Al-Qamar (The Moon): (16) So how [terrible] was My punishment...

There are two interpretations regarding the phrase:

1. It is an inquiry directed from the Prophet (peace be upon him), serving as a warning to him and a promise regarding the ultimate outcome.
2. It is a general address intended as a warning to all creation. The possessive yā’ (my) has been omitted, similar to how the yā’ of yasrī (my journeying) is dropped in the verse: {And by the night when it travels} (Al-Fajr: 4), which occurs when pausing. This omission is common, as seen in verses like: {So worship Me alone} (Al-‘Ankabūt: 51), {nor will they be rescued} (Yā-Sīn: 43) [and Al-Zumar: 16], {And fear Me alone} (Al-Zumar: 16), and {and do not disbelieve} (Al-Baqarah: 152). A variant reading includes the yā’: ‘adhābī (My punishment).

There are several related issues:

Answer: If we hold that the inquiry is directed to the Prophet (PBUH), it is as if God said to him: "You have learned the accounts of those who came before you. So, how [terrible] was it, now that your knowledge encompasses their accounts transmitted to you?"

If we hold that the inquiry is general, then after stating: {Is there any who will remember?} (Al-Qamar: 15), God established their existence and called out: "O you who remember!" Having established the situation through this reminder, He then asks: {So how [terrible] was My punishment?}

It is also possible that it is connected to the preceding verse, meaning: "Remember! How [terrible] was My punishment."

Answer: If the inquiry is directed to the Prophet (PBUH), then He knows the answer because the Prophet knows it. If the inquiry is general, it is conditional upon their remembrance (idhkār). Upon remembrance, the reality becomes known.

Alternatively, it might not be an inquiry (istifhām) at all, but rather a statement about the magnitude of the matter, similar to: {The Reality! What is the Reality?} (Al-Hāqqah: 1-2) and {The Striking Calamity! What is the Striking Calamity?} (Al-Qāri‘ah: 1-2). This is because the interrogative form is sometimes used for conveying information, just as the particle hal (is/are) is used for inquiry (e.g., Hal Zaydun fī ad-dār?—Is Zayd in the house?). Similarly, the one who fulfills a promise might ask: "Did you speak the truth?" Here, God is essentially saying: "My punishment occurred, and how [terrible] it was!" In this case, knowledge from the one being addressed is not required.

Answer: This can be explained in two ways:

1. Linguistic reason: The yā’ of the first-person singular can be omitted because it often drops in pronunciation when two quiescent letters meet (e.g., saying ghulāmī alladhī instead of ghulāmī alladhī). Here, it was omitted to match the rhyme at the end of the verses. However, the nūn and alif of the plural pronoun cannot be omitted.
2. Semantic reason: If the inquiry is directed to the Prophet (PBUH), the singular pronoun refers to the divine announcements (al-anbā’). However, in {We opened and caused to gush forth}, the plural was used to terrify the sinners. Furthermore, we mentioned that {Is there any who will remember?} (Al-Qamar: 15) alludes to {Am I not your Lord?} (Al-A‘rāf: 172). Since God used the singular pronoun in {Am I not your Lord?}, He followed it with the singular in {So how [terrible] was My punishment}.

Answer: Most commentators hold that it is a verbal noun here, meaning: "How was the consequence of My punishment and the consequence of My warning?"

The apparent meaning is that it refers to the accounts (al-anbā’): "How was the outcome for the enemies of God and His Messengers? Did the punishment befall those who denied the Messengers, or not?" If you know this reality, O Muhammad, then be patient, for the outcome of your affair will be like the outcome of those warners.

The punishment (‘adhāb) was not pluralized because it is a verbal noun. If it were pluralized, it would imply an assumption or supposition that is unnecessary.

If one argues that in {Thamūd denied the warnings} (Al-Qamar: 23), an-nudhur means the plural warnings because warnings came to them, whereas only one Messenger came to them: The response is that every preceding nation that associated partners with God denied the Messengers and claimed that God had sent down nothing. The polytheists were deniers of everything except perhaps Abraham (peace be upon him), whom they respected as the elder of the Messengers. Therefore, it is not said that {Thamūd denied the warnings} to mean all the Messengers, just as you, O polytheists, deny them.

[Then God Almighty said]: