The Lesson to be learned from what happened to Those Who Came before
Ayahs Covered
Common Words
Other Scholars on These Ayahs
Have they not travelled across the land to see the nature of the consequence for those before them? They were more powerful than them in might and in their vestiges on earth in the way of large struct...
And when their messengers brought them clear signs manifest miracles they the disbelievers exulted in the knowledge they the messengers possessed an exultation that entailed mockery and amusement as t...
Then when they saw Our doom that is the severity of Our chastisement they said ‘We believe in God alone and we disavow what we used to associate with Him’.
But their faith was of no benefit to them when they saw Our doom — This is God’s way sunnata’Llāhi is in the accusative because it functions as a verbal noun from an implicit verb of the same expressi...
Related Hadiths
When the Verse:-- 'Those who believe and mix not their belief with wrong." was revealed, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Who amongst us has not mixed his belief with wrong?" Then Allah reve...
When three things appear faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from his faith: the rising of the sun in its place of setting, the Dajjal, and the beast of t...
Ibn Kathir Commentary
Related Tafsir
The Lesson to be learned from what happened to Those Who Came before
Allah tells us about the nations who rejected their Messengers in ancient times. He mentioned the severe punishment they suffered despite their great strength, He mentioned the traces which they left behind in the earth and the great wealth they amassed. None of that availed them anything and could not prevent the punishment of Allah at all. That is because when the Messengers came to them with clear signs and decisive evidence, they did not pay any attention to them. Instead, they were content with the knowledge with them, or so they claimed, and they said that they did not need what the Messengers brought them. Mujahid said, "They said, we know better than them, we will not be resurrected and we will not be punished." As-Suddi said, "In their ignorance, they rejoiced in what they had of (worldly) knowledge. So Allah sent upon them a punishment which they could not escape or resist."
وَحَاقَ بِهِم
(and surrounded them.) means, encompassed them.
مَا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
(that at which they used to mock,) means, that which they used to disbelieve in and said would never happen,
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا
(So when they saw Our punishment,) means, when they saw with their own eyes the punishment which came upon them, they said,
قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَـفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ
(We believe in Allah Alone and reject (all) that we used to associate with Him as (His) partners. ) means, they affirmed that Allah is One and denied the false gods, but this was at the time when excuses were to no avail. This is like what Fir`awn said as he was drowning:
ءَامَنتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلِـهَ إِلاَّ الَّذِى ءَامَنَتْ بِهِ بَنواْ إِسْرَءِيلَ وَأَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
(I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims.) (10:90) But Allah said:
ءَالَنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
(Now (you believe) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the the corrupters.) (10:91) meaning, Allah did not accept this from him, because He had answered the prayer of His Prophet Musa, when he said,
وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُواْ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ
(And harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment) (10:88). Allah says here:
فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنفَعُهُمْ إِيمَـنُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى قَدْ خَلَتْ فِى عِبَادِهِ
(Then their Faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allah in dealing with His servants.) means, this is the ruling of Allah concerning all those who repent only when they actually see the punishment: He does not accept that from them. It says in the Hadith:
«إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَةَ الْعَبْدِ مَالَمْ يُغَرْغِر»
(Allah will accept the repentance of His servant so long as the death rattle is not sounding in his throat.) Once the death rattle is sounding and the soul has reached the throat, and the dying person actually sees the angel (of death), then he can no longer repent. Allah says:
وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْكَـفِرُونَ
(And there the disbelievers lost utterly.) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Ghafir. Praise and thanks be to Allah.