Opportunity
\r\n Al-Baqara (The Cow) - Chapter 2: Verse 210
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"Are they waiting for God and the angels to come down to them in the shadows of clouds? The matter will have been settled then. To God shall all things return."
The verse condemns those who waver and are reluctant to submit and come into the fold of God's peace. It questions their motives and the reasons that hold them back, and asks whether they will remain fixed in their obstinacy until such time as God, flanked by angels, should appear to them in person. In other words, are they waiting for the fearful Day of Judgement to arrive? That day will indeed come, and the surah moves at once to that momentous day to tell us that everything has been settled. Time has come to a stop. The opportunity to believe and repent has gone for ever. No one could be saved now, as all stand facing their Lord to whom "shall all things return".
\r\nThis is an illustration of the Quran's unique and effective style, which brings to life the scenes it describes, and makes the reader or listener feel and see and hear what is going on as if it were happening now.
\r\nHow much longer will they dither when the chance to come into the fold of God's peace is calling, and the final judgement is so close? God's invitation is a promise of peace and happiness both in this life and the life to come.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"In the Shade of the Quran\" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 1, p. 243