وَلَقَدْ أَتَوْا۟ عَلَى ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أُمْطِرَتْ مَطَرَ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۚ أَفَلَمْ يَكُونُوا۟ يَرَوْنَهَا ۚ بَلْ كَانُوا۟ لَا يَرْجُونَ نُشُورًا 40
Translations
And they have already come upon the town which was showered with a rain of evil [i.e., stones]. So have they not seen it? But they are not expecting resurrection.
Transliteration
Wa-laqad ataw 'ala-l-qaryati-llati umtirat matara-s-saw'. Aflam yakunu yarawnaha? Bal kanu la yarjun nushur.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who passed by or lived in the cities destroyed by rain of stones (baked clay). The classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as referring to those who witnessed or could have witnessed the ruins of these destroyed cities, yet remained heedless of the divine signs and punishment. The ayah emphasizes that despite clear evidence of Allah's retribution against the disobedient, they did not believe in resurrection (nushur), demonstrating their obstinate rejection of divine truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah Al-Furqan, which frequently addresses the deniers of Mecca and establishes proofs of Allah's existence and justice. The broader context (25:35-40) discusses various prophets and their people's rejection, culminating in this example of the destroyed cities as a tangible warning sign that the Meccans could learn from.
Related Hadiths
The account of Sodom and Gomorrah is referenced in multiple ahadith. Sahih Bukhari (4:55:551) contains narrations about the punishment of these cities. Additionally, the general principle of using historical examples as warnings is found in hadith collections discussing the Quranic method of instruction.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that willful blindness to divine signs—whether historical evidence of punishment or natural phenomena—constitutes a grave spiritual disease rooted in denial of the afterlife. Modern believers should reflect on how denying accountability in the Hereafter leads to recklessness in this world and inattentiveness to Allah's warnings.