Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:42

This is a resumed discourse presented to clarify that the polytheists—due to their persistence in deviation and misguidance—do not call upon Allah the Exalted when punishment befalls them, nor are they affected by existential warnings, just as they are not affected by revelatory warnings. It has also been said that it is presented to console the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The sentence is initiated with an oath to demonstrate increased concern for its content. The object [of the verb "sent"] is omitted because the requirement of the context is to clarify the state of those to whom messengers were sent, not the state of the messengers themselves. The nunation (tanwin) in umam (nations) denotes plurality and abundance. The preposition min (from) indicates a starting point, or is in the meaning of fi (in), or is pleonastic—based on the permissibility of its addition in affirmative statements—meaning: "We have indeed sent messengers to many nations existing from a time, or in a time, before your time."

Fakhadhnahum (Then We seized them): That is, they denied [the messengers], so We punished them.

Bil-ba'sa'i wad-darra' (With distress and hardship): That is, with misery and harm. Abu al-Shaykh recorded from Ibn Jubayr that he said: "The fear of the ruler and the inflation of prices." It is also said that al-ba'sa' is drought and hunger, and ad-darra' is illness and the loss of lives and wealth. Both are feminine forms having no masculine counterpart of the af'al pattern (like ahmar/hamra'), as is the analogical norm; for adarr and ab'as are not used as adjectives, but rather for superlative comparison.

La'allahum yatadarra'un (So that they might humble themselves): That is, so that they might become abased, supplicate, and repent from their disbelief.