أَمْ أَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ۖ فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِ 17
Translations
Or do you feel secure that He who is above would not send against you a storm of stones? Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
Transliteration
Am amintum man fi as-sama'i an yursila alaikum hasiban fa-sataclamun kayfa nadhir
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question warning the disbelievers whether they feel secure from Allah's punishment in the form of a destructive storm or shower of stones from the sky. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret 'hasiba' (حاصب) as a violent sandstorm or a shower of stones, referencing how Allah destroyed the people of the Elephant and the companions of the Fil (year of the Elephant). The ayah emphasizes that Allah's power encompasses the heavens and earth, and those who reject His signs will soon experience the consequences of their disbelief.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Mulk, a Meccan surah revealed during the early period of Islam when the Quraysh were persistently rejecting the Prophet's message. The surah's overarching theme addresses the sovereignty and dominion of Allah, and this particular ayah serves as a warning to those who arrogantly dismiss the signs of Allah and the warnings of the Prophet Muhammad.
Related Hadiths
The concept of punishment via stones from the sky is referenced in the account of the Companions of the Elephant (Ashab al-Fil) mentioned in Surah Al-Fil (105). Additionally, Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and other collections describe various forms of Allah's punishment mentioned in the Quran, reinforcing the theme of divine retribution for those who reject faith.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that rejecting Allah's signs and warnings is not a matter of impunity—divine punishment is real and inescapable. For modern readers, it serves as a spiritual wake-up call to heed moral guidance and warnings, recognizing that complacency in faith and ethics carries serious consequences in this life and the next.
Related Ayahs
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا كُنتُمْ فِى ٱلْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِم بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا۟ بِهَا جَآءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَآءَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْجُ مِن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُمْ أُحِيطَ بِهِمْ ۙ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ لَئِنْ أَنجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِۦ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from every place and they expect to be engulfed, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful."
زَعَمَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَن لَّن يُبْعَثُوا۟ ۚ قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّى لَتُبْعَثُنَّ ثُمَّ لَتُنَبَّؤُنَّ بِمَا عَمِلْتُمْ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
Those who disbelieve have claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, "Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected; then you will surely be informed of what you did. And that, for Allāh, is easy."
قُلْ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْحُجَّةُ ٱلْبَـٰلِغَةُ ۖ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدَىٰكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
Say, "With Allāh is the far-reaching [i.e., conclusive] argument. If He had willed, He would have guided you all."
وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice. Exalted is Allāh and high above what they associate with Him.