وَإِن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۚ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَسْطُورًا 58
Translations
And there is no city but that We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or punish it with a severe punishment. That has ever been in the Register inscribed.
Transliteration
Wa-in min qaryatin illa nahnu muhlikusha qabla yawmi al-qiyamati aw muazzibuhaa azaban shadidan. Kana dhalika fi al-kitabi masthurun.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah asserts that every town and settlement will inevitably face destruction or severe punishment before the Day of Judgment—a decree already written in Allah's preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz). According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this serves as a warning that no civilization is exempt from Allah's justice; communities that reject His signs and persist in corruption will face inevitable reckoning, either through destruction in this world or punishment in the next. Al-Qurtubi emphasizes that this reflects Allah's wisdom in allowing societies to experience consequences for their deeds as a means of guidance and justice.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Isra is a Meccan surah addressing the polytheists of Mecca and later audiences about divine justice and the inevitability of the Final Hour. This ayah fits within the surah's broader theme of reassuring the believers about Allah's ultimate control and reminding disbelievers that their arrogance and rejection will not save them from divine punishment. The context follows warnings about those who deny the Hereafter.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Every nation has been given a fixed term; when their term comes, they cannot delay it by a single hour, nor can they advance it' (Sunan Ibn Majah). Additionally, the Quran states in multiple places that nations before were destroyed for rejecting their prophets, reinforcing this ayah's message (cf. Surah Al-Qasas 28:58).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that no power on earth—whether political, military, or economic—can shield a society from divine justice if it persists in oppression and unbelief. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of collective moral responsibility and the need for societies to uphold justice and faith, lest they face the inevitable consequences written in Allah's eternal decree.