ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ
So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.
Tafsir
Verse range: 29:40
This statement and what follows it serve as a summary of the verses that mention the punishment of those who disbelieved and did not comply with the command of those sent to them. Abu al-Su’ud said: "This is an explanation of what the lack of precedence [in their belief] implies, by way of ambiguity, and what follows is a detailed account of the ‘taking’ [in punishment]." There is some hesitation regarding this, as if he considered the pronoun in "they were" (kānu) to refer to those who were destroyed; you are already familiar with the status of that. The object is brought forward to emphasize the comprehensiveness and totality of the matter.
A scholar noted that the mentioned phrasing is for restriction—meaning: we punished each one of those mentioned for their own crime, not some without others. This was challenged by the argument that kullan (each) guarantees this meaning whether it is brought forward or placed after. The response given was: We do not concede that the exclusion of "some without others" is understood if it is placed after; it is only understood through the act of bringing it forward. Reflect upon this.
The discussion regarding the referent of the pronoun in "their sin" (bi-dhanbihi), in terms of inquiry and response, is not hidden from one who has attained knowledge regarding the saying: "Every man and his occupation," and the saying: "Order is the placement of every thing in its rank." This is well-known among students.
{فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا} Meaning: a violent wind containing pebbles. It is also said: an angel who pelted them with pebbles. These are the people of Lut. Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: It is likely that the people of ‘Ad are included in this, for the wind by which they were destroyed was intense, and it cannot be devoid of hasb (pebbles) of harmful things. The hasib (pelter) is that which approaches from wind or clouds and pelts [the earth] with something.
{وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ} These are [the people of] Madyan and Thamud. It does not say "we took him with the sayhah (shout/blast)" in order to remain consistent with what precedes it and what follows it in attributing the action to Him, the Almighty—which is more appropriate for His saying: {فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنْبِهِ}—to avoid the misinterpretation that the Almighty Himself was the one shouting.
{وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ} This is Qarun.
{وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَغْرَقْنَا} This is Pharaoh and those with him. Some have also mentioned the people of Nuh (peace be upon him). This was challenged on the grounds that they are not among those mentioned here [in this sequence]. This was rebutted by the fact that they are the first of the mentioned nations of the past in this Surah. Perhaps the objector meant those mentioned consecutively—that is, without an intervening nation whose story does not result in its destruction. Although the people of Nuh were mentioned first, their account was separated from those like them among the destroyed by the story of the people of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and that story does not state that they were destroyed.
Al-Naysaburi mentioned that the Almighty, by saying {فَكُلًّا} etc., finalized the matter of the sinners with another summary, indicating that they were punished by the four elements. Thus, He made that from which their composition originated the cause of their extinction, and that from which their survival depended the cause of their annihilation:
The nature of this is clear.
{وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ} Meaning: He, the Almighty, did not intend to wrong them, which would be by punishing them without a crime, as that contradicts what Wisdom requires. In Anwar al-Tanzil: i.e., the Almighty would not treat them as a tyrant would, punishing them without a crime, since that is not the way (sunnah) of the Almighty. This implies that if He were to punish them without a crime, it would not be "wrong" (zulm), because He is the Possessor of Sovereignty, disposing of it as He wills; thus, He has the right to reward the disobedient and punish the obedient. This is a matter well-known among the Ash'aris, and the discussion for its verification is sought from the science of theology (Kalam). We have previously provided in our interpretation of His saying, {لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ يُسْأَلُونَ} (He is not questioned about what He does, while they will be questioned), what will benefit you in this context; recall it, and you will remember.
{وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ} By persisting in committing that which necessitates it—disbelief and sins—by their own choice. Mawlana Sheikh Ibrahim al-Kurani said, in summary: That the disbelievers wrong themselves is only due to their poor disposition, which they possess in reality, without any input of [Divine] decree in that. By the language of that disposition, they requested from the Absolute Generous, the Almighty, that which became the cause of the manifestation of their misery. The debate on this is long-winded, so it should be sought in its proper place. The object is brought forward here to preserve the rhyme of the verses.
