إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ لَوَٰقِعٌ 7
Translations
Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will occur.
Transliteration
Inna 'adhaba Rabbika la-wāqi'un
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah asserts with absolute certainty that the punishment of Allah will inevitably come to pass. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the particle 'inna' combined with 'la' (the emphatic negation) creates a powerful affirmation that Allah's punishment is not merely possible but inevitable and unavoidable. Al-Qurtubi notes this serves as a warning to the disbelievers of Mecca who rejected the Prophet Muhammad, emphasizing that divine retribution is certain regardless of their denial.
Revelation Context
Surah At-Tur was revealed in Mecca during a period of intense rejection and mockery of the Prophet by the Quraysh. This ayah appears in the opening section of the surah where Allah swears by various signs of creation (the Mount, the written tablet, the guarded tablet, the frequented house, the raised roof, and the swollen sea) to establish the certainty of the Day of Judgment and the inevitability of Allah's punishment for those who reject His message.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The most truthful word spoken by any poet is the statement of Labid: 'Verily, everything other than Allah is false' (Sahih Bukhari 3838). This relates to the absolute reality of Allah's punishment as opposed to the fleeting nature of worldly denials. Additionally, the Prophet emphasized: 'The Hour will surely come, and the Hour will be most disastrous and most bitter' (Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2219), correlating with the inevitability expressed in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a sobering reminder that consequences for rejecting divine guidance are inevitable and inescapable, urging believers to take seriously their relationship with Allah and to warn others with compassion about the reality of accountability. For modern readers, it emphasizes that moral and spiritual negligence cannot be indefinitely postponed—justice and reckoning are certain realities that should shape how we live our lives.
Related Ayahs
تِلْكَ إِذًا قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَىٰٓ
That, then, is an unjust division.
وَقَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُمُ ٱلتَّنَاوُشُ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍ
And they will [then] say, "We believe in it!" But how for them will be the taking [of faith] from a place far away?
يَوْمَ نَدْعُوا۟ كُلَّ أُنَاسٍۭ بِإِمَـٰمِهِمْ ۖ فَمَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَـٰبَهُۥ بِيَمِينِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَـٰبَهُمْ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا
[Mention, O Muḥammad], the Day We will call forth every people with their record [of deeds]. Then whoever is given his record in his right hand - those will read their records, and injustice will not be done to them, [even] as much as a thread [inside the date seed].
وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا ٱلْقُرُونَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا۟ ۙ وَجَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ لِيُؤْمِنُوا۟ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
And We had already destroyed generations before you when they wronged, and their messengers had come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe. Thus do We recompense the criminal people.