Smoke (Al-Dukhan)
Verses 9-16 GROUP_1310 44.9-16
9
بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ
yet, they toy with their doubts.
10
فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاء بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ
Wait, then, for the Day when the sky brings forth plainly visible clouds of smoke.
11
يَغْشَى النَّاسَ هَذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
That will envelop the people. This will be a painful punishment.
12
رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ
Then they will say, ‘Lord, relieve us from this torment, for truly we are now believers in You.’
13
أَنَّى لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَى وَقَدْ جَاءهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّبِينٌ
How can they benefit from admonition, seeing that a messenger had already come to them explaining things clearly?
14
ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَّجْنُونٌ
Then they turned away from him and said, ‘He is a madman, taught by others!’
15
إِنَّا كَاشِفُو الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلًا إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ
Were We to ease the torment for a while, you would still revert to denial of the truth.
16
يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَى إِنَّا مُنتَقِمُونَ
On the Day We inflict the direst scourge upon all sinners, We will certainly exact retribution.
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Commentary
(a)The subject about which these addressees of the Quran were in doubt was not the existence of God but the oneness of God. While accepting the existence of God in a traditional manner, they continued to practise the religion of their forefathers and their leaders. The Quran proved the beliefs of their forefathers to be baseless, but they were not ready to accept this position. On the one hand, they found themselves without supporting arguments while, on the other, they found it impossible to banish from their minds the image of the greatness of their forefathers and leaders. This dual dilemma had pushed them into the realm of doubt. The preacher of God appeared to them too small a person for them to accept, or to act on his advice to abandon their so-called great men. Those who do not accept the Truth through persuasion expose themselves to the danger of having to accept it under threat of punishment. They may accept it in the latter instance, but at that time their acceptance will be of no avail.