will suffice.' ¹ The good actions of men and their evil actions will all be considered, and none shall be able to say that he has been treated unjustly. 'Verily God will not wrong men in aught, but men will wrong themselves.' ² 'And persevere stedfastly, for verily God will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.' ³ 'And of whatever good ye do, ye shall not be denied the meed. God knoweth those who fear Him.' ⁴ Those who suffer for their evil deeds will recognize on that day the justice of their condemnation. 'Just, therefore, is the doom which our Lord hath passed upon us. We shall surely taste it.' ⁵ This is one of the passages which teaches most clearly that what Muhammad meant by God's justice was exactly what men mean when they speak of justice.

Further, the justice of God may be seen from the fact that He layeth no burden on any beyond that which He is able to bear. The duties demanded and the conduct of life prescribed are such as man can fulfil and carry out. 'God will not burden any soul beyond its power.' ⁶ Elsewhere also it is shown that this justice is no hard and fast law which by demanding absolute outward adherence to such and such lines of conduct overleaps itself and becomes injustice in endeavouring to be pure absolute justice. 'And unless made with intent of heart, mistakes in this matter shall be no crime in you: for God is Lenient, Merciful.⁷

The fires of hell were not lighted simply that they might be filled irrespective of man's deserts. Hell has been prepared for those who will not believe, and who follow the seduction of Iblis. 'And fear the fire which is prepared for them that believe not!' ¹ It would almost appear that Muhammad had heard the words, 'Depart from me ye cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' ² In several passages he speaks of hell as the place to which Iblis and those who follow him will assuredly be cast. 'He said, "Go forth from it, a scorned, a banished one! Whoever of them shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you, one and all." ' ³

7. While teaching the Justice of God, the Qur'an has not a little to say of His Goodness. To begin with, we may note that the very fact that it teaches that God bestows His grace and favour on mankind implies that God is Good, Kind, Beneficent, It is indeed true that the displeasure and wrath of God against those who set themselves up in opposition to His will, is very fully described, and their punishment is depicted in lurid colours. But such realistic pictures of the fate of the unbeliever and the rebellious as are to be found in the Qur'an were perhaps absolutely necessary to bring home to the minds of the Arabs that God is not Good and Beneficent in the sense that opposition to His will is regarded by Him with indifference. He is not an easygoing despot who demands that His will be carried out, and bestows on His favourites special marks of His