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.
Related Ayahs
وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ حَرَّمْنَا كُلَّ ذِى ظُفُرٍ ۖ وَمِنَ ٱلْبَقَرِ وَٱلْغَنَمِ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهُمَآ إِلَّا مَا حَمَلَتْ ظُهُورُهُمَآ أَوِ ٱلْحَوَايَآ أَوْ مَا ٱخْتَلَطَ بِعَظْمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَـٰهُم بِبَغْيِهِمْ ۖ وَإِنَّا لَصَـٰدِقُونَ
And to those who are Jews We prohibited every animal of uncloven hoof; and of the cattle and the sheep We prohibited to them their fat, except what adheres to their backs or the entrails or what is joined with bone. [By] that We repaid them for their transgression. And indeed, We are truthful.
فَوَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Then woe, that Day, to the deniers,
وَتَرَى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّقَرَّنِينَ فِى ٱلْأَصْفَادِ
And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in irons,
كَدَأْبِ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ
[Theirs is] like the custom of the people of Pharaoh and those before them. They denied Our signs, so Allāh seized them for their sins. And Allāh is severe in penalty.