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
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.
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ
And they had been guided [in worldly life] to good speech, and they were guided to the path of the Praiseworthy.
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ جَعَلْنَا مَنسَكًا لِّيَذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ ۗ فَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ فَلَهُۥٓ أَسْلِمُوا۟ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُخْبِتِينَ
And for every [religious] community We have appointed a rite [of sacrifice] that they may mention the name of Allāh over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. For your god is one God, so to Him submit. And, [O Muḥammad], give good tidings to the humble [before their Lord]
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَسْجُدُ لَهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلشَّمْسُ وَٱلْقَمَرُ وَٱلنُّجُومُ وَٱلْجِبَالُ وَٱلشَّجَرُ وَٱلدَّوَآبُّ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْعَذَابُ ۗ وَمَن يُهِنِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن مُّكْرِمٍ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۩
Do you not see [i.e., know] that to Allāh prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified. And he whom Allāh humiliates - for him there is no bestower of honor. Indeed, Allāh does what He wills.