Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:37
And We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.
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 said: وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الألِيمَ (And We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment). And His words وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الألِيمَ mean: And We left in this city — out of which We brought those of it who were believers — a sign. The Exalted, whose praise is great, said وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً (And We left therein a sign), while the intent is: and We left it behind as a sign, because it was she who, with her inhabitants, was turned upside down; she is therefore the sign. That is like the saying of one who says: "You see in this thing a lesson and a sign," the meaning of which is: this thing is a sign and a lesson, just as the Exalted, whose praise is great, said: لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي يُوسُفَ وَإِخْوَتِهِ آيَاتٌ لِلسَّائِلِينَ (Indeed, in Yūsuf and his brothers were signs for those who ask) (12:7) — while they were the signs, as was their conduct. And by "the sign" He means: the admonition and the lesson, for those who fear the painful punishment of Allah in the Hereafter.
