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
قَالَ فَٱخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌ
[Allāh] said, "Then get out of it [i.e., Paradise], for indeed, you are expelled.
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.
ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ ٱلسَّيِّئَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةَ حَتَّىٰ عَفَوا۟ وَّقَالُوا۟ قَدْ مَسَّ ءَابَآءَنَا ٱلضَّرَّآءُ وَٱلسَّرَّآءُ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, "Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease." So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.
وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ هُوَ وَجُنُودُهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا يُرْجَعُونَ
And he was arrogant, he and his soldiers, in the land, without right, and they thought that they would not be returned to Us.