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ʾa-fa-ʾamina lladhīna makarū s-sayyiʾāti ʾan yakhsifa llāhu bihimu l-ʾarḍa ʾaw yaʾtiyahumu l-ʿadhābu min ḥaythu lā yashʿurūna
Do those who devise evil schemes feel secure that Allah will not make the earth swallow them, or the punishment will not overtake them whence they are not aware?
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah An-Nahl – Verses 45 - 47
45. “Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure (of this) that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the wrath will not come upon them from whence they do not perceive?”
46. “Or that He may not seize them during their movement, so that they shall not frustrate (Allah’s wrath).”
47. “Or that He will not seize them in the state of fear, for verily your Lord is certainly Compassionate, Merciful.”
Allah, the Almighty, in these noble verses, has mentioned four kinds of punishment for the conspirators against the religion: Punishment on the earth:
“Allah will cause the earth to swallow them up.”
Celestial punishment:
“The wrath will come upon them”
Sudden punishment:
“He may seize them during their movement.”
Spiritual punishment:
“He will seize them in the state of fear.”
He, the Mighty, has pointed out the above punishments so as to make the conspirators against religion aware that certainly their tricks become null and void when confronted the Divine power.
Different Kinds of Punishment for Various Sins
The Qur’an deals with the demonstrative materials and emotional questions, intermingling them in such a way that they make the utmost impact on the audience. The previous verses dealt with a logical discussion regarding the issues of the prophetic mission and resurrection in connection with the pagans. In here, it concerns itself with the threatening of the oppressors and the tyrants as well as the obstinate sinners, and rather scares them with the different types of the Divine punishments.
At first, it raises the question whether those conspirators who tried to put out the light of the truth with their evil plans feel safe and secure from Allah’s making the earth swallow them. The verse says:
“Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure (of this) that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up…”
Is it a remote possibility that a terrible earthquake strikes the earth, splitting the crust of the earth, opening it up and swallowing them all with all their belongings, as was the case repeatedly with the previous nations? Then, it adds: Or when they are in a negligent mood, the Divine punishment overtakes them from whence they never perceive? The verse continues saying:
“…or that the wrath will not come upon them from whence they do not perceive?”
Or, as they struggle for accumulating more wealth and increasing more income, the Divine punishment strikes them hard, while they are unable to escape the consequences of their punishment? The verse says:
“Or that He may not seize them during their movement, so that they shall not frustrate (Allah’s wrath).”
Or else, the Divine punishment does not strike them all of a sudden; it strikes them on a gradual basis and along with consecutive warnings. The verse says:
“Or that He will not seize them in the state of fear, for verily your Lord is certainly compassionate and Merciful.”