وَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَمْلَيْتُ لَهَا وَهِىَ ظَالِمَةٌ ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهَا وَإِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ 48
Translations
And for how many a city did I prolong enjoyment while it was committing wrong. Then I seized it, and to Me is the [final] destination.
Transliteration
Wa-ka-ayyin min qaryatin amlaytu laha wa-hiya zalimah, thumma akhaztuha wa-ilayya al-masir
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah illustrates Allah's patience and forbearance with unjust communities by granting them respite and opportunity to repent, yet when they persist in wrongdoing, He seizes them with punishment. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that 'Amlaytu' (I gave respite) demonstrates divine mercy, while the eventual seizure ('akhaztuha') shows that Allah's patience is not endless—all people ultimately return to Him for judgment. The ayah serves as a warning that prosperity and delay in punishment should not be mistaken for approval of injustice.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Hajj's broader themes concerning divine judgment and accountability. While no specific asbab al-nuzul is recorded for this particular verse, it fits within the Medinan period's emphasis on warning the polytheists and hypocrites about the consequences of their transgressions, reinforcing the Quranic theme that nations are given opportunities to reform before divine punishment.
Related Hadiths
The concept relates to a hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'When Allah intends good for a servant, He hastens his punishment in this world, and when He intends ill for a servant, He withholds his sins from him until he meets Him on the Day of Resurrection.' This illustrates how divine patience and punishment are intertwined with ultimate justice.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah's patience with wrongdoers should inspire both hope for repentance and fear of eventual accountability—delay in punishment is not immunity from it. Believers should use periods of respite to reform themselves and their communities, understanding that all affairs ultimately return to Allah's judgment.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُدْخِلُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا ۖ وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ
Indeed, Allāh will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk.
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍ ۖ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُۥ خَيْرٌ ٱطْمَأَنَّ بِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ ٱنقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِۦ خَسِرَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
And of the people is he who worships Allāh on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to unbelief]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.
وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِٱلْعَذَابِ وَلَن يُخْلِفَ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ ۚ وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ
And they urge you to hasten the punishment. But Allāh will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count.
حُنَفَآءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ ٱلطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِى بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِى مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ
Inclining [only] to Allāh, not associating [anything] with Him. And he who associates with Allāh - it is as though he had fallen from the sky and was snatched by the birds or the wind carried him down into a remote place.