فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَن يَأْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْزِيهِ وَيَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ 39
Translations
And you are going to know who will get a punishment that will disgrace him [on earth] and upon whom will descend an enduring punishment [in the Hereafter]."
Transliteration
Fasawfa ta'lamūn man ya'tīhi 'adhābun yukhzīhi wa yaḥillu 'alayhi 'adhābun muqīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is Allah's warning to those who reject His messengers, declaring that they will soon witness who receives humiliating and permanent punishment. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this is part of Allah's address to the people of Nuh (Noah), affirming that the consequences of rejecting the divine message are inevitable and will manifest in this life and the hereafter. The dual punishment mentioned—disgrace combined with lasting torment—emphasizes both the spiritual and temporal consequences of disbelief.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the narrative of Prophet Nuh and his people (11:25-49), one of the Qur'an's most detailed accounts of a messenger's struggle against a disbelieving nation. The context reflects the Meccan period when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) faced ridicule and rejection, and the surah draws parallels between various messengers and their peoples' responses, serving as a consolation and warning to the believers in Mecca.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The example of the message I have been sent with is like rain that falls on the earth; some plants become luxuriant while others remain barren' (Sahih Muslim 2282). This relates thematically to how the same message produces different outcomes—guidance for believers and disgrace for rejectors.
Themes
Key Lesson
For believers, this ayah serves as a reminder that rejection of divine truth carries inevitable consequences, providing comfort that injustice will not go unanswered by Allah. It also calls for steadfastness in faith, as the ultimate vindication belongs to those who follow the messengers, not those who mock them.
Related Ayahs
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا
And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا مَا جَآءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ وَجُلُودُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
Until, when they reach it, their hearing and their eyes and their skins will testify against them of what they used to do.
تَرَى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا۟ وَهُوَ وَاقِعٌۢ بِهِمْ ۗ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فِى رَوْضَاتِ ٱلْجَنَّاتِ ۖ لَهُم مَّا يَشَآءُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
You will see the wrongdoers fearful of what they have earned, and it will [certainly] befall them. And those who have believed and done righteous deeds will be in lush regions of the gardens [in Paradise] having whatever they will in the presence of their Lord. That is what is the great bounty.
لَّا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍ
Which neither nourishes nor avails against hunger.