وَلَقَدْ صَبَّحَهُم بُكْرَةً عَذَابٌ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ 38
Translations
And there came upon them by morning an abiding punishment.
Transliteration
Wa laqad sabbaahahum bukratan 'adhābun mustaqirr
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the punishment that struck the people of 'Ād in the early morning—a fierce, established, and continuous punishment in the form of a devastating windstorm. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the word 'mustaqirr' (established/permanent) emphasizes the severity and relentless nature of the torment that destroyed them completely. The early morning timing ('bukratan') highlights how swiftly Allah's punishment came upon them after they rejected their prophet Hud.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Qamar's discussion of the people of 'Ād, one of the ancient Arab nations destroyed for their arrogance and rejection of the divine message. The surah repeatedly emphasizes the reality of punishment through historical examples, warning the Meccan disbelievers of a similar fate.
Related Hadiths
The Quran itself (54:19-20) describes this punishment: 'Indeed, We sent upon them a screaming wind on a day of continuous misfortune, extracting the people as though they were hollow trunks of palm trees.' This ayah is thematically related to hadiths about the punishment of rejected peoples, such as those in Sunan Ibn Majah regarding the destruction of ancient nations.
Themes
Key Lesson
The early morning arrival of this catastrophic punishment reminds believers that Allah's justice can come swiftly and unexpectedly to those who persistently reject His guidance and messengers. For modern readers, this serves as a profound warning about the importance of heeding divine truth and remaining humble before God's power.
Related Ayahs
فَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابِى وَنُذُرِ
So taste My punishment and warning.
وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِۦ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِۦ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَآءَتْ مَصِيرًا
And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
فَأَسْقِطْ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ
So cause to fall upon us fragments of the sky, if you should be of the truthful."
وَقَـٰرُونَ وَفِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ سَـٰبِقِينَ
And [We destroyed] Qārūn and Pharaoh and Hāmān. And Moses had already come to them with clear evidences, and they were arrogant in the land, but they were not outrunners [of Our punishment].