revoke faith, is when we help and support disbelievers against the believers, to help him, to like a disbeliever and loath a believer, as a matter of fact, it is a requirement to like a believer in order to complete one’s faith , even if he harms you in some way –as an example, and to dislike a disbeliever even if you benefit from him.
One of the supplications of the prophet PBUH:

(( O Allah! Don’t let any good (benefit ) come to me through the hands of a disbeliever.))

So that one does not feel inclined to like the disbeliever, because he who likes a disbeliever, will be joined with them in the Hereafter, and his good deeds will be of no benefit to him. I used to say: If a Muslim helps a disbeliever against another Muslim, he would be like a worthless, with which you wipe the dirtiest things and then throw in the dust bin. Therefore you have to support the believers even if they are weak, and you should avoid supporting the disbelievers even if they are the strong ones.

Loyalty and Enmity are among the principles of religion:

Dear brother: loyalty and ‘clearance from’ are the basis of our religion, you would not be a true believer unless you are loyal to the believers, and you would not be a true believer if you are not clear of supporting the disbelievers. So, if someone likes the disbeliever, and is with them, believes in their thoughts and values, is guided by their directions, imitates them in their way of living, yet he goes and prays, observes fasting, and claims that he is a Muslim; this definitely will revoke his faith. If you support and are loyal to a disbeliever, his income and wealth are all illegal, his relationships are not pure, he does not differentiate between legal and illegal things, so his values are not worthy, so when a Muslim likes a disbeliever, and when he helps him, supports him and follows his commands, and avoids what he prevents him from, then he is like him, this is why Allah Almighty said:

﴾O you who believe! Take not as friends the people who incurred the Wrath of Allah (i.e. the Jews).﴿

[Sourat al-Mumtahinah Verse: 13]

﴾And if any amongst you takes them as Auliyâ', then surely he is one of them.﴿

[al-Maidah Verse: 51]

Among the things that revoke one’s faith is being loyal to a disbeliever, let alone supporting him against a Muslim, and helping him kill a Muslim.

﴾And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him.﴿

[An-Nisa’a Verse: 93]

I don’t think that in the whole of the Quran there is any verse that holds a warning such as this one. Isn’t that what is happening nowadays? The Islamic world is siding with the infidels against some Muslims?

The matter of denial and refusal relates to religion:

﴾O you who believe! Take not for Auliyâ' (protectors or helpers or friends) disbelievers instead of believers.﴿

But what is actually happening is that each person has qualities, and these qualities are the result of one’s faith, his principle and attitude, so when the faith is corrupted and when the behavior is corrupted, and when the principles are unstable, these points and qualities are the same as those of the disbeliever. Passion happens when these points meet. So if a person follows and loves his desire, and loves his money which is illegal, and he loves to build his success on other people’s destruction, and when one loves to build his safety on other peoples’ fear, or increase his wealth on their poverty, or his life on their death, or his pride on their humility, and after all that , you like that person, then you are like him, and if you agree on what he does then you are together with him in the sin, because if someone confirms a sin which he hasn’t witnessed, it is like someone who has witnessed it, and if someone approves of a sin he has not witnessed it is like someone who has witnessed it as well. So denial and refusal is something that is related to one’s faith and religion, the verse is clear and it’s indication is firm and clear.

﴾O you who believe! Take not for Auliyâ' (protectors or helpers or friends) disbelievers instead of believers.﴿

On a lesser scale, you may have a relative who is of a high stature, and is wealthy and influential, and you may always turn to him for advice, and you are proud of him. This person may never pray, he may drink alcohol, and he may perform evil acts, so when you brag about him and praise him, and are proud of being related to him, and if he gives you advice which you rush to act upon, then this verse applies to you. You must never praise a debauchee, a disbeliever nor a sinner, as a matter of fact; Allah Almighty becomes angry when a debauchee is praised. Your son’s evaluation of values will be inconsistent and unbalanced if he hears you describing someone whose lewdness is so apparent by saying he is courteous, smart and wise, because he sees that this person does not pray, and looks at women freely, he hears him say dirty jokes, and yet you say that he is smart and courteous, and has a high stature and is successful in his business. By praising him, there will be an imbalance in the values, your tongue should only speak the truth and what is right, and should never utter words of praise about a debauchee, you should never compliment a disbeliever and never be proud of anyone who is not proud of Allah Almighty.

When real values are gone false values appear:

I would like to further explain this verse, because the majority of people due to their weak faith, are committing this violation:

﴾O you who believe! Take not for Auliyâ' (protectors or helpers or friends) disbelievers instead of believers.﴿

If your faith is correct, strong, and it is deep, you would never feel comfortable with someone who is disobedient to Allah’s commands, and you should not even be able to smile in his face. This courtesy which is very common nowadays, is hypocritical courtesy.
These phrases which people use commonly these days are a blindfold to the truth. A very liberated girl who is very distant from religious verdicts is called liberated and ‘sporty’, although she is a debauchee and very liberated, and someone who accepts illegal money is called a clever person. A person who is a hypocrite and accepts everything and everyone and does not have any principles is called courteous, flexible, and wise. And when the proper values are non-existent, false values appear and are created.
However my brother, in the second half of the same verse, there is a real deep meaning: Allah Almighty says:

﴾ Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?﴿

What should I say about this verse? Even the Creator of the earth and the sky, even the God Who has described Himself by saying “He is not asked about what He does”, a divine state and none can ask Him, yet Allah Almighty has committed His Supreme Self being on the straight path. Allah Almighty says:

﴾Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).﴿

[Hud Verse: 56]

A Self commitment. Allah Almighty says in a Hadith:

((O My servants, I have forbidden oppression on Myself and made forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.))

[Muslim reported by Abi Thar]

Being straight on Allah’s orders saves us from any punishment:

Even the Great Allah, He Who holds everything in His Hands, He Whom no one asks what He does, and He Who does what He Wills, would not punish you without a reason (by you).

﴾And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much﴿

[Ash-Shoura Verse 30]

And to make this clear to you, I will give you an example: if you own a shop and all your goods are purchased locally and manufactured locally, your merchandise is permissible and you have the invoices and receipts for the goods. If an inspector from customs passes by your shop, you wouldn’t even mind and you would not be afraid at all, because you are confident and sure about your business.
Whereas if someone who has merchandise that was not bought legally and the owner of the shop sees the inspector get close to his shop, he would be frightened and his knees would give way under him, because he has violated the law. So the explanation is so clear and really profound and we need to understand it clearly. When you hold steadfast to Allah’s commands, and when you sleep at night knowing well that you have hurt no one during the day, and that you have wronged no one, and you did not oppressed anyone, then the Creator of the Earth and the Heavens above, due to His unconditional justice, and because His Mercy has no limits, He will not punish you as you have not deserved any punishment. And the proof to that is what Allah Almighty says:

﴾ And never do We requite in such a way except those who are ungrateful, (disbelievers).﴿

[Saba Verse: 17]

Would it be reasonable to punish someone who is righteous? This explanation was also mentioned in a Hadith by the Prophet PBUH who said:

((O Mu'adh! Do you know what Allah's Right upon His slaves is?" I said, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He repeated the question a second then a third time, and then the Prophet said, " O Mu'adh! To worship Him (Allah) Alone and to join none in worship with Him (Allah). Then he asked him again: “Do you know what their right upon Him is?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He repeated the question a second then a third time and then the Prophet PBUH said: (and now pay attention to the answer): O Mu'adh! "Not to punish them (if they do so).))

[ Agreed upon]

Security is a great blessing Allah gives to the believers:

There is no cause for it.
Imagine if a child comes home to his father holding his report card, he’s the first in class, and his clothes are clean, his attitude is respectable, and he helps his mother and brother and sisters, is there any father on the face of this earth who would hit such a child? No! there is no reason. There is no punishment with a cause.

﴾Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him﴿

[An-Nisa Verse: 147]

And just so you would feel comfort, security is an important factor, is it a blessing from amongst the greatest blessings which Allah made especially for the Believers. Allah Almighty says:

﴾So) which of the two parties has more right to be in security? If you but know.(81) It is those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and worship none but Him Alone) and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong i.e. by worshipping sh3er besides Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are the guided (82)﴿

[Al-An’am Verse:81,82]

They alone have the security, if He said: ‘they have the security’, it means that sh3er may share that security with them, but

﴾ for them (only) there is security﴿

Alone , so that you can be assured that when you hold a treaty with Allah, and are on His straight path, and you don’t harm any of His creatures, and you don’t lie, rather you are honest, you don’t cheat, rather you are truthful, Allah Almighty reassures you, you are under Allah Almighty’s umbrella, in His protection, and the holy Quran there are assuring verses, Allah Almighty says:

﴾And He is with you (by His Knowledge) wheresoever's you may be.﴿

[Al-Hadid Verse: 4]

This is for all the creation; He is with you by His Knowledge, with the disbeliever, with the debauchee, with the murderer, with the criminal by His Knowledge, so this is a general accompaniment, whereas the special accompaniment is for the believers alone, so He is with them in their success, protection and guidance, Allah is with the pious, Allah is with the true and the honest, Allah is with the ones who believed and performed good deeds, this is the special accompaniment. Therefore if Allah is with you, then who can be against you? Allah, the One Whom there is no god but He, is the heart of the true honest believer, whose security if distributed among the nation of a town, it would suffice them. Some people with much knowledge about Allah said: If the kings knew what we have (our faith in Allah) they would have fought us with swords. Allah exists, Allah does what He Wills.

When you are with Allah He defends you and leads you to the right:

﴾Verily, your Lord is the doer of what He wills.﴿

[Hud Verse: 107]

Our fate is in the Hands of Allah, not in the hands of our enemies, our safety and happiness are in the Hands of Allah; Allah can see all we do and He can see our intentions, our thoughts, our secrets, what we conceal and He can see our seclusion. This is why the Believer, my dear brother, is distinguished by a quality that all the money in the world cannot outweigh. When he sleeps his mind is at rest, and he sleeps peacefully, As a matter of fact, Allah Almighty commanded the Prophet PBUH to challenge the disbelievers.

﴾Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us﴿

[At-Taubah Verse:51]

vWho are you with? Sometimes a soldier in a very strong army feels that the whole army is protecting him, and that all the strength of the army is shielding him and defending him. This feeling comes from the army’s strength, and when someone attacks a soldier that belongs to a strong army, he would be very hesitant, because the retaliation would be severe. And when you are a soldier for Allah, and you are in His protection, and when you are under His umbrella, and when you are with Allah in a very special company, He will defend you and protect you, and He will inspire you to what is right. Just yesterday a brother told me about a plot that was devised against someone. Someone planted drugs in his house and then told the authorities that he is a drug addict, so the police officer came to his house and searched it inside out, and finally she found the drugs, and he was admitted to prison. All the evidence pointed to that he had possession of drugs. But when the judge was about to pronounce the sentence, he saw that this was not that of a drug addict, so he set him free, and dropped the charges against him. Allah Almighty has many endless options, sometimes He places love in people’s hearts, sometimes He places fear, other times He drives a tragic incident to which in fact will be the cause of one’s deliverance.

﴾So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers.﴿

[Aal Imran Verse: 139]

You should believe truly that Allah will not abandon you, and that your acts and deeds are all stored and saved with Allah, and that your straightforwardness and honesty is worth a lot for Allah, and that the acts of virtue which you perform to get you closer to Allah, will not be wasted. Allah Almighty says:

﴾So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it﴿

[Al-Zalzalah Verses: 7,8]

This world is the plantation for the Hereafter; dear brother:

﴾Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?﴿

The Majestic Creator, everything is in His Hands, who has control on the fatal diseases? Who has control on the destructive accidents, who has control over the volcanoes, who has control over the thunder storms , who has control over the rockets, the mines, who owns all of this? No one gets but what he deserves, and as a consequence of what he has done to himself, because Allah does not drive any disasters to anyone without a reason from the people themselves.

﴾And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much﴿

[Ash-Shoura Verse 30]

﴾(What is the matter with you?) When a single disaster smites you, although you smote (your enemies) with one twice as great, you say: "From where does this come to us?" Say (to them), "It is from yourselves (because of your evil deeds)." And Allah has power over all things﴿

[Aal Imran Verse: 165]

Allah is absolutely Just and Nothing can happen except with His Knowledge:

This is why when a man proclaimed in front of Omar Ibn al-Khattab RA that Allah has destined him to drink alcohol, he said: “raise the punishment for him twice, once because he drank alcohol, and the second because he told a lie against Allah, he said: “Woe to you. Allah Almighty’s fate will not hinder you from making a choice and change that into an obligation.” Of course, the untamed man who is not ruled by any values, and no principles guide him, will move around aimlessly, whereas the Great Lord, Whose justice is general and nothing happens to anything without His Knowledge.

﴾not a leaf falls, but he knows it﴿

[Al-Anaam]

Matters are not as the disbelievers think they are, life is for the strong ones, so He gives the strong ones the worldly life, but He will put him to a very difficult account.

﴾Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror﴿

[Ibrahim Verse: 42]

﴾Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves?﴿

Imagine a person who during all his whole life and during his career, he is honest and goes according to the rules, even if he obeys his leader, the leader does not have any authority over him. There must be a violation which he commits so that there is a law suit against him, there should be a violation by which he is sent to jail, there must be a violation upon which he is deprived. Otherwise a person who is orderly, obeys the rules, and does not commit any violation of the laws, he is considered special among the people of this earth, and even more so with Allah the One and Only, the Creator of this universe.

Obedience and disobedience of Allah:

I will remind you of the previous example which further clarifies this verse; if the goods and merchandise you have in the store, is clean, orderly and all supported by accurate invoices, and if the customs officer passes by your store, will any hair on your skin quiver? Never, and that is because this person does not hold anything against you, because you are honest. Whereas, if you had many violations, you would shiver and would be afraid, because the officer would have authority over you.
The Divine rank is a great rank, although Allah Almighty, Exalted and Sublime says about Himself: O my Servant! I have no power over you if you obey me. This is a real fine explanation, so My servant , if you obey Me, I won’t have authority over you, this is what the interpreters said concerning the following verse:

﴾"Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer﴿

[Sab’a Verse: 19]

Yemen was very fertile lands, and when you ride a vehicle, you travel for hundreds of kilometers with green land all around you, all buildings, and facilities, luxurious houses, hotels, shops for sale, and the buildings were all close to one another, so the people of Yemen said:

﴾"Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer” meaning ‘make these lands open space, so sometimes you go from city to another a distance of 160 kilometers, most of it is desert. Make the stages between our journey longer﴿

Is there any sane man on earth who would pray for his own destruction? No, never. So what is the meaning of this verse? The interpreters said: when you disobey Allah, you say: Oh Lord, perish me, Oh Lord, punish me, oh Lord, take away all my wealth without you feeling that you are saying that. So when a person acts haughty, he says: Oh Lord, perish me, oh Lord crush me. His tongue utters the words: Oh Lord: make me poor, actually no one on earth really prays for his destruction, but the evil and the disobedient says: Oh Lord, destroy me.

Many Quranic verses reassures us that Allah is Just:

I say to you, my brother: If a person is living a quiet balanced life, and if he does not change that, Allah the Exalted and Mighty will not change him, so be sure about Allah’s justice, be assured about His Mercy, so if you do not change, Allah will not change anything. But if you change all that, then it is inevitable that Allah will change things for you. Therefore some Prophetic hadiths mention:
‘O Allah! I seek refuge from Your sudden Wrath upon me, and from changing my state of life and state of health and I seek refuge from all Your dissatisfaction with me.’ Disasters may occur suddenly and all at once, in one second one can lose all his movement, in one second one can lose his sight, therefore: ‘O Allah! I seek refuge from Your sudden Wrath upon me, and from changing my state of life and state of health and I refuge from all Your dissatisfaction with me.’ The following verse is reassuring, just as there are so many other comforting verses.

﴾Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds﴿

[al-Jathiyah Verse: 21]

﴾Is then he who is a believer like him who is Fâsiq (disbeliever and disobedient to Allah)? Not equal are they.﴿

[As-Sajdah Verse:18]

﴾Shall We then treat the (submitting) Muslims like the Mujrimûn (criminals, polytheists and disbelievers, etc.)?(35) What is the matter with you? How judge you?﴿

[Al-Qalam Verse: 35,36]

﴾Is he whom We have promised an excellent promise (Paradise), which he will find true, like him whom We have made to enjoy the luxuries of the life of (this) world, then on the Day of Resurrection, he will be among those brought up (to be punished in the Hell-fire)?﴿

[Al-Qassas Verse: 61]

We should read the verses of hope every now and then to be reassured:

Impossible and a thousand times impossible.

﴾Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us﴿

[At-Taubah Verse:51]

﴾Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah (Alone)," and then they Istaqâmû, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!﴿

[Fussilat Verse: 30]

﴾Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision﴿

[An-Nahl Verse: 97]

The Creator of the Universe says:

﴾We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision﴿

﴾you are under Our Eyes﴿

[At-Tur Verse: 48]

Any Believer who follows the method and teachings of our Prophet Mohammed PBUH will be in Allah’s care and protection. There are verses from the Quran which we reauthor every now and then in which we ask for hope so that we can be assured, because the truth is that the danger which we see with our own eyes is more than anyone can imagine, destructive danger, and nothing will protect us from fear of that danger except our hope in Allah Almighty, and nothing will prevent our fear from that danger except our holding steadfast to His commands.

﴾Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them﴿

[ An-Nisa Verse: 145]

Sometimes a person is punished by another person, and someone who is stronger than the punished one intercedes, and he gives an order to release him, however, with Allah, it is different. No power on earth can change the ruling of Allah.

All human beings come individually on the Day of Resurrection

﴾there is none to put back His Judgment﴿

[Ar-Ra’d Verse:41]

The Magistrate judge may decide to reconcile in a case, he may rule in your favor, then the appealing judge may abrogate the ruling, and the appealing judge may also rule in your favor, then the judge of appeal and he may abrogate the ruling, and he may rule against you as a final verdict. Then the king may send a pardon and the ruling is cancelled,

﴾there is none to put back His Judgment﴿

﴾But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning back of it﴿

[Ar-Ra’d Verse: 11]

﴾there is none to put back His Judgment﴿

﴾Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them﴿

This is why people come each one on his own (single), now when someone comes he may have a million people around him, or maybe hundreds of thousands, around him there will be a strong power, each one of these people are afraid of him. However, on Doomsday, all the people will go to account each one on his own. Allah Almighty says:

﴾And truly you have come unto Us alone (without wealth, companions or anything else) as We created you the first time﴿

[Al-Anaam Verse: 94]

The wrong-doer can only repent if he does good deeds:

And Allah Almighty also says:

﴾Those who take disbelievers for Auliyâ' (protectors or helpers or friends) instead of believers﴿

[An-Nisa Verse: 139]

And He Almighty says:

﴾Verily, the hyprocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire﴿

But Allah has opened a chance for their salvation, as He says:

﴾Except those who repent (from hypocrisy), do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah (by worshipping none but Allah, and do good for Allah's sake only, not to show-off), then they will be with the believers. And Allah will grant to the believers a great reward.﴿

[ An-Nisa Verse: 146]

When he was a hypocrite, he was corrupted, when he was a hypocrite he helped the disbelievers against the Believers, when he was a hypocrite he was a liar, this is why he caused evil by helping the disbelievers, and he committed evil by conspiring against the Believers, and he caused corruption. Allah Almighty said:

﴾Except those who repent (from hypocrisy)﴿

the repentance of the hypocrite will not be accepted except if he later does righteous deeds:

Whenever Allah warns His servants against sins He gives them Hope of repentence

﴾Who repent (from hypocrisy), do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah,﴿

it means they obey, so if he repents from his sin, and he corrects his faults by doing righteous deeds, and then he holds fast to Allah’s commands by obeying,

﴾and purify their religion for Allah﴿

they purify their religion not for fear of people, nor for hope of gaining a reward, instead they do it to gain Allah’s Pleasure, Allah Almighty says:

﴾then they will be with the believers﴿

those are the ones who will be saved

﴾ then they will be with the believers﴿

The greatness of the Quran is that every time Allah warns, He also gives hope, and every time He Warns His servants against committing sins, He also gives them hope of salvation by repenting, because Allah Almighty wants to accept His servants repentance. Allah Almighty says:

﴾Allah wishes to accept your repentance﴿

[ An-Nisaa verse: 27]

﴾Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance﴿

[Al-Baqarah Verse: 222]

Repentance has no value without faith and straightness:

So every time a slave commits a sin Allah opens a door for repentance for him

﴾ Except those who repent (from hypocrisy), do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah﴿

this is the simple naïve meaning of “Truly Allah is Oft-forgiving and He is Merciful”. So if one commits sins and evil, and later says that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, and people take that for granted saying that Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Most Merciful, so they consider the sins which they commit as trivial, but read on: Allah Almighty says:

﴾Declare (O Muhammad SAW) unto My slaves, that truly, I am the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful﴿

[Al-Hijr Verse: 49]

Continue reading: He also says:

﴾And that My Torment is indeed the most painful torment﴿

[Al-Hijr Verse: 50]

﴾Say: "O 'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (53) And turn in repentance and in obedience with true Faith (Islâmic Monotheism) to your Lord and submit to Him, (in Islam), before the torment comes upon you, then you will not be helped.﴿

[Az-Zummar Verse:53,54]

There are more than eight verses.

﴾ Then, verily! Your Lord for those who emigrated after they had been put to trials and thereafter strove hard and fought (for the Cause of Allah) and were patient, verily, your Lord afterward is, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿

[An-Nahl Verse: 110]

This verse is very clear. ‘Except those who have repented and rectified all their previous errors, and they obeyed Allah Almighty and were faithful, they have devoted themselves to Allah Alone,’ these are the Believers. It means that repentance without any good deeds, repentance without avoidance, repentance without paying a price, repentance without striving hard, repentance without changing anything, repentance without belief in Allah and repentance without righteousness, is meaningless.

﴾ those who repent (from hypocrisy), do righteous good deeds, hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion for Allah (by worshipping none but Allah, and do good for Allah's sake only, not to show-off), then they will be with the believers. And Allah will grant to the believers a great reward.﴿

If we believe in Allah and thank Him for His grants we fulfill the aim of our existence:

Then Allah Almighty says:

﴾Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him. And Allah is Ever All Appreciative (of good), All-knowing﴿

[An-Nisa Verse: 147]

The truth is that this verse is very clear, the reason for our existence is to believe in Allah, and to be happy to be close to Him, so when we thank Him, we would have fulfilled the aim and reached the goal for our existence, and this is where the dilemma stops. So for example if a doctor decides to remove a kidney that is not functioning, it would be a wise decision, and before he performs the operation, he takes an X-ray of that kidney and finds that it is functioning perfectly, would he then have to operate and remove it? Of course not. And similarly when a person believes in Allah, and he thanks Him, he would have fulfilled the reason of his existence because Allah has given him life, and granted him Paradise, and the Universe, and the Quran, He granted him a sound mind, and a choice, He granted him his desire , all these are grants from Allah Almighty, and so if you believe in the One who gave you all these grants, and when you thank Him for what He gave you, you would have achieved the reason for your existence. Therefore the argument will end.

﴾Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him.﴿

the world has been subjected to you twice, one employment is for knowledge, and the other is the subjectivity for honor. If your friend gave you a phone with many useful features as a gift, it would be a gift to start with, and you would be very impressed by all the features which he has designed, so you would have two kinds of feelings towards the phone, the first feeling would be that of being impressed by it, and you would also feel gratitude towards your friend, because he gave you the gift. Therefore you should know with all certainty, that this Universe was subjugated to you, o human, one subjugation is for you to know Allah through this Universe, and the second subjugation is an honorable one so that you would love Him for His grant. So when you believe in the existence of Allah, and in His Perfection, His Oneness, and when you thank Him for your being, for your sustenance, and for your guidance and sound mind, you would have achieved the reason for your being, and would there be any reason for arguments and disasters? Allah Almighty says:

﴾Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him. And Allah is Ever All Appreciative (of good), All-knowing﴿

A creature (human) sometimes benefits from torturing another human, sometimes he tortures him to gain his money, or to get his wife for example, so a man might find gain from torturing another man. However, the Creator of these universes would not even increase in His Kingdom even if all His Servants’ hearts were as pious as the most pious one of them, and likewise if they were all like the most evil one of them, nothing would decrease from His Kingdom.
Therefore my dear brother, these verses are very reassuring:

﴾Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him.﴿

so you should believe and thank Allah, and the argument will be over, and the verse is very clear.