فَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابِى وَنُذُرِ 39
Translations
So taste My punishment and warning.
Transliteration
Fadhooqoo AAathaabee wa nuthuri
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the disbelievers to taste His punishment and His warnings, referring to the torment that befell the nations of 'Ad, Thamud, Pharaoh, and the people of the Flood. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah emphasizes that the warnings sent through the messengers were clear, yet the people rejected them, and thus they experienced the consequences of their disbelief. The phrase "taste My punishment" indicates the reality and severity of the torment that comes upon those who reject divine guidance.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Qamar, which repeatedly documents the fate of past nations who rejected their messengers. The context involves the narrative of Ad, Thamud, Noah's people, and Lot's people, establishing a pattern that warnings precede punishment. This serves as a warning to the Meccan disbelievers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that they too will face consequences if they reject the message.
Related Hadiths
Hadith in Sahih Muslim: 'The example of the Qur'an is like that of a house whose doors are locked from inside' - emphasizing that those who reject clear warnings and signs will taste punishment. Also relevant: The hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah regarding the fate of deniers who receive clear warnings.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that divine warnings are not empty threats but precede real consequences, encouraging sincere acceptance of guidance while it is offered. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of heeding moral and spiritual warnings before facing the inevitable consequences of persistent rejection.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ ءَاتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَأَهُۥ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَٰلًا فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّوا۟ عَن سَبِيلِكَ ۖ رَبَّنَا ٱطْمِسْ عَلَىٰٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ وَٱشْدُدْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَرَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ ٱلْأَلِيمَ
And Moses said, "Our Lord, indeed You have given Pharaoh and his establishment splendor and wealth in the worldly life, our Lord, that they may lead [men] astray from Your way. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment."
وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ
And Allāh presents an example: a city [i.e., Makkah] which was safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every location, but it denied the favors of Allāh. So Allāh made it taste the envelopment of hunger and fear for what they had been doing.
إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَيْحَةً وَٰحِدَةً فَكَانُوا۟ كَهَشِيمِ ٱلْمُحْتَظِرِ
Indeed, We sent upon them one shriek [i.e., blast from the sky], and they became like the dry twig fragments of an [animal] pen.
بَشِّرِ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment -