Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:51
And the evil consequences of what they earned struck them. And those who have wronged of these [people] will be afflicted by the evil consequences of what they earned; and they will not cause failure.
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.
And His statement: ( So the evil of what they had earned struck them ) — He says: thus the evil consequence of the evil of the deeds they had earned struck those among the bygone nations who made this statement, and they were swiftly afflicted with humiliation in the worldly abode. And that is like Qārūn, who, when he was admonished, said: It has only been given to me because of knowledge I possess (28:78), whereupon Allah caused him and his house to sink into the earth, and there was for him no group that could help him against Allah, nor was he among those who could help themselves (28:81). Allah, mighty and exalted is His praise, says: ( And those who do wrong among these ) — He says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: and those who disbelieve in Allah, O Muḥammad, among your people, and who wronged themselves and made this statement, them too will strike the evil consequence ( of the evil of what they had earned ), just as it struck those before them on account of their statement of it. ( And they cannot escape ) — He says: and they will not flee from their Lord, nor will they, fleeing upon the earth, escape His punishment when it descends upon them; rather it will strike them as the way of Allah concerning those who passed away before, and you will find no change in the way of Allah (35:43). And thus He did with them: He caused His humiliation to descend upon them in this hastening world and killed them with the sword on the day of Badr.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( Those before them had already said it ) — the bygone nations — ( and those who do wrong ) among these, he said: from the community of Muḥammad ﷺ.
