سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْقَافِ
Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 25
تُدَمِّرُ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۭ بِأَمْرِ رَبِّهَا فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ لَا يُرَىٰٓ إِلَّا مَسَـٰكِنُهُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿25﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Destroying everything by the Command of its Lord! So they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings! Thus do We recompense the people who are Mujrimûn (polytheists, disbelievers, sinners)!
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
تُدَمِّرُ
tudammiru
Destroying
كُلَّ
kulla
every
شَىْءٍۭ
shayin
thing
بِأَمْرِ
bi-amri
by (the) command
رَبِّهَا
rabbihā
(of) its Lord
فَأَصْبَحُوا۟
fa-aṣbaḥū
Then they became (such)
لَا
lā
not
يُرَىٰٓ
yurā
is seen
إِلَّا
illā
except
مَسَـٰكِنُهُمْ ۚ
masākinuhum
their dwellings
كَذَٰلِكَ
kadhālika
Thus
نَجْزِى
najzī
We recompense
ٱلْقَوْمَ
l-qawma
the people
ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
l-muj'rimīna
[the] criminals
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 25) ➊ { تُدَمِّرُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍۭ بِاَمْرِ رَبِّهَا:} Here is a famous question that Allah Almighty said, "It will destroy everything by the command of its Lord," although many things remained even after that, as Allah Himself said in Surah Hud (58) that Hud (peace be upon him) and those who believed with him were saved from this punishment. The scholars have answered this by saying that the word {’’ كُلٌّ‘‘} does not refer to everything in the universe, but rather, in every context, it refers to all things relevant to that context. Just as the hoopoe said about the Queen of Sheba: « وَ اُوْتِيَتْ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ » [ النمل : ۲۳ ] "And she has been given a share of everything." Obviously, this means all those things that are needed for governance, otherwise, she was not given a share of every single thing. Similarly, here, destroying everything means destroying everything that it was commanded to destroy, as is evident from the words {’’ بِاَمْرِ رَبِّهَا ‘‘} (by the command of its Lord). Thus, the wind did not harm Hud (peace be upon him) and those who believed with him, because that was its command, as mentioned in Surah Hud (58).
➋ { فَاَصْبَحُوْا لَا يُرٰۤى اِلَّا مَسٰكِنُهُمْ …: ’’ فَاَصْبَحُوْا ‘‘} here does not mean "they entered the morning," but here it is in the meaning of {’’أَصْبَحَ‘‘ ’’صَارَ‘‘}, that is, "they became like this," because that wind did not blow for just one night so that this state befell them in the morning, but it continued for seven nights and eight days, and it blew so fiercely and wrathfully that Allah Almighty said: « مَا تَذَرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ اِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيْمِ » [ الذاریات : ۴۲ ] "It did not leave anything it passed over but made it like decayed bones." Trees, people, animals, houses—everything was uprooted by the wind. In the end, nothing could be seen except the ruins of houses or corpses like fallen, hollow trunks of date palms, which became signs of warning that this is the fate of the criminals of Allah. The purpose is to make the disbelievers of Makkah understand that as a result of insisting on disbelief, this could also be your fate.
➋ { فَاَصْبَحُوْا لَا يُرٰۤى اِلَّا مَسٰكِنُهُمْ …: ’’ فَاَصْبَحُوْا ‘‘} here does not mean "they entered the morning," but here it is in the meaning of {’’أَصْبَحَ‘‘ ’’صَارَ‘‘}, that is, "they became like this," because that wind did not blow for just one night so that this state befell them in the morning, but it continued for seven nights and eight days, and it blew so fiercely and wrathfully that Allah Almighty said: « مَا تَذَرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ اِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيْمِ » [ الذاریات : ۴۲ ] "It did not leave anything it passed over but made it like decayed bones." Trees, people, animals, houses—everything was uprooted by the wind. In the end, nothing could be seen except the ruins of houses or corpses like fallen, hollow trunks of date palms, which became signs of warning that this is the fate of the criminals of Allah. The purpose is to make the disbelievers of Makkah understand that as a result of insisting on disbelief, this could also be your fate.
