وَكَم مِّن قَرْيَةٍ
أَهْلَكْنَـٰهَا فَجَآءَهَا بَأْسُنَا
بَيَـٰتًا أَوْ هُمْ قَآئِلُونَ
فَمَا كَانَ دَعْوَىٰهُمْ
إِذْ جَآءَهُم بَأْسُنَآ إِلَّآ
أَن قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ
فَلَنَسْـَٔلَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ
إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْـَٔلَنَّ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِم
بِعِلْمٍ ۖ وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ
And a great number of
towns We destroyed.
Our torment came upon
them by night or while
they were taking their
midday nap. No cry did
they utter when Our
torment came upon
them but this: “Verily,
we were wrongdoers.”
Then surely, We shall
question those (people)
to whom it was sent
and verily,
We shall question
the Messengers.
Then surely, We shall
narrate unto them
(their whole story)
with knowledge, and
indeed We have not
been absent.
Nations that were destroyed
Allah said,
وَكَم مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَا
And a great number of towns We destroyed.
for defying Our Messengers and rejecting them. This behavior led them to earn disgrace in this life, which led them to disgrace in the Hereafter. Allah said in other Ayat,
وَلَقَدِ اسْتُهْزِىءَ بِرُسُلٍ
مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَحَاقَ بِالَّذِينَ
سَخِرُواْ مِنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ
بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
And indeed (many) Messengers before you were mocked at, but their scoffers were surrounded by the very thing that they used to mock at (Al-An’am 10)
and
فَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَا
وَهِىَ ظَالِمَةٌ فَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ
عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا وَبِئْرٍ مُّعَطَّلَةٍ
وَقَصْرٍ مَّشِيدٍ
And many a township did We destroy while they were given to wrongdoing, so that it lie in ruins (up to this day), and (many) a deserted well and lofty castle! (Al-Hajj 45)
and,
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ
بَطِرَتْ مَعِيشَتَهَا فَتِلْكَ
مَسَـكِنُهُمْ لَمْ تُسْكَن
مِّن بَعْدِهِمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
وَكُنَّا نَحْنُ الْوَرِثِينَ
And how many a town have We destroyed, which was thankless for its means of livelihood And those are their dwellings, which have not been inhabited after them except a little. And verily, We have been the heirs (Al-Qasas 58).
Allah’s saying,
فَجَآءَهَا بَأْسُنَا بَيَـتًا
أَوْ هُمْ قَآئِلُونَ
Our torment came upon them by night or while they were taking their midday nap.
means, Allah’s command, torment and vengeance came over them at night or while taking a nap in the middle of the day. Both of these times are periods of rest and leisure or heedlessness and amusement. Allah also said
أَفَأَمِنَ أَهْلُ الْقُرَى
أَن يَأْتِيَهُم بَأْسُنَا بَيَـتاً
وَهُمْ نَآئِمُونَ
أَوَ أَمِنَ أَهْلُ الْقُرَى
أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا ضُحًى
وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ
Did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming of Our punishment by night while they were asleep Or, did the people of the towns then feel secure against the coming of Our punishment in the forenoon while they were playing (Al-A’raf 97-98)
and,
أَفَأَمِنَ الَّذِينَ مَكَرُواْ السَّيِّئَاتِ أَن يَخْسِفَ اللَّهُ بِهِمُ الاٌّرْضَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ – أَوْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ فِى تَقَلُّبِهِمْ فَمَا هُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ – أَوْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ عَلَى تَخَوُّفٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ لَرَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Do then those who devise evil plots feel secure that Allah will not sink them into the earth, or that the torment will not seize them from directions they perceive not or that He may catch them in the midst of their going to and from, so that there be no escape for them Or that He may catch them with gradual wastage. Truly, Your Lord is indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful (An-Nahl 45-47).
Allah’s saying;
فَمَا كَانَ دَعْوَاهُمْ إِذْ
جَآءَهُم بَأْسُنَآ إِلاَ
أَن قَالُواْ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـلِمِينَ
No cry did they utter when Our torment came upon them but this: “Verily, we were wrongdoers.”
This means, when the torment came to them, their cry was that they admitted their sins and that they deserved to be punished. Allah said in a similar Ayat,
وَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَـلِمَةً
How many a town given to wrongdoing, have We destroyed (Al-Anbya 11)
until,
خَـمِدِينَ
Extinct (Al-Anbya 15).
Allah’s saying.
فَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ
Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was sent
is similar to the Ayat,
وَيَوْمَ يُنَـدِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ
مَاذَآ أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
And (remember) the Day (Allah) will call them, and say: “What answer gave you to the Messengers” (Al-Qasas 65)
and,
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ
فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُواْ
لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ
عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ
On the Day when Allah will gather the Messengers together and say to them: “What was the response you received” They will say: “We have no knowledge, verily, only You are the Knower of all that is unseen.” (Al-Ma’idah 109).
Allah will question the nations, on the Day of Resurrection, how they responded to His Messengers and the Messages He sent them with. He will also question the Messengers if they conveyed His Messages. So, `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas, who said commenting on the Ayat:
فَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ
إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْـَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the Book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.
He said; “About what they conveyed.” Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah’s statement,
فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِم بِعِلْمٍ
وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ
Then surely, We shall narrate unto them (their whole story) with knowledge, and indeed We have not been absent.
“The Book will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection and it will speak, disclosing what they used to do.”
وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ
and indeed We have not been absent
meaning, On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will inform His servants about what they said and did, whether substantial or minor. Certainly, He witnesses to everything, nothing escapes His observation, and He is never unaware of anything. Rather, He has perfect knowledge of what the eyes are deluded by and what the hearts conceal,
وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ
إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ
فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ
وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ
إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ
Not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. (Al-An’am 59)