3.3.4 Warnings and Glad Tidings

Warnings and Glad Tidings in the Qur’an

The Qur’an speaks to the human heart with two strong voices, the voice of warning and the voice of glad tidings. Both are essential. Warnings awaken a careless heart, and glad tidings give hope to a heart that fears or has fallen. Together they guide the believer toward Allah with awareness, balance, and sincerity.

The Qur’an as a Book of Both Warning and Good News

Allah describes the mission of the Prophet ﷺ and the nature of the Qur’an repeatedly as warning and good news combined. This pairing appears often, so that no reader thinks the religion is only fear or only comfort.

“Indeed, We have sent you with the truth as a bringer of good tidings and a warner, and there was no nation except that there had passed within it a warner.”
(Qur’an 35:24)

“(This is) a Qur’an which We have sent down in the Arabic language, that you may understand. We relate to you the best of stories... as a warning, and as good news for the believers.”
(see Qur’an 12:2–3, 18:2)

The Prophet ﷺ explained that his role was not to bring punishment by his own desire, but to deliver a clear message that includes both mercy and caution.

“I was not sent as one who curses, but I was sent only as a mercy.”
(Muslim)

Mercy includes warning someone before they fall into destruction, just as it includes encouraging them with hope after they have slipped.

The Purpose of Warnings

Qur’anic warnings are not intended to break a person beyond repair. They are meant to wake the heart, to shake it away from illusion, and to show the real consequences of turning away from Allah.

Allah explains why He sends warnings:

“We do not send the signs except as a warning.”
(Qur’an 17:59)

“And We send not the messengers except as bringers of good tidings and warners, so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers.”
(Qur’an 4:165)

Warnings have several aims.

First, they cut off excuses. A person who has heard the truth cannot say on the Day of Judgment that he did not know that disbelief, injustice, and sin had consequences.

Second, they protect. A warning protects a person from punishment by alerting him before it arrives, just as a sign by a dangerous cliff protects from falling.

Third, they purify intention. When a believer reads about the punishments of Hell, he corrects his path, leaves arrogance, and becomes serious about his journey to Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ would use these warnings in his teaching and in his sermons, but always together with reminders of Allah’s mercy. He said:

“If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

Yet he also forbade his companions from losing hope, because to despair is itself a serious spiritual sickness.

Types of Warnings in the Qur’an

The Qur’an uses different kinds of warnings so that different hearts can be reached, whether through fear of loss, fear of punishment, or fear of being cut off from Allah.

One category is warning about disbelief and rejection of faith. These verses make clear that turning away from Allah is not a small matter.

“Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses, We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through, We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.”
(Qur’an 4:56)

Another category is warning about hypocrisy. These verses address those who show Islam outwardly but hide disbelief or hatred of faith inside.

“Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire, and you will never find for them a helper.”
(Qur’an 4:145)

A third category is warning about particular sins and moral corruption, such as oppression, arrogance, and immorality. These warnings teach that sins have consequences in this world and the next.

“And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him to a Fire, abiding eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.”
(Qur’an 4:14)

There are also warnings that take the form of stories of earlier nations who rejected their prophets. Through these stories, the Qur’an warns this Ummah without naming us directly.

“Have they not traveled through the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? They were stronger than them in power... Then Allah seized them for their sins, and they had not from Allah any protector.”
(Qur’an 40:21)

The Prophet ﷺ explained that these warnings are for reflection, not for mere information. He said:

“I am to you like a man who warned his people of an approaching army. He went out to them and said, ‘O people, I am the naked warner. So save yourselves, save yourselves.’ ”
(Bukhari)

In this image he presents himself as someone who drops all formalities to alert his people, out of deep concern for them.

The Nature of Qur’anic Glad Tidings

Alongside warning, the Qur’an shines with glad tidings for those who believe and strive. These glad tidings are not fantasies. They are promises from Allah, who never breaks His promise.

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, for them are the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging, wherein they will abide forever. They will not desire from it any transfer.”
(Qur’an 18:107–108)

“Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and good dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. But the greatest pleasure is the approval of Allah. That is the great success.”
(Qur’an 9:72)

Glad tidings in the Qur’an are of several types.

There are promises about the Hereafter, like Paradise, forgiveness, and safety from the Fire.

There are promises about this life, like tranquility of the heart, divine aid, and the blessings that come with taqwa.

“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer, We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”
(Qur’an 16:97)

There are also glad tidings about Allah’s closeness and mercy for those who turn back to Him.

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’ ”
(Qur’an 39:53)

The Prophet ﷺ used to give glad tidings frequently. He said:

“Give glad tidings, and do not drive people away. Make things easy, and do not make them difficult.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

He also said:

“Allah is more joyful at the repentance of His servant than one of you who lost his camel in a desert then finds it suddenly.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

These reports show that the believer is invited to hope as strongly as he is invited to fear.

The Balance Between Fear and Hope

Qur’anic warnings and glad tidings are meant to be held together. One without the other creates imbalance. Excessive fear can lead to despair and giving up. Excessive hope without fear can lead to laziness and boldness in sin.

Allah often places fear and hope side by side in the same verse.

“Inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment.”
(Qur’an 15:49–50)

“Your Lord is most knowing of you. If He wills, He will have mercy upon you, or if He wills, He will punish you. And We have not sent you [O Muhammad] over them as a guardian.”
(Qur’an 17:54)

The scholars summarized the correct approach. They said that in times of health and comfort, a person should lean slightly more toward fear so he does not become proud and careless. Near death, he should lean more toward hope so that he meets Allah while expecting His mercy.

The Prophet ﷺ visited a sick man and asked him what he felt in his heart. The man replied: “I fear my sins, and I hope in the mercy of my Lord.” The Prophet ﷺ said:

“These two (feelings) do not combine in a servant’s heart at such a time except that Allah gives him what he hopes for and protects him from what he fears.”
(Tirmidhi)

How Warnings Shape a Believer’s Life

Qur’anic warnings are not only about the fire of Hell at the end of life. They shape daily choices and attitudes right now.

First, warnings about accountability make a person careful with his actions, words, and even thoughts. He knows that everything is written and that he will see it again.

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”
(Qur’an 99:7–8)

Second, warnings about oppression and injustice make a believer fear harming others. The Prophet ﷺ conveyed this clearly:

“Oppression will be darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

Third, warnings about arrogance and self admiration teach humility. The Qur’an speaks strongly against those who feel secure from Allah’s plan or who mock the signs.

“Do they feel secure from the plan of Allah? But none feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people.”
(Qur’an 7:99)

Finally, warnings against following desire and forgetting the Hereafter protect a believer from living only for this world.

“But as for he who feared standing before his Lord and restrained his soul from (unlawful) desire, then indeed, Paradise will be his refuge.”
(Qur’an 79:40–41)

When a person internalizes these warnings, his priorities shift. Temporary pleasure is no longer worth permanent loss.

How Glad Tidings Nurture the Heart

While warnings prevent destruction, glad tidings give strength to continue, especially when a believer feels weak, guilty, or surrounded by trials.

First, they give hope in forgiveness. No matter how great the sin, the door remains open as long as the person is alive and repents sincerely.

“And it is He who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons misdeeds, and He knows what you do.”
(Qur’an 42:25)

The Prophet ﷺ told of a man who killed many people then repented sincerely. At the end of the story he said that Allah forgave him when he turned truthfully to his Lord.
(Muslim, hadith of the man who killed ninety nine then one hundred)

Second, glad tidings encourage patience and perseverance in hardship. The Qur’an promises that every difficulty carries within it ease and that trials raise the believer’s rank.

“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient.”
(Qur’an 2:155)

“Indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease.”
(Qur’an 94:5–6)

Third, they increase love of meeting Allah. When a believer reads descriptions of Paradise, his heart longs for it and finds energy to obey. The Prophet ﷺ said about the people of Paradise:

“Allah will say: ‘I will give you My pleasure and will never be angry with you after that.’ ”
(Bukhari, Muslim)

Fourth, glad tidings give meaning to hidden acts of goodness. The Qur’an promises that no small act is lost, even if people do not notice.

“Indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.”
(Qur’an 18:30)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Do not belittle any good deed, even if you meet your brother with a cheerful face.”
(Muslim)

A believer who truly believes these glad tidings finds joy in every opportunity to do good, because he is sure that Allah sees and remembers it.

Warnings Against Despair and False Security

The Qur’an does not only warn about disbelief and sin. It also warns about two spiritual extremes that corrupt the way a person responds to warnings and glad tidings. These are despair of Allah and false security from His plan.

Despair appears when a person thinks his sins are too great for forgiveness. This is a grave mistake, because it belittles Allah’s mercy.

“And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?”
(Qur’an 15:56)

Allah answers despair directly with the powerful call:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins.’ ”
(Qur’an 39:53)

On the other side is false security, which appears when a person feels safe from Allah’s punishment while continuing in sin. This attitude ignores the serious warnings in the Qur’an.

“Then did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them at night while they were asleep? Or did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they were at play?”
(Qur’an 7:97–98)

The Prophet ﷺ expressed this balance in a single statement:

“If the believer knew what is with Allah of punishment, none would hope for His Paradise. And if the disbeliever knew what is with Allah of mercy, none would despair of His Paradise.”
(Muslim)

Responding to Warnings and Glad Tidings

The Qur’an does not present warnings and glad tidings as information to be admired. They are calls that demand a response.

The correct response to warnings is to turn back to Allah with repentance and to change one’s behavior. When people of true faith hear such verses, they are moved to act, not to argue.

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith.”
(Qur’an 8:2)

The correct response to glad tidings is twofold. First, to thank Allah and ask Him to make us among those who deserve these promises. Second, to increase in good deeds, because promises of reward are not for words alone, but for faith joined with effort.

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection.”
(Qur’an 19:96)

The Prophet ﷺ taught his companions to seek Paradise and protection from the Fire regularly, and he gave them specific supplications for that purpose. One of his frequent prayers was:

“O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and I seek refuge in You from the Fire.”
(Tirmidhi)

This shows that every believer should keep both destinations in his mind and tongue.

The Mercy Behind Both Messages

When the Qur’an threatens disbelievers, hypocrites, or those who persist in sin, it does so from a place of wisdom and mercy. Allah has no need of His servants, yet He still warns them, sends them messengers, and repeats the message.

“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.”
(Qur’an 4:147)

Even when verses describe the Fire, they are meant to save a person from it before he reaches it. The greatest proof of mercy is that Allah teaches exactly what leads to salvation and what leads to ruin, and then leaves the choice to the human being who has been honored with responsibility.

The Prophet ﷺ recited verses of warning with deep feeling, sometimes weeping, yet he was described in the Qur’an:

“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer. He is concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.”
(Qur’an 9:128)

His concern and mercy appeared both when he warned and when he gave glad tidings.

In the end, the message of the Qur’an can be summarized in these two forces working together. Warning calls the soul away from heedlessness and arrogance. Glad tidings call it away from despair and laziness. Between them the believer walks a straight path toward Allah, fearing His displeasure, hoping for His mercy, and trusting in the truth of His promises and threats.