Can the God of Islam take care of Himself?

 We saw earlier in the Qur'an where it says God can take care of Himself. It shows up again in Sura 73. But again - it's abrogated.  This really begs the question - does Islam truly believe that their God can take care of Himself - or does He need people to do it for Him?

Here are the relevant verses from Sura 73 -

[73:10] And remain steadfast in the face of their utterances, and disregard them in a nice manner.

[73:11] And let Me deal with the rejectors, who have been generously blessed; just give them a little time.

[73:12] We have severe punishments, and Hell.

[73:13] Food that can hardly be swallowed, and painful retribution.

[73:14] The day will come when the earth and the mountains will quake, and the mountains will turn into a weightless pile.

As you can see - verses 10 and 11 - the ones that tell believers to be steadfast and patient - and that God will take care of Himself - have been stricken.  They are replaced with -

[9:5] Once the Sacred Months are past, (and they refuse to make peace) you may kill the idol worshipers when you encounter them, punish them, and resist every move they make. If they repent and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), you shall let them go. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful. ((Sura 9, Ultimatum (Barã’ah) Quran The Final Testament, translated by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.))

Contrast this with what we read in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35 -

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Mt 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Mt 18:22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Mt 18:23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
Mt 18:26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
Mt 18:28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
Mt 18:29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
Mt 18:30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Mt 18:32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Mt 18:35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”


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