100أَوَلَم يَهدِ لِلَّذينَ يَرِثونَ الأَرضَ مِن بَعدِ أَهلِها أَن لَو نَشاءُ أَصَبناهُم بِذُنوبِهِم ۚ وَنَطبَعُ عَلىٰ قُلوبِهِم فَهُم لا يَسمَعونَMuhammad AsadHas it, then, not become obvious unto those who have inherited the earth in the wake of former generations1 that, if We so willed, We could smite them [too] by means of their sins, sealing their hearts so that they cannot hear [the truth]?2Lit., "after its [former] people". The people "who have inherited the earth" are those now living.See surah 2, note 7. Here, again, we have an affirmation that what the Qur'an describes as "God's punishment" (as well as "God's reward") is, in reality, a consequence of man's own doings, and not an arbitrary act of God: it is "by means of their sins" (bi-dhunubihim) that God "sets a seal" upon the hearts of men. This statement is further elucidated at the end of verse 101.