Tafseer of The Poets · Ash-Shu'araa · 26:208
And We did not destroy any city except that it had warners
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, Whose praise is exalted, says: وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ — of these settlements described in this Sūra — إِلَّا لَهَا مُنْذِرُونَ — He says: "except after We had sent to them messengers who warn them of Our punishment on account of their disbelief and of Our wrath against them." ذِكْرَى — He says: "except that they have warners, who warn them — a reminder for them and an admonition for them concerning what their deliverance from Our punishment entails." In the word ذِكْرَى there are two possible grammatical forms: the one is the accusative as a verbal noun (maṣdar) of warning, as I have expounded; the other is the nominative as the beginning of a sentence — as though it were said: "a reminder."
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
