Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:47
And if not that a disaster should strike them for what their hands put forth [of sins] and they would say, "Our Lord, why did You not send us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses and been among the believers?"...
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.
The word of Allah, the Exalted: وَلَوْلا أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُوا رَبَّنَا لَوْلا أَرْسَلْتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولا فَنَتَّبِعَ آيَاتِكَ وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (47)
Allah, the Exalted, says: Were it not that those to whom you, O Muḥammad, have been sent — should We strike them with Our violence or should Our chastisement befall them before We sent you to them, on account of their disbelief (kufr) in their Lord, their committing of sins and their perpetrating of transgressions — would say: "O our Lord, had You but sent a messenger to us before Your wrath descended upon us and Your chastisement struck us, then we would have followed Your proofs and the signs of Your Book which You send down to Your messenger, and we would have been among the believers in Your divinity, those who affirmed Your messenger in what You had commanded us and forbidden us" — We would have punished them immediately for their ascribing of partners to Allah (shirk) before We had sent you to them. But We sent you to them as a warner of Our violence on account of their disbelief, so that mankind would have no argument against Allah after the messengers. The "calamity" (al-muṣība) in this place means: chastisement and retribution. By His word: بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ — He means: on account of what they have committed.
