Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:113

(And certainly there came to them) is a continuation of the parable. The pronoun in it refers to those to whom the preceding pronoun referred. This is brought forth to clarify that what they committed of disbelief in Allah’s blessings was not merely a defiance of reason, but was also an opposition to the proof of Allah over His creation. That is: And there certainly came to the people of that town (a messenger from among them), meaning from their own kind, whom they knew by his lineage and ancestry. He informed them of the obligation of gratitude for blessings and warned them of the evil consequence of what they were upon. (But they denied him) regarding his message or what he informed them of from what was mentioned. The fa (in fakadhdhabuhu) is fasiha (an eloquent connective), and the omission of that which it implies is to signal their sudden act of denial without hesitation. (So the punishment seized them), the one that uprooted them, after they had tasted of it what you have heard, (while they were wrongdoers [113]), meaning while they were immersed in wrongdoing, which is disbelief and denial, not desisting from it despite having tasted the preliminary warnings against it. In this is an indication of their persistence in disbelief and stubbornness, and their exceeding all customary limits in that regard.

The ordering of the seizure of punishment upon the denial of the messenger is in accordance with the way of Allah, as indicated by His, the Exalted, saying: “And never would We punish until We send a messenger.” By this, the parable is completed, for the state of the people of Makkah—whether the parable was struck for them specifically or for them and for all who followed their path—resembled the state of the people of that town more than one crow resembles another. They were in a secure sanctuary, while people were being snatched from all around them, and not even a phantom of fear crossed their minds to disturb them. To it were brought the fruits of all things. And there certainly came to them a messenger from among them—and what a messenger, whose lofty rank the intellects are perplexed to grasp, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, as long as the east wind and the west wind blow. He warned them, but they disbelieved in the blessings of Allah and denied him, peace and blessings be upon him. So Allah caused them to taste the garment of hunger and fear when, due to his supplication, may Allah’s blessings be upon him—"O Allah, intensify Your grip upon Mudar and make it upon them like the years of Yusuf"—they were struck by a severe drought and a crisis that could not be exceeded. They were forced to eat all kinds of carcasses, dead dogs, burned bones, and al-ilhiz (a food made of blood and fur during years of famine). One of them would look to the sky and see something like smoke due to hunger, and the earth, despite its vastness, narrowed for them due to the expeditions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, as they would raid their livestock, caravans, and trade parties, and then the punishment seized them. This is what the Shaykh al-Islam chose, stating: "It is what the situation necessitates and what the order requires." As for what most exegetes have agreed upon—that the pronoun in His saying, “And certainly there came to them,” refers to the people of Makkah as a transition to mentioning their state explicitly after mentioning their parable, and that the "messenger" refers to Muhammad, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, and the "punishment" refers to the drought that struck them and the Battle of Badr—it is far from the truth. For how could it be otherwise?