Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 58

(Ayah 58){ وَ اِنْ مِّنْ قَرْيَةٍ اِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوْهَا … :ـ} Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) and many commentators have explained this verse to mean that Allah Almighty has written from the beginning in the Preserved Tablet that every town which indulges in oppression, before the Day of Resurrection, either We will destroy it, annihilating all its inhabitants, or We will inflict upon them a severe punishment, through mutual killing and bloodshed, or by an enemy's attack, or by whatever calamity We will, just as Allah Almighty has mentioned regarding previous nations. In Surah At-Talaq it is stated: «وَ كَاَيِّنْ مِّنْ قَرْيَةٍ عَتَتْ عَنْ اَمْرِ رَبِّهَا وَ رُسُلِهٖ فَحَاسَبْنٰهَا حِسَابًا شَدِيْدًا وَّ عَذَّبْنٰهَا عَذَابًا نُّكْرًا (8) فَذَاقَتْ وَبَالَ اَمْرِهَا وَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ اَمْرِهَا خُسْرًا » [ الطلاق : ۸، ۹ ] "And how many a town rebelled against the command of its Lord and His messengers, so We called it to account with a severe accounting and punished it with a terrible punishment. So it tasted the evil consequence of its affair, and the outcome of its affair was loss." In Surah Hud it is stated: «وَ كَذٰلِكَ اَخْذُ رَبِّكَ اِذَاۤ اَخَذَ الْقُرٰى وَ هِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ اِنَّ اَخْذَهٗۤ اَلِيْمٌ شَدِيْدٌ » [ ھود : ۱۰۲ ] "And such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes the towns while they are doing wrong. Surely, His seizure is painful and severe."

Other commentators have explained it differently, among them the author of Ruh al-Ma'ani, who says that {’’ وَ اِنْ مِّنْ قَرْيَةٍ‘‘} (whatever town there is) apparently means it is general, because {’’ اِنْ ‘‘} is a negation and {’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is to include all towns, whether of the believers or the disbelievers, and the meaning is that whichever town among the towns exists, before the Day of Resurrection, We will either lay it waste with the natural death of its inhabitants, or inflict upon it a severe punishment with killing and various calamities—destruction for the righteous and punishment for the wicked.

The first explanation seems more correct, that what is meant are the towns of the disbelievers and the oppressors, because many verses support this, as He said: «وَ مَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِي الْقُرٰۤى اِلَّا وَ اَهْلُهَا ظٰلِمُوْنَ » [ القصص : ۵۹ ] "And We never destroy the towns except when their people are wrongdoers." And He said: «ذٰلِكَ اَنْ لَّمْ يَكُنْ رَّبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرٰى بِظُلْمٍ وَّ اَهْلُهَا غٰفِلُوْنَ » [ الأنعام : ۱۳۱ ] "That is because your Lord would not destroy the towns for wrongdoing while their people were unaware." And He said: «وَ مَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرٰى بِظُلْمٍ وَّ اَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُوْنَ » [ ھود : ۱۱۷ ] "And your Lord would not destroy the towns unjustly while their people were reformers." The purpose of the verse is to warn the disbelievers and the oppressors of their evil end, that no matter how securely you live, one day Our grasp will surely come upon you. The verse also alludes to those signs which will appear before the Day of Resurrection.