Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:76
And We had gripped them with suffering [as a warning], but they did not yield to their Lord, nor did they humbly supplicate, [and will continue thus]
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: We struck these polytheists with Our punishment, brought down upon them Our might, brought about Our wrath and the constriction of their livelihood for them, struck their lands with drought, and slew their leaders with the sword. فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ (yet they did not submit themselves to their Lord): that is to say: they did not submit themselves to their Lord so as to comply with His command and prohibition and turn toward obedience to Him. وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (and they do not implore): that is to say: they do not humble themselves before Him.
It has been related that this verse was sent down upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at the time when Allah struck Quraysh with the years of drought, after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had pronounced a curse against them.
Mention of the narration concerning that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: "Abū Sufyān came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Muḥammad, I beseech you by Allah and by kinship — we have been eating al-ʿilhiz (hair mixed with blood). So Allah revealed: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (And We have indeed seized them with the punishment, but they did not submit themselves to their Lord, nor do they implore)."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin related to us, on the authority of ʿAlbāʾ ibn Aḥmar, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that Ibn Athāl al-Ḥanafī — after the Prophet ﷺ had set him free while he was a captive — set out for Mecca and cut off the supply of provisions from al-Yamāma to the people of Mecca, until Quraysh began to eat al-ʿilhiz. Then Abū Sufyān went to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Do you not claim that you were sent as a mercy for the worlds?" He said: "Indeed!" Then he said: "You have killed the fathers with the sword and the sons with hunger!" Thereupon Allah revealed: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ... the verse.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿAmr informed us, saying: al-Ḥasan said: "When people are struck by a calamity through the Devil — then it is a requital. Do not meet that requital of Allah with pride and obstinacy, but meet it with the seeking of forgiveness and supplication to Allah." And he recited this verse: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (And We have indeed seized them with the punishment, but they did not submit themselves to their Lord, nor do they implore).
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning the words: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ (And We have indeed seized them with the punishment): he said: "The hunger and the drought." فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ — "They persisted." وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ (and they do not implore).
