Surah At-Talaaq (65) — Ayah 8

From (ن) in {وَ كَاَيِّنْ مِّنْ قَرْيَةٍ عَتَتْ عَنْ اَمْرِ رَبِّهَا وَ رُسُلِهٖ … : ’’ عَتَتْ ‘‘ ’’عَتَا يَعْتُوْ عُتُوًّا‘‘}, the past tense is understood; originally it is {’’عَتَوَتْ‘‘ }. {’’ نُكْرًا ‘‘} means foreign, unknown, something neither seen nor heard. Until now, Allah Almighty had mentioned His commands regarding divorce and so on; from here, it is being explained what happened to the previous towns that rebelled against the commands of Allah and His messengers. The purpose is to inform the Muslims of the importance of these commands and to urge them to adhere to them. The reality is that along with polytheism and disbelief, the destruction of the previous nations also involved opposition to those detailed commands of Allah and His messengers which they gave for every aspect of life, due to which extreme rebellion and corruption arose among them. For example, when they insisted on polytheism and disbelief and rebelled against the regulations of marriage and divorce, adultery and the act of the people of Lot became widespread, which led to rampant killing and bloodshed. As a result, Allah Almighty held them to a very severe account and gave them such a punishment that no one had ever seen or heard of. In today's era, the disbelievers, along with insisting on polytheism and disbelief, have also adopted severe opposition to these regulations, as a result of which their society has become plagued with immense immorality, insecurity, and bloodshed, and has been badly shattered. Now their effort is that Muslims too become free from these commands, and that adultery, the act of the people of Lot, and bloodshed spread among them as well. Allah Almighty, by referring to the punishment of the previous nations, has warned the Muslims of their outcome.