This is advice from Allah, may He be exalted, to those who are in positions of authority. They should rule according to the truth and justice revealed from Him, they should not turn away from it and be led astray from the path of Allah. Allah has issued a stern warning of a severe punishment to those who go astray from His path and forget the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibrahim Abu Zur'ah, who read the Scripture, reported that Al-Walid bin 'Abd Al-Malik said to him: "Does anyone have the right to question the Khalifah? You have read the first Scripture and the Qur'an, and you have understood them." He replied, "May I speak, O Commander of the faithful?" He said, "Speak, for you are under the protection of Allah." I said, "O Commander of the faithful, are you more dear to Allah, or Dawud, peace be upon him? For Allah gave him both prophethood and rulership, then He warned him in His Book: "O Dawud! Verily, We have placed you as a successor on the earth; so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire - for it will mislead you from the path of Allah"." 'Ikrimah said: "(Those shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning." "They will have a severe punishment on the Day of Reckoning because of what they forgot." As-Suddi said, "They will have a severe punishment because of what they neglected to do for the sake of the Day of Reckoning." This interpretation is more in accordance with the apparent meaning of the Ayah. And Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Guide to the Truth.

The Wisdom behind the Creation of This World: Allah tells us that He did not create the creatures in vain; He created them to worship Him Alone, then He will gather them on the Day of Gathering and will reward the obedient and punish the disbelievers. Allah says: "And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them without purpose! That is the consideration of those who disbelieve!" meaning, those who do not think that the resurrection and the place of return will occur, but they think that there is nothing after this world. "Then woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire!" means, woe to them on the Day when they will be resurrected, from the Fire that is prepared for them. Then Allah explains that because of His justice and wisdom, He does not treat the believers and the disbelievers equally. Allah says: "Shall We treat those who believe and do righteous good deeds as those who do mischief on the earth? Or shall We treat Those who have Taqwa as the evildoers?" meaning, 'We shall not do that.' They are not equal before Allah, and since this is the case, there must inevitably be another realm in which those who obey Allah will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished. This teaching indicates to those of a sound mind and upright nature that there must inevitably be a resurrection and recompense. We see evildoers and criminals are prospering and increasing in wealth, children and luxury, until they die in that state. We see oppressed believers dying of grief and distress, so by the wisdom of the All-Wise, All-Knowing, All-Just who does not do even a speck of dust's weight of injustice, there should be a time when the rights of the oppressed are restored with due justice. If this does not happen in this world, there must be another realm where recompense may be made and consolation may be found. The Qur'an teaches sound aims based on a rational way of thinking, so Allah says: "(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Ayat, and that men of understanding may remember." meaning, those who are possessed of wisdom and reason.