Appearance
Verses 1–4
This chapter, as is evident from its opening, ending, and the context in which its verses flow, clarifies the purpose of the Qurʾan’s numerous and varied verses, expounds the essence of their aims, and summarizes their contents.
It begins by recalling that it encompasses various religious teachings, such as the foundations of divine knowledge, noble human morals, and legal ordinances pertaining to the generalities of worship, transactions, and governance. Then it describes the breadth of the creation, such as the Throne, the Footstool, the Tablet, the Pen, the heavens, the earth, the angels, the jinn, the devils, plants, animals, and humans. It describes the beginning of creation and what will become of it, namely how it will be annihilated and return to God Almighty. This, of course, will be the Day of Resurrection, preceded by the world of the grave, which is also known as the Isthmus (Barzakh), then being brought before the Lord of the Worlds, the gathering, the questioning, the reckoning, the weighing, the testimony of witnesses, then the final judgment, then Paradise or Hell with their varying degrees and levels.
Next, the chapter expounds the connection between the creation of man, his deeds, and his consequent happiness or misery, bliss or wrath, and rank in heaven or depth in hell, and all of this is related to the divine promise and threat, warning and glad tidings, exhortation, good argument, and wisdom.
So, the Qur’anic verses, while containing details of these divine teachings and religious truths, are founded on a single fundamental reality, which is the root from which all of them step. This is the foundation on which the edifice of religion is built. And this single truth is nothing other than the oneness of God, the monotheism of Islam, by believing that He, the Exalted, is the Lord of everything, with no other lord or lords besides Him, and submitting to Him from every angle, fulfilling the dues of His lordship, and having no fear in one’s heart or submission in action except for Him, the Almighty.
This is the foundation upon which all the contents of Qurʾanic ideas ultimately rest, whether doctrines or laws. No matter how complex or detailed, this single truth undergirds all of them.
The chapter illustrates this in a general way through the four verses with which it begins, before going into more detail. This detail is achieved through delivering warnings and giving good tidings, mentioning God’s practice in dealing with His servants, recounting the stories of past nations, and the stories of the peoples of Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lot, Jethro, and Moses. It mentions the arrogance of their peoples in rejecting the divine call, spreading corruption on earth, and overstepping the bounds in their affairs. It describes what God has promised to those who believe and do good deeds, and what He has threatened to do to those who disbelieve and deny His signs. In the course of this discussion, the Qurʾan clarifies the doctrines of monotheism, prophethood, and the Resurrection.
From the above, it becomes apparent why some scholars have said that this chapter has the same overarching concerns as the previous one, Sūrah Yūnus. Namely, the fundamentals of the beliefs of Islam in monotheism, prophethood, Resurrection, recompense, and doing righteous deeds, with the difference that it goes into detail what was only alluded to in Sūrah Yūnus about the stories of these messengers.
However, it is evident that these two chapters are, in fact, driven by two different objectives, neither of which refers back to the other. Sūrah Yūnus expounds God’s practice of judging between His messengers and the nations who denied them, then it warns the Prophet’s nation about the punishments that had befallen those before them. On the other hand, the present chapter illustrates that Qurʾanic knowledge, when analyzed, all devolves from pure monotheism. Similarly, monotheism, when fully elaborated, provides us with the fundamental doctrines and practices of Islam.
The present chapter, as attested to by its verses, their contents, and the clear connection between them, is of Meccan provenance, and it was revealed in a single go. Some have reported that the exception was the verse, lest you should disregard aught of what has been revealed to you (), which they say is Medinan.
Others have also singled out the verse, Is he who stands on a manifest proof from its Lord … (), while others still suggest, Maintain the prayer at the two ends of the day, and during the early hours of the night … () as an exception. However, there is no textual evidence to support these claims, and the apparent continuity of the chapter indicates that it is entirely Meccan, from start to finish.
الر ۚ كِتَابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ آيَاتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِنْ لَدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ ١
(11:1) Alif, Lām Ra. A Book, whose signs have been made definitive (uḥkimat āyātu-hu) and then elaborated (thumma fuṣṣilat), from One all-wise, all-aware,
This verse juxtaposes definitiveness (iḥkām) with elaboration (tafṣīl), which means to separate the parts of something that are connected to one other, and to divide between things which are merged together. This suggests that the meaning of definitiveness is to connect some parts of a thing to its other parts and to attach one end to the other so that the whole becomes a single entity without divisions or fragments.
It is evident that when a book is characterized by definitiveness and elaboration in this sense, this means from the perspective of the ideas and content it carries, not from its mere wording or anything else. Now, the state of ideas when the terms definitiveness and elaboration, or unity and differentiation are applied to them differs from the state of existent entities when the same terms are applied. When multiple ideas can be traced back to a single idea, this idea is present in all of them as a matter of principle, and this principle is, in essence, these particulars in their generality, while these particulars are, this general principle in particular forms. All of this is obvious and beyond doubt.
Therefore, the verses of the Qurʾan are first definitive (muḥkam) and then elaborated (fuṣṣilat). This means that, in spite of the diverse content and varying purposes, the meaning of the verses can be traced back to a single fundamental meaning and a unified original purpose that is utterly free from multiplicity or disparity. In other words, there is not a verse in the Qurʾan that aims for a particular purpose, save for the fact that it is an embodiment of this original purpose, which is its driving spirit and essential desideratum.
In spite of the variance of its verses and the division of its contents, this sacred text has but a single unified purpose. On one occasion it will elaborate a religious principle, on another a created affair, on a third a divine-law ruling, and so on and so forth. This is true whether it is descending from the principles of the religion (uṣūl) to their branches (furūʿ) or from these branches to their subsidiary branches (furūʿ al-furūʿ), its fundamental meaning and significance do not change, nor does it deviate from its original goal. This is the underlying reality which, through its elaboration, becomes manifest in each and every detail of Islamic beliefs, morals, and deeds, and whenever these are analyzed, they return to this essential spirit. That permeates throughout them and governs all of them.
Therefore, maintaining God’s oneness (tawḥīd) in a manner befitting His exalted stature and majesty means in the realm of belief, for example, to affirm His beautiful names and lofty attributes. In the realm of ethics, it means to embody noble morals such as satisfaction, submission, bravery, chastity, generosity, and the like, and to avoid despicable traits. In the realm of deeds and actions, it means to perform righteous deeds and to refrain from what God has forbidden.
Or, you might say: Pure monotheism necessitates in each of the levels of beliefs, ethics, and deeds, what the divine Book has expounded. Likewise, each of these levels and their parts cannot be fulfilled without pure monotheism.
Therefore, it is clear that this verse occurs in the context of explaining how the particulars of the Qurʾan’s teachings and laws all return to a single principle. This means that when combined in every instance from the categories of beliefs, descriptions, and deeds, while maintaining the uniqueness of each instance, it produces a ruling particular to it from the Qurʾanic rulings.
Thus, the following is apparent:
First, the phrase, ‘A book’ (kitāb) is the predicate of an implicit subject, whose meaning is ‘this.’ In other words, it means, ‘This is a book…’ What is meant by book here is the Qurʾan that we have in our hands, which is divided into chapters and verses. This does not contradict the idea, sometimes proposed by commentators, that this book is the Guarded Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ) or the Qurʾan as it exists in the Guarded Tablet. After all, the Qurʾan as we recite it is identical with the what exists in the Tablet in the same way as the revelation is identical (tanzīl) with its interpretation (taʾwīl).
Second, the word ‘then’ (thumma) in His statement, and then elaborated, conveys the meaning of progression according to the arrangement of speech, rather than temporal delay. This is because the idea of temporal precedence becomes meaningless when we are discussing different meanings according to their primary or secondary nature, or their generality or specificity.
Also evident are the problems with the explanations some master exegetes have offered regarding the meaning of the verse. For example, there are some who say that it means that its verses have been made definitive, which means that none of them will be abrogated in the way that previous scriptures and religions have been abrogated. Then these were elaborated through the explanation of what is permissible and prohibited and all other laws.
In this reading, the absence of any abrogation must be taken to mean that these verses will not be abrogated by a book other than the Qurʾan that comes after it, in the fashion that the Qurʾan abrogated other scriptures. The fact that abrogation occurs between different Qurʾanic verses themselves is not something which is open to doubt. However, there is no evidence for such a restriction in the verse.
Other commentators have said that the meaning of, whose signs have been made definitive, is that they were made definitive in the form of commands and prohibitions, then elaborated through divine promises of reward and warnings of punishment. However, this is an arbitrary reading that has no evidence to support it.
Some commentators have said that this means that its words have been made definitive by being composed in the most eloquent and rhetorically powerful style, to the extent of being beyond imitation. Then these words were elaborated through explanation and clarification. The problem with this point is similar to the previous one.
Still other commentators have said that its verses are definitive in the sense that they have been composed firmly and proficiently, without flaw or falsehood therein. They are elaborated in the sense that they follow one after another. The problem with this reading is that such an interpretation of fuṣṣilat is not linguistically common, unless we take it to mean division and multiplication, in which case it goes back to the meaning that we have already presented above.
This is similar to what some others have said, namely that the verses are definitive taken as a whole, then they were divided and revealed one after another in revelation, so that the human being can reflect and contemplate on their meaning.
However, for this reading it is more appropriate to mention the like of the verses: Indeed We sent it down on a blessed night (); We have sent the Qurʾan in discrete parts so that you may read it to the people a little at a time, and We have sent it down piecemeal ();
These and other verses like them indicate that the Qurʾan enjoys as status with God that is beyond human comprehension, then it was sent down to a level that people were capable of understanding and contemplating, taking into account the condition of ordinary human minds, as indicated by the verse, By the Manifest Book: We have made it an Arabic Qurʾan so that you may apply reason, and indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book surely sublime and wise.
Returning to the verse at hand, A Book, whose signs have been made definitive and then elaborated, it attributes definitiveness and elaboration to verses together. This is only in terms of their meanings. This shows that definitiveness and elaboration are both found in the meanings of the multitude of Qurʾanic verses. Therefore, the Qurʾan’s verses have an aspect of unity and simplicity and another aspect of multiplicity and complexity. Understand that this corresponds with the meaning we have presented above, not to what was mentioned about the matter of interpretation (taʾwīl) and revelation (tanzīl).
Some commentators have said that definitiveness and elaboration means that some verses are general in their meaning, while others clarify their meaning. An example of this can be found in the verse found later in this chapter, The parable of the two parties is that of one who is blind and deaf and one who sees and hears (). This verse is general in their meaning, but then it is elaborated in the stories of the prophets Noah, Hūd, and Ṣāliḥ that follows it.
However, the problem with this reading is that the apparent meaning of the verse is that definitiveness and elaboration are united in terms of their referent. This means that the verses to which definitiveness refers are the same as the ones to which elaboration refers, not that some verses are definitive and that others are elaborated, which is what the above reading would entail.
… from One all-wise, all-aware: ‘all-wise’ (al-ḥakīm) and ‘all-aware’ (al-khabīr) are two of the divine names of action. The first signifies God’s proficiency in creation, while the second points to His knowledge of the particular conditions of existent entities and of what is beneficial to them. The fact that these two divine names are invoked to explain the definitiveness of the Qurʾan’s verses and their elaboration shows that there is a relation between these names and these qualities of the verses.
أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّنِي لَكُمْ مِنْهُ نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ ٢
(11:2) declaring: ‘Worship no one but Allah. I am indeed a warner from Him to you and a bearer of good news.
This is an explanation for the content of the first verse: A Book, whose signs have been made definitive and then elaborated, from One all-wise, all-aware. As the verse indicates that it is a Book from God with verses made definitive then elaborated, the central concern of its exposition is expounding these aspects.
It is evident that this book, which God Almighty revealed from Himself to His Messenger for him to recite to the people and to communicate to them, has an aspect of its discourse that is addressed to the Messenger, and another aspect of its discourse is addressed to the people through him. As for the aspect that is addressed to the Messenger, which he receives directly via divine revelation, it is to warn, to give good tidings, and to call people to certain things. This aspect is what was meant in the beginning of the Sūrah Yūnus, when God says, We have revealed to a man from among themselves, ‘Warn mankind, and give good news to the faithful that they are in good standing with their Lord’ ().
As for the aspect of the Qurʾanic discourse that is addressed to the people, which the people receive through the mediation of the Messenger, it is the content he delivers to the people by reciting of the words of God to them as a divine message, namely, ‘I call you to God with warnings and good tidings.’ It is this aspect of the discourse that God was referring to when He said, ‘Worship no one but Allah. I am indeed a warner from Him to you and a bearer of good news.’
Therefore, this verse is part of God’s speech, which explains the meaning of making the verses of the Qurʾan definitive then elaborating them by narrating what the people hear from the Messenger’s call when he recites the Book of God to them. These are not the words of the Messenger being related here, nor is this a transition from one form of address to another. Nor does it mean, ‘I command you to worship no one but Allah…’ or ‘whose verses are elaborated so that you do not worship anyone except Allah…’, which would make the phrase, ‘worship no one but Allah’ a negation rather than a prohibition. The first phrase of the next verse, Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently … follows on from the phrase, Worship no one but Allah …, which shows that ‘worship no one but Allah’ is a prohibition, not a negation. This is an example of the Qurʾan’s profound eloquence.
Therefore, when He says, ‘Worship no one but Allah …’, this phrase is a call to monotheism in worship by prohibiting the worship of any deity other than God from among the deities taken as partners with God and restricting worship to Him alone.
وَأَنِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُمْ مَتَاعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُ ۖ وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِيرٍ ٣
(11:3) Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently. He will provide you with a good provision for a specified term and grant His grace to every meritorious person. But if you turn your backs, indeed I fear for you the punishment of a terrible day.
His saying, ‘Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently…’, is a command to seek forgiveness from God once they have accepted Him as their Lord by rejecting the worship of all others. Then, He commands them to repent and return to Him by doing righteous deeds. All of this constitutes the natural path leading to nearness with God and proximity to Him, namely to reject the gods other than Him, then seek forgiveness and spiritual purification to enter the domain of His proximity, and then to turn to Him with righteous deeds.
Some scholars have said that the exegetical phrase, ‘Plead with your Lord for forgiveness …’ appears second because of the distinction between the two stages indicated by His saying, ‘Worship no one but Allah …’, which is the stage of monotheism through devoting one’s worship to God alone, and His saying, ‘Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently …’, which is the stage of righteous deeds, even if the latter is subsidiary to the former and the result of it.
Given that monotheism is the fundamental basis, and that seeking forgiveness and repentance are the subsidiary branches of it, warnings and glad tidings are mentioned after the mention of monotheism. The divine promise, found in His saying: ‘He will provide you with a good provision …’, is mentioned after the command to seek forgiveness and turn penitently to him. Thus, God says, ‘Worship no one but Allah. I am indeed a warner from Him to you and a bearer of good news.’ This indicates that both the warning and the glad tidings refer back to, and depend upon, monotheism. Then, God says, Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently. He will provide you with a good provision …’ This is because valuable effects and desirable outcomes can only be obtained from a thing after it is already complete in its self and fully realized in terms of its attributes, branches, and results. Even though monotheism is the sole basis of the religion, in spite of its breadth, its tree does not bear fruits unless it remains upright and branches and limbs sprout forth from its trunk. This is akin to the verse, A good word is like a good tree: its roots are steady and its branches are in the sky. It gives its fruit every season by the leave of its Lord. Allah draws these parables for mankind so that they may take admonition ().
It appears that what is meant by turn to him penitently here is faith (īmān), as per the saying, So forgive those who repent and follow Your way … (). Therefore, it makes sense to join forgiveness (istighfār) to repentance (tawba), whereby repentance is joined to forgiveness by the particle thumma (‘then’). This means: ‘Give up worshipping idols and seek forgiveness from God for the sins you have committed, then have faith in your Lord.’
Some commentators have said the meaning of this verse is to seek forgiveness and make that your goal, then achieve it through repentance. But this interpretation is not proficient and somewhat tortuous. Another interpretation put forth is that the verse means: seek forgiveness for your past sins and then repent to Him whenever you sin in the future. Yet another interpretation is that ‘then’ in the verse is equivalent to ‘and’ because repentance and seeking forgiveness are one and the same.
He will provide you with a good provision for a specified term …: A specified term refers to the time at which a person’s life comes to an end, which they cannot overstep. Therefore the meaning of a good provision is the provision of the life of this world or, indeed, the worldly life itself, because God Almighty has referred to it as provision in several verses of the Qurʾan. Therefore, a good provision for a specified term does not refer to anything more than a good worldly life.
Therefore, the meaning of His saying, He will provide you with a good provision, hinges on the assumption that provision here is an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq). This is akin to saying, ‘He will provide you with good provision in this worldly life.’ The provision of life can only be considered ‘good’ if it drives a person towards the happiness that has been prepared for him, guiding them towards the human aspirations of enjoying worldly blessings in abundance, such as security, comfort, dignity, and nobility. This good life is the opposite of the wretched life referred to in His saying, But whoever disregards My remembrance, his shall be a wretched life ().
There is no goodness in the provision of worldly life and no abundance in livelihood for those who turn away from the remembrance of God and do not believe in their Lord. Some people may have an abundance of wealth and a high status on the earth, and may think that they have achieved all human aspirations. However, they are oblivious to the joy of truly believing in God and entering under His patronage (wilāya), which grants them a good human life, safe from the disgrace of an animalistic life governed only by greed, gluttony, predation, rivalry, and ignorance. The human soul that is truly free despises all aspects of life that are monopolized by vile, lowly souls, even if this aversion leads to humiliation, poverty, and all forms of ugliness.
A good life for a righteous and free community is one that allows them to partake in the enjoyment of all the blessings of the earth that God created for them, sharing these in a spirit of compassion, cooperation, and solidarity among them, without competition or conflict. Each person seeks their own good and benefit in the welfare and benefit of their community, without worshipping themselves or enslaving others.
In summary, to enjoy the good life until a specified term refers to the individual enjoying the kind of life that is appreciated by human nature. This means moderation in material enjoyments in the light of useful knowledge and good deeds when related to an individual. When related to a community, this refers to the whole benefitting from the blessings of a good earthly life, with each individual attaining what they can through their own efforts and striving in a society that is united and does not have disputation or conflict among its members.
… and grant His grace (faḍla-hu) to every meritorious person (kulla dhī faḍl): faḍl (‘grace’) literally means an excess or an increase. And when faḍl in every meritorious person is attributed to those individuals who possess it, this might imply—as some have suggested—that the pronoun ‘his’ in ‘His grace’ actually refers back to the meritorious person rather than to God. Merit and increase are relative concepts that can only be established by comparing one thing to another and associating it with it.
Therefore, the meaning is as follows: ‘God rewards each person who exceeds others in their moral virtues, righteous deeds, and special qualities with a more abundant recompense, gifting them the joy of such increase without nullifying their rights, depriving them of their merit, or granting it to others.’ This is a principle that stands in stark contrast to what we observe in non-religious societies, even those that are considered civilized. From the dawn of humanity and the establishment of various types of societies, be they primitive or sophisticated, humanity has been divided into two categories: an arrogant and dominating class, and a humiliated, enslaved, oppressed class. This imbalance and disparity can only be rectified by the religion of monotheism.
The monotheistic religion is the only tradition that reserves divinity and sovereignty for God, equalizing the strong and the weak, the developed and the developing, the great and the small, black and white, and male and female. It upholds principles stated in the Qurʾan, such as: O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most Godwary among you. (), and I do not waste the work of any worker among you, whether male or female; you are all on the same footing ().
Moreover, the statement, and grant His grace to every meritorious person, pertains to the care and recognition of the virtue of each person, following the statement, He will provide you with a good provision for a specified term, implying the enjoyment of everyone.
This indicates:
Firstly, the first phrase implies a general provision that is shared among all members of the society or, put differently, the good public life of society. The second phrase refers to the advantages that some individuals receive in exchange for the virtue they possess individually.
Secondly, the first phrase refers to the enjoyment of worldly life, while the second points towards the granting of rewards in the hereafter in exchange for good deeds performed by an individual, or the giving of each meritorious person their due in this life and the hereafter. It grants each individual who excels in worldly matters what their excellence entails in terms of advantages in life, assigning each virtuous person the position that is due to them based on their individual virtues and deeds. It does this without equating the superior and the inferior in religion, ignoring people’s unique characteristics, or nullifying their differing ranks and positions in their societal endeavors. Hence, the active worker is not equated with the lazy, nor is the meticulous worker who exerts effort in their important field considered the same as the one who toys with trivial and insignificant work, and so on and so forth.
But if you turn your backs (wa in tawallaw), indeed I fear for you (ʿalaykum) the punishment of a terrible day: Note that while the Arabic reads tawallaw (which could be read as a third person masculine plural verb in the perfect tense, that is, ‘if they turned away’), the meaning is clearly tatawallaw (a second-person masculine plural verb in the imperfect tense, ‘if you turn away’), which is a form of direct address. The evidence for this is that the second part of this conditional phrase (if… indeed…) uses the form of a direct address in the prepositional phrase ʿalaykum (where -kum is a second-person masculine plural pronoun, meaning ‘you’ addressed to a group). This is in addition to the multiple instances of direct address that occur in the previous verses. Therefore, the claim that the verb tawallaw is actually a third person masculine plural verb in the perfect tense (‘if they turned away’, see above) should be ignored.
Some commentators have put forth unusual readings of this verse. For instance, in reference to the verse, He will provide you with a good provision for a specified term (), one has said: ‘The verse indicates that the Muslim community will be saved from the divine punishment of annihilation, as we explained in our commentary on the previous chapter, Sūrah Yūnus.’
However, I am uncertain as to how a commentator could infer this from the verse. Perhaps he has based his reading on the verse’s apparent stipulation that the community would enjoy a good life without being annihilated if they believed in God and His signs. While belief spread and Islam became widespread in the world, it is known that the Messenger was sent to all humankind, and the majority of them did not believe in him. It is also not the case that all those who professed faith were free of hypocrisy, with faith permeating from their outward appearance to their inner selves, from their tongues to their hearts. Now, if the mere belief of a portion of the community, despite the disbelief of others, sufficed to fulfil the condition and avert the punishment of annihilation, it would have sufficed for the nations of Noah and Hūd and others as well. They called their nations to what Muḥammad, called them to and set the same conditions for them. However, God still sent down the punishment of annihilation upon all of them, and it was just upon God to aid the believers.
In the text of the Qurʾan, God recounts Noah’s words to his people as part of his call, ‘Plead to your Lord for forgiveness. Indeed He is all-forgiver. He will send for you abundant rains from the sky, and aid you with wealth and sons, and provide you with gardens and provide you with streams’ (). Likewise, we read the Prophet Hūd’s words, ‘‘O my people! Plead with your Lord for forgiveness, then turn to Him penitently: He will send copious rains for you from the sky, and add power to your (present) power. So do not turn your backs (on Him) as guilty ones’ (). God also mentions the collective message of Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, and those who came after them, “‘Is there any doubt about Allah, the originator of the heavens and the earth?! He calls you to forgive you a part of your sins, and grants you respite until a specified time’ ().
Regarding the commentator’s statement: ‘as we explained in our commentary on the previous chapter, Sūrah Yūnus’, when we look there we find nothing more than a claim devoid of evidence. We have already discussed in our own commentary on that chapter that its verses explicitly state that God will judge among this nation and its Prophet. God will punish them and save the believers. This is the unchangeable divine order of things that has been instituted with regard to His servants.
إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ٤
(11:4) To Allah will be your return, and He has power over all things.
This verse occurs in the context of providing a rationale for what has gone before it about the Resurrection, namely the verse, but if you turn your backs, indeed I fear for you the punishment of a terrible day (). Meanwhile, the verse’s coda, and He has power over all things is intended to eliminate any doubts that the audience’s hearts might entertain about the possibility of Resurrection after undergoing death. Therefore, the meaning is: ‘If you turn away from devotedly worshipping Him and disavowing all partners to Him, then surely I fear that you will encounter the punishment of a terrible day. That day is the Day of Resurrection, which comes after death, because your return is to God, and God is capable of all things, including reviving you after death. So, beware of dismissing this possibility.’
Therefore, the verse implies that the ‘terrible day’ (yawm kabīr) mentioned to in the previous verse is the Day of Judgement. Al-Qummī narrated in his Tafsīr that the punishment of the terrible day refers to the Smoke and the Cry.