Here Allah consoles His Prophet Muhammad for the disbelief of those among his
people who opposed him.
[وَإِن يُكَذِّبُوكَ
فَقَدْ كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ]
(And if they deny you, so did deny before them the people of Nuh) until His
saying,
[وَكُذِّبَ
مُوسَى]
(and denied was Musa.) means, despite all the clear signs and evidence that
they brought.
[فَأمْلَيْتُ
لِلْكَـفِرِينَ]
(But I granted respite to the disbelievers for a while,) means, `I delayed
and postponed.'
[ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهُمْ
فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ]
(then I seized them, and how (terrible) was My punishment!) means, `how great
was My vengeance against them and My punishment of them!' In the Two Sahihs it
is reported from Abu Musa that the Prophet said:
«إِنَّ اللهَ
لَيُمْلِي لِلظَّالِمِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَخَذَهُ لَمْ يُفْلِتْه»
(Allah lets the wrongdoer carry on until, when He seizes him, He will never
let him go.) Then he recited:
[وَكَذلِكَ أَخْذُ
رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَى وَهِىَ ظَـلِمَةٌ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ
]
(Such is the punishment of your Lord when He seizes the towns while they are
doing wrong. Verily, His punishment is painful (and) severe.) [11:102] Then
Allah says:
[فَكَأَيِّن مِّن
قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَا]
(And many a township did We destroy)
[وَهِىَ
ظَـلِمَةٌ]
(while they were given wrongdoing,) meaning, they were rejecting their
Messengers.
[فَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ
عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا]
(so that it lie in ruins,) Ad-Dahhak said, "[Leveled to] their roofs,'' i.e.,
their houses and cities were destroyed.
[وَبِئْرٍ
مُّعَطَّلَةٍ]
(and (many) a deserted well) means, they draw no water from it, and no one
comes to it, after it had been frequented often by crowds of people.
[وَقَصْرٍ
مَّشِيدٍ]
(and a castle Mashid!) `Ikrimah said, "This means whitened with plaster.''
Something similar was narrated from `Ali bin Abi Talib, Mujahid, `Ata', Sa`id
bin Jubayr, Abu Al-Mulayh and Ad-Dahhak. Others said that it means high and
impenetrable fortresses. All of these suggestions are close in meaning and do
not contradict one another, for this sturdy construction and great height did
not help their occupants or afford them any protection when the punishment of
Allah came upon them, as He says:
[أَيْنَمَا
تَكُونُواْ يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِى بُرُوجٍ
مُّشَيَّدَةٍ]
("Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in Buruj
Mushayyadah!'') [4:78]
[أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُواْ
فِى الاٌّرْضِ]
(Have they not traveled through the land,) means, have they not traveled in
the physical sense and also used their minds to ponder That is sufficient, as
Ibn Abi Ad-Dunya said in his book At-Tafakkur wal-I`tibar, "Some of the wise
people said, `Give life to your heart with lessons, illuminate it with thought,
kill it with asceticism, strengthen it with certain faith, remind it of its
mortality, make it aware of the calamities of this world, warn it of the
disasters that life may bring, show it how things may suddenly change with the
passing of days, tell it the stories of the people of the past, and remind it
what happened to those who came before.''' Walk through their ruins, see what
they did and what became of them, meaning, look at the punishments and divine
wrath that struck the nations of the past who belied,
[فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ
قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ ءَاذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا]
(and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear)
meaning, let them learn a lesson from that.
[فَإِنَّهَا لاَ
تَعْمَى الاٌّبْصَـرُ وَلَـكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِى فِى الصُّدُورِ]
(Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are
in the breasts that grow blind.) means, the blind person is not the one whose
eyes cannot see, but rather the one who has no insight. Even if the physical
eyes are sound, they still cannot learn the lesson.
[وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ
بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَن يُخْلِفَ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَإِنَّ يَوْماً عِندَ رَبِّكَ
كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ - وَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَمْلَيْتُ لَهَا
وَهِىَ ظَـلِمَةٌ ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهَا وَإِلَىَّ الْمَصِيرُ ]
(47. And they ask you to hasten on the torment! And Allah fails not His
promise. And verily a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of what you
reckon.) (48. And many a township did I give respite while it was given to
wrongdoing. Then I seized it (with punishment). And to Me is the (final) return
(of all).)
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