ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَمُورُ 16
Translations
Do you feel secure that He who is above would not cause the earth to swallow you and suddenly it would sway?
Transliteration
A-amintum man fee as-sama'i an yakhsifa bikum al-arda fa-iza hiya tamur
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question challenging the disbelievers' sense of security, asking if they feel safe from Allah (who controls the heavens) causing the earth beneath them to sink or convulse. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the verse emphasizes Allah's absolute power and sovereignty over creation, warning that divine punishment can strike suddenly and unexpectedly. The word 'tamur' (convulses/shakes violently) underscores the catastrophic nature of such divine chastisement, serving as a reminder of human vulnerability and divine omnipotence.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Mulk, a Meccan surah that emphasizes Allah's complete dominion and mastery over creation. The ayah fits within the surah's broader theme of warning the polytheists about their heedlessness regarding divine signs and the reality of the Hereafter. It serves as a call to awareness of divine power and a deterrent against arrogance.
Related Hadiths
The concept of sudden divine punishment is reflected in the hadith from Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) warned: 'The Hour will not be established until... the earth will not be recognized by its inhabitants.' Additionally, Sunan At-Tirmidhi records warnings about earthquakes as signs of the Hour and divine punishment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to maintain consciousness of Allah's ultimate power and to avoid complacency or arrogance, recognizing that security and safety are gifts from Allah alone. It encourages humility, awareness, and preparedness through righteous conduct rather than false confidence in worldly stability.
Related Ayahs
وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
While Allāh created you and that which you do?"
وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
And you will not cause failure [to Allāh] upon the earth or in the heaven. And you have not other than Allāh any protector or any helper.
وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّآ أَن لَّن نُّعْجِزَ ٱللَّهَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَن نُّعْجِزَهُۥ هَرَبًا
And we have become certain that we will never cause failure to Allāh upon earth, nor can we escape Him by flight.
لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۚ قُلْ فَمَن يَمْلِكُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيْـًٔا إِنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُهْلِكَ ٱلْمَسِيحَ ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَأُمَّهُۥ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۚ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allāh is Christ, the son of Mary. Say, "Then who could prevent Allāh at all if He had intended to destroy Christ, the son of Mary, or his mother or everyone on the earth?" And to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. He creates what He wills, and Allāh is over all things competent.