Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:26
So Allah made them taste disgrace in worldly life. But the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.
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 explanation of His statement, the Exalted: فَأَذَاقَهُمُ اللَّهُ الْخِزْيَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَعَذَابُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ (26) ("So Allah made them taste disgrace in the worldly life, and the punishment (ʿadhāb) of the Hereafter is surely greater, if only they had known") (26).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Allah hastened for these nations, who belied their messengers, the disgrace in the worldly life, and the punishment came already before the Hereafter; He granted them no respite when they rebelled against the command of their Lord ( وَلَعَذَابُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ) ("and the punishment of the Hereafter is surely greater"). He says: and the punishment of Allah upon them in the Hereafter — when He admits them into the Fire and punishes them with it — is greater than the punishment with which He punished them in the worldly life, if only they had known. He says: if only these polytheists (mushrikīn) of the Quraysh had known that.
