فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِى وَنُذُرِ 16
Translations
And how [severe] were My punishment and warning.
Transliteration
Fakayfa kana 'adhabi wa nuthuri
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is a rhetorical question posed by Allah asking the disbelievers: 'How then were My punishment and My warnings?' It serves as a powerful reminder of the severity of Allah's punishment that befell previous nations who rejected His messengers and warnings. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah emphasizes that despite clear warnings being sent to earlier peoples, they persisted in disbelief and consequently faced devastating punishment, which should serve as a warning to the contemporary audience of the Quran.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Qamar, which recounts the stories of previous nations and the destruction they faced for rejecting Allah's messengers (Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, and Pharaoh). The ayah comes after descriptions of these punishments and functions as a refrain throughout the surah, appearing multiple times (54:16, 54:18, 54:21, 54:30, 54:39) to reinforce the lesson that warnings were sent and ignored.
Related Hadiths
This theme relates to the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (peace be upon him) warned his companions about the punishment of previous nations, emphasizing that ignoring divine warnings leads to severe consequences. Another related hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah discusses how the Quran contains warnings (nuthur) meant to guide people away from punishment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that Allah's warnings are not empty threats but are backed by real, severe consequences demonstrated throughout history. For modern believers, it serves as a humbling reminder to heed divine guidance and warnings in the Quran and Sunnah, recognizing that the same pattern of punishment for those who reject truth continues throughout time.