قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَتَىٰكُمْ عَذَابُهُۥ بَيَـٰتًا أَوْ نَهَارًا مَّاذَا يَسْتَعْجِلُ مِنْهُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ 50
Translations
Say, "Have you considered: if His punishment should come to you by night or by day - for which [aspect] of it would the criminals be impatient?"
Transliteration
Qul araaytum in atakum adhabuhu bayatan aw naharan maza yasta'jilu minhu al-mujrimun
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet (ﷺ) to ask the disbelievers: if His punishment were to come upon them whether by night or day, what is it that the criminals are hastening toward? This ayah ridicules the arrogance of those who mock the threat of divine punishment and challenge Allah to bring it upon them. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the ayah highlights the foolishness of the disbelievers who simultaneously deny the punishment while impatiently (or mockingly) calling for its arrival, demonstrating their cognitive dissonance and stubborn rejection of truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period of Surah Yunus, which deals extensively with the rejection of the Quran and divine warnings by the Meccan polytheists. The context addresses those who persistently mocked the Prophet's message and the warnings of the Day of Judgment, challenging him to bring the promised punishment if he spoke truth.
Related Hadiths
The theme relates to Sahih Muslim (2798) where the Prophet (ﷺ) said that those who disbelieve and mock the signs of Allah will face severe punishment. Additionally, the Quran itself references similar mockery in Surah Al-Anbiya (21:41) where disbelievers ask 'When is this threat coming, if you are truthful?'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers not to be swayed by the mockery and false confidence of those who reject divine warnings, and reminds them that the arrogance of deniers who challenge Allah's punishment is itself evidence of their spiritual blindness. For modern readers, it serves as a caution against dismissing moral and spiritual consequences while simultaneously living as though they don't matter.
Related Ayahs
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.
وَٱتَّبِعُوٓا۟ أَحْسَنَ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ بَغْتَةً وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ
And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord [i.e., the Qur’ān] before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive,
كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَٱلْأَحْزَابُ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ ۖ وَهَمَّتْ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍۭ بِرَسُولِهِمْ لِيَأْخُذُوهُ ۖ وَجَـٰدَلُوا۟ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا۟ بِهِ ٱلْحَقَّ فَأَخَذْتُهُمْ ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عِقَابِ
The people of Noah denied before them and the [disbelieving] factions after them, and every nation intended [a plot] for their messenger to seize him, and they disputed by [using] falsehood to [attempt to] invalidate thereby the truth. So I seized them, and how [terrible] was My penalty.
إِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ فِى ٱلدَّرْكِ ٱلْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ وَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا
Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper -