Allah said,
[وَكَم مِّن قَرْيَةٍ
أَهْلَكْنَـهَا]
(And a great number of towns We destroyed.) for defying Our Messengers and
rejecting them. This behavior led them to earn disgrace in this life, which led
them to disgrace in the Hereafter. Allah said in other Ayat,
[وَلَقَدِ
اسْتُهْزِىءَ بِرُسُلٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَحَاقَ بِالَّذِينَ سَخِرُواْ مِنْهُمْ مَّا
كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ ]
(And indeed (many) Messengers before you were mocked at, but their scoffers
were surrounded by the very thing that they used to mock at) [6:10], and
[فَكَأَيِّن مِّن
قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَا وَهِىَ ظَالِمَةٌ فَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا
وَبِئْرٍ مُّعَطَّلَةٍ وَقَصْرٍ مَّشِيدٍ ]
(And many a township did We destroy while they were given to wrongdoing, so
that it lie in ruins (up to this day), and (many) a deserted well and lofty
castle!) [22:45], and,
[وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا
مِن قَرْيَةٍ بَطِرَتْ مَعِيشَتَهَا فَتِلْكَ مَسَـكِنُهُمْ لَمْ تُسْكَن مِّن
بَعْدِهِمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً وَكُنَّا نَحْنُ الْوَرِثِينَ ]
(And how many a town have We destroyed, which was thankless for its means of
livelihood And those are their dwellings, which have not been inhabited after
them except a little. And verily, We have been the heirs)[28:58]. Allah's
saying,
[فَجَآءَهَا
بَأْسُنَا بَيَـتًا أَوْ هُمْ قَآئِلُونَ]
(Our torment came upon them by night or while they were taking their midday
nap. ) means, Allah's command, torment and vengeance came over them at night or
while taking a nap in the middle of the day. Both of these times are periods of
rest and leisure or heedlessness and amusement. Allah also said
[أَفَأَمِنَ أَهْلُ
الْقُرَى أَن يَأْتِيَهُم بَأْسُنَا بَيَـتاً وَهُمْ نَآئِمُونَ - أَوَ أَمِنَ
أَهْلُ الْقُرَى أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا ضُحًى وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ ]
(Did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming of Our
punishment by night while they were asleep Or, did the people of the towns then
feel secure against the coming of Our punishment in the forenoon while they were
playing)[7:97-98] and,
[أَفَأَمِنَ
الَّذِينَ مَكَرُواْ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَخْسِفَ اللَّهُ بِهِمُ الاٌّرْضَ أَوْ
يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - أَوْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ فِى
تَقَلُّبِهِمْ فَمَا هُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ - أَوْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ عَلَى تَخَوُّفٍ
فَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ ]
(Do then those who devise evil plots feel secure that Allah will not sink
them into the earth, or that the torment will not seize them from directions
they perceive not Or that He may catch them in the midst of their going to and
from, so that there be no escape for them Or that He may catch them with gradual
wastage. Truly, Your Lord is indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful) [16:45-47].
Allah's saying;
[فَمَا كَانَ
دَعْوَاهُمْ إِذْ جَآءَهُم بَأْسُنَآ إِلاَ أَن قَالُواْ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـلِمِينَ
]
(No cry did they utter when Our torment came upon them but this: "Verily, we
were wrongdoers.'') This means, when the torment came to them, their cry was
that they admitted their sins and that they deserved to be punished. Allah said
in a similar Ayah,
[وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا
مِن قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَـلِمَةً]
(How many a town given to wrongdoing, have We destroyed)[21:11], until,
[خَـمِدِينَ]
(Extinct)[21:15]. Allah's saying.
[فَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ
الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ]
(Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was
sent) is similar to the Ayat,
[وَيَوْمَ
يُنَـدِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ]
(And (remember) the Day (Allah) will call them, and say: "What answer gave
you to the Messengers'') [28:65], and,
[يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ
اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُواْ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ
أَنتَ عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ ]
(On the Day when Allah will gather the Messengers together and say to them:
"What was the response you received'' They will say: "We have no knowledge,
verily, only You are the Knower of all that is unseen.'') [5:109]. Allah will
question the nations, on the Day of Resurrection, how they responded to His
Messengers and the Messages He sent them with. He will also question the
Messengers if they conveyed His Messages. So, `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from
Ibn `Abbas, who said commenting on the Ayah:
[فَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ
الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ]
(Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was sent
and verily, We shall question the Messengers.) He said; "About what they
conveyed.'' Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,
[فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ
عَلَيْهِم بِعِلْمٍ وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ ]
(Then surely, We shall narrate unto them (their whole story) with knowledge,
and indeed We have not been absent.) "The Book will be brought forth on the Day
of Resurrection and it will speak, disclosing what they used to do.''
[وَمَا كُنَّا
غَآئِبِينَ]
(and indeed We have not been absent) meaning, On the Day of Resurrection,
Allah will inform His servants about what they said and did, whether substantial
or minor. Certainly, He witnesses to everything, nothing escapes His
observation, and He is never unaware of anything. Rather, He has perfect
knowledge of what the eyes are deluded by and what the hearts conceal,
[وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن
وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ
وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ]
(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of
the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.)[6:59]
[وَالْوَزْنُ
يَوْمَئِذٍ الْحَقُّ فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَزِينُهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
- وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَزِينُهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُم بِمَا
كَانُواْ بِآيَـتِنَا يَظْلِمُونَ ]
(8. And the weighing on that Day will be the true (weighing). So, as for
those whose scale (of good deeds) will be heavy, they will be the successful (by
entering Paradise).) (9. And as for those whose scale will be light, they are
those who will lose themselves for their wrongful behavior with Our Ayat.)
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