ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ
And nothing has prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there [must] befall them the [accustomed] precedent of the former peoples or that the punishment should come [directly] before them.
Tafsir
Verse range: 18:54-56
Know that when those disbelievers boasted to the poor Muslims about the abundance of their wealth and followers, the Almighty demonstrated in many ways that their statement is false and their doubt is baseless. After mentioning the two preceding parables, He said: {And indeed, We have varied in this Qur'an for the people every kind of parable} (18:54).
This refers to what preceded. Tashreef (varying/diversifying) implies repetition. This is appropriate because the Almighty answered their doubts, which they raised, through numerous avenues and suitable examples. Despite these sufficient answers and fitting parables, these disbelievers do not cease their futile argumentation.
He then said: {But man has ever been, most disputatious} (18:55). This means man is the most likely of all things to engage in disputation.
Regarding the grammatical status of jadalā (disputatious), some scholars state that the verse indicates that the Prophets (peace be upon them) argued with them concerning the religion until they themselves became arguers, because argumentation only occurs between two parties. This proves that the doctrine of mere imitation (taqlīd) is false.
Then He said: {And what prevented people from believing when guidance came to them and asking forgiveness of their Lord?} (18:56). There are two points of discussion regarding this:
Then the Almighty said: {Except that there should come to them the precedent of the former peoples} (18:57), meaning the punishment of annihilation, {or there should come to them the punishment directly} (18:57).
Hamzah, 'Āṣim, and al-Kisā'ī recited qibalan (with a ḍammah on the qāf and bā'), which is the plural of qabīl, meaning types of punishment that follow one another while they are alive. Others say it means "facing them" or "visibly." The rest recited qibalan (with a kasrah on the qāf and fatḥah on the bā'), meaning visibly as well. The author of al-Kashshāf narrated it as qabalan (with two fatḥahs), meaning "in the future."
The meaning is that they will not proceed to faith except when the punishment of annihilation descends, destroying them, or when continuous types of punishment and affliction befall them while they are still alive in this worldly life. Know that they will not proceed to faith except under these two conditions, because a rational person would not accept the occurrence of these two matters unless their state resembles that of someone who has suspended action upon these two conditions.
Then the Almighty clarified that He only sent the Messengers as bearers of good tidings of reward for obedience and as warners of punishment for disobedience, {so that people might have no plea against Allah after the Messengers} (18:56). Despite all these circumstances, it is found that some disbelievers argue falsely with the aim of refuting the truth. This indicates that the Prophets argued with them, as we explained that argumentation only occurs from both sides.
The Almighty also clarified that they took {the signs of Allah and the warnings} (18:58) (meaning the Qur'an and the warnings of the Prophets) in jest. All of this indicates the dominance of ignorance and hardness of heart.
The grammarians state that the mā in {and the warnings} (wa mā unḏirū) can be a relative pronoun (mawsūlah), and the returning pronoun in the relative clause is omitted. It can also be a verbal noun (maṣdariyyah), meaning "their warning."
{And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord and turns away from them and forgets what his hands have put forth?} (18:59)
This verse highlights the extreme injustice of one who, when reminded of the signs of Allah (the Qur'an), turns away from them and forgets the deeds (sins) he has committed.
{Indeed, We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand them, and in their ears deafness.} (18:60) This is the consequence of their turning away: Allah seals their hearts so they cannot comprehend the truth, and He places deafness in their ears so they cannot heed the warning.
{And if you invite them to guidance, they will never be guided, then—ever.} (18:60) If you call them to guidance, they will never be guided, no matter how much you invite them.
{And your Lord is the Forgiving, full of mercy.} (18:61) This is a statement of His attribute, contrasting His forbearance with their persistent wrongdoing.
{If He were to impose punishment upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened the punishment for them.} (18:61) If Allah were to immediately punish them for their deeds, the punishment would have been hastened.
{Rather, for them is an appointment from which they will find no refuge.} (18:61) However, Allah has set a specific appointed time for their punishment, and they will find no escape from it.
{And those towns—We destroyed them when they wronged, and We made for their destruction an appointed time.} (18:62) This serves as a historical precedent, reminding them that previous nations who committed similar injustices were destroyed at a predetermined time.
