Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:47

This is another form of reproof for them, by compelling them to acknowledge that the punishment is specific to them.

{If the punishment of Allah comes to you}—that is, the immediate punishment specific to you, just as it came to your counterparts among the nations before you—{unexpectedly} (baghtatan)—that is, suddenly, without the appearance of any sign or prior awareness. Because this term implies the lack of perception inherent in "secrecy" (al-kufyah), it is valid to contrast it with His saying, Glorified be He: {or openly} (jahratan). He began with the former because it is more deterrent than the latter. He did not say "secretly" (khufyatan) because concealment is not appropriate to His Majesty, the Almighty.

Some have claimed that baghtatan (unexpectedly) is a metaphor for secrecy, evidenced by its being contrasted with jahratan (openly), and that it is an implied metaphor (kinayah) rather than an imaginary one (takhayyuliyyah). It is not hidden that this is forced and unnecessary, for contrast between a thing and its near-opposite is frequent in eloquent speech. Examples include the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Give glad tidings and do not drive [people] away."

Al-Hasan said: "Unexpectedly" means it comes to them by night, and "openly" means it comes to them by day. It has been recited as (baghtatan or jahratan) with the ghayn and ha vocalized with fathah, as both are verbal nouns like ghalabah—meaning: "it comes as an unexpected event or an open event." In al-Muhtasib, Ibn Jinni states that the school of our [Basran] scholars is that every quiescent throat letter following a fathah is not moved except as a dialectal variation, such as al-nahr and al-nahar, al-shi'r and al-sha'ar, al-halb and al-halab, al-tard and al-tarad. The Kufans hold that it is permissible to vocalize the second letter because it is a throat letter, as a consistent rule, like al-bahr and al-bahar. I do not see the truth except with them. I have heard this from the general populace of the tribe of 'Aqil, and I heard al-Shajari say: "I am feverish (mahmum)" with a fathah on the ha, and there is no maf'ul form with a fathah on the fa [middle radical] in the speech of the Arabs. They say al-laham (flesh) meaning al-lahm, and I heard him say taghaddu (eat lunch) meaning taghaddu, and there is no maf'al form with a fathah on the fa in their speech. They say sara nahwahu (he walked toward him) with a fathah on the ha; if the movement were original, the lam would not be sound at all. This is as al-Shihab said: a benefit that ought to be memorized. It has also been recited as (baghtatan wa jahratan) with the conjunctive wa.

{Will any be destroyed except the wrongdoing people?}

That is: "Except you." The external noun (al-qawm al-zalimun) is placed in the position of their pronoun to record the verdict of wrongdoing against them, and to signal that the ground for their destruction is their injustice—their placing of disbelief in the position of faith, and turning away in the position of drawing near.

As the majority have stated, this relates to the seeking of information, and the interrogation is for confirmation. That is, say to them—confirming that the destruction is exclusive to them—"Inform me, if His punishment—Glorified be He—comes to you as you deserve, will any be destroyed by that punishment except you?" That is, will anyone other than you be destroyed, from those who do not deserve it?

It is said that "the wrongdoing people" refers to the generic class, and they are included in it primarily. This has been objected to on the grounds that the specificity of the "coming" of the punishment to them refutes this.

It is also said that the interrogation is in the sense of a negation, because the exception is mufarragh (vacuous), and its basis is negation. The object of the information-seeking is, in this case, elided; as if it were said: "Inform me, if His punishment—Mighty and Majestic is He—comes to you unexpectedly or openly, what will be the state of affairs?" Then it is said, as an explanation of that: "None shall be destroyed except the wrongdoing people"—meaning: none shall be destroyed by that punishment specific to you except you.

Al-Tabarsi and others qualified the destruction as "the destruction of torment and wrath" to justify the limitation (hasr); for someone other than a wrongdoer might indeed die, but that is a mercy from Him—Exalted be He—toward him, in order to reward him with the fullest reward for his trials. Perhaps this is an engagement in what does not concern [the argument]. It has been recited as (yuhliku) with a fathah on the ya.