Sura hii inatoa maoni juu ya masimulizi yaliyomalizika ya historia za jamii ambazo Manabii Nuhu, Hūd, Şāliĥ, Lut na Shu`ayb walitumwa kwao. Hapa tunapata maelezo ya kanuni ambayo Mwenyezi Mungu ameiweka, inayohakikisha kwamba mapenzi Yake yanatekelezwa anapowaadhibu wale wanaokataa ujumbe Wake. Ni kanuni hiyo hiyo na msingi huo huo unaounda historia ya binadamu katika jambo moja muhimu sana. Mwenyezi Mungu huwaletea mateso na dhiki wale wanaowakataa Mitume Wake, ili nyoyo zao zilainike na wamrudie Mungu, wakikiri umoja Wake na kutambua kwamba njia pekee iliyo wazi kwao ni kujisalimisha kwa mamlaka Yake yenye nguvu zote. Wasipoitikia, basi huwajaribu kwa wingi wa mali na bahati njema. Huwafungulia kila aina ya baraka na kuwaacha kwa muda wafurahie ustawi wao. Hayo yote, hata hivyo, ni njia ya mtihani.

This passage of the sūrah comments on the accounts that have just finished of the histories of the communities to whom the Prophets Noah, Hūd, Şāliĥ, Lot and Shu`ayb were sent. We have here an explanation of the rule God has laid down which ensures that His will is done when He punishes those who deny His messages. It is the same rule and principle which shapes human history in one very important aspect. God inflicts tribulations and hardship on those who reject His messengers so that their hearts may soften and they turn to God, acknowledging His oneness and recognizing that the only course of action open to them is to submit to His overpowering authority. If they do not respond, then He tries them with affluence and good fortune. He opens up for them all types of blessings and leaves them for a while to enjoy their prosperity. All this, however, is a means of trial.

Ustawi wa watu huwafanya waishi maisha ya kutojali, kupuuza na kutokuwa makini, kwa sababu huwa wanadhani kwamba hali za maisha hubadilika zenyewe, na kwamba kipindi cha wingi lazima kifuate kipindi cha shida, bila kusudi wala mpango wowote maalum.

People’s prosperity causes them to lead a life of recklessness, negligence and heedlessness, because they tend to think that fortunes change by themselves, and a life of plenty is simply bound to follow a period of hardship, without any particular purpose or design.

Wanapohisi kwamba yale waliyoyapitia ni sawa na yale waliyoyapitia babu zao, bila kusudi lolote maalum katika muundo huu wote, adhabu ya Mungu hakika itawajia kwa ghafla. Hawaelewi kusudi la Mungu anapowajaribu kwa mateso na kwa neema. Hawawezi kuelewa ni kwa nini hali za watu hubadilika mara kwa mara. Hawakujilinda dhidi ya kuchochea ghadhabu ya Mungu, wakipendelea kuishi kama wanyama hadi watakapopigwa na adhabu ya Mungu. Lau wangemwamini Mungu na kufuata njia iliyo sahihi, hali yao ingebadilika na baraka zingefunguka kwao. Mungu angewaneemesha kwa rehema yake na wangefanywa kupokea baraka zake kutoka kila upande, zikiwapa utulivu na mustakabali wenye furaha.

When they feel that what they have experienced is the same as was experienced by their forefathers, without any particular purpose in all this design, God’s punishment is certain to take them unawares. They do not understand God’s purpose when He tries them with affliction and prosperity. They cannot comprehend why people’s situations change every now and then. They have not guarded against incurring God’s anger, preferring to live like animals until they are smitten by God’s punishment. Had they believed in God and followed the right course, their situation would have changed and blessings would have opened up to them. God would have bestowed His grace on them and they would have been made to receive His blessings from everywhere, giving them reassurance and a happy future.

Kisha Mungu anawaonya vizazi vipya dhidi ya maisha ya kutojali na uzembe. Anawataka wawe macho na kuthamini mafunzo ya vizazi vilivyopita na jinsi vilivyokutana na maangamizi yao. Wao wenyewe pia wako chini ya sheria za maumbile za Mungu, ambazo zitaendelea kufanya kazi, zikiendelea kuathiri historia ya binadamu katika kila zama na kila kizazi.

God then warns the new generations against a life of recklessness. He calls on them to be alert and to appreciate the lessons of past generations and how they met their doom. They themselves are also subject to God’s laws of nature, which will remain in operation, exercising their influence on human history across all periods and generations.

Hadithi hii fupi ya ufafanuzi inamalizika kwa anwani kwa Mtume Muhammad ﷺ, ikimwambia kwamba masimulizi haya yanasimuliwa ili ajue jinsi sheria ya Mungu ilivyotekelezwa. Inamweleza hali halisi ya jamii hizo: "Tuliona wengi wao hawakutimiza ahadi zao; bali tuliwakuta wengi wao ni wavunjaji wa mipaka." (Aya ya 102) Yeye ndiye Mtume wa mwisho, na wafuasi wake ndio umma unaorithi ujumbe wa Mungu kikamilifu. Wao ndio wanaonufaika na mafunzo ya yaliyopita.

This short commentary concludes with an address to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), telling him that these histories are being related so that he learns how God’s law has been given effect. It tells him of the true position of those communities: “We found that most of them were untrue to their commitments; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verse 102) He is the last Messenger, and his followers are the nation which inherits the divine message in its totality. They are the ones to benefit by past lessons.

Kamwe hatujawahi kumtuma nabii kwa mji wowote bila ya kuwapa watu wake mitihani na dhiki, ili wamwombe Mungu kwa unyenyekevu. Kisha tukabadilisha mateso kuwa neema hadi wakastawi na wakasema, "Dhiki na neema pia zimewapata baba zetu." Kisha tukawaadhibu ghafla, nao hawana habari. Lakini kama watu wa miji hiyo wangeamini na kumcha Mungu, bila shaka tungewafungulia baraka kutoka mbinguni na ardhini. Lakini wao walikanusha, kwa hiyo tukawaadhibu kwa sababu ya yale waliyokuwa wakiyafanya. (Aya 94-96)

Never have We sent a prophet to any city without trying its people with tribulations and hardship that they may supplicate with humility. We then replaced the affliction with good fortune till they throve and said, `Hardship and good fortune befell our forefathers as well.’” We then smote them, all of a sudden, while they were totally unaware. Yet had the people of those cities believed and been God-fearing, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings out of heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We smote them on account of what they had been doing. (Verses 94-96)

Hatuambiwi hapa kuhusu tukio lolote mahususi, lakini tunaangazia kipengele muhimu cha sheria ya kimaumbile ambayo Mungu ameiweka kufanya kazi. Tunaelezwa jinsi hatima inavyoamuliwa. Hivyo tunajifunza kwamba kuna sheria inayopanga mambo katika mwelekeo fulani, inayoamua matukio, na kuunda historia ya mwanadamu duniani. Tunajifunza pia kwamba ujumbe wa kimungu wenyewe, ingawa ni muhimu sana, unaweza kuchukuliwa kuwa mojawapo ya njia za kutekeleza katiba ya kimungu, ambayo ina upeo mpana zaidi kuliko ujumbe huo.

We are not told here of any particular incident, but an important aspect of the natural law God has set in operation is highlighted. We are told how fate is determined. We thus learn that there is a law which sets matters into a particular pattern, dictating events, and shaping human history on earth. We learn that the divine message itself, important as it is, can be regarded as one of the means of implementing the divine constitution, which is far greater in scope than the message.

Mambo hayatokei yenyewe tu. Mwanadamu hasimami peke yake, kama wanavyodai wanaokana Mungu wa zama za baadaye. Chochote kinachotokea katika ulimwengu ni sehemu ya mpango makini, na kina kusudi maalum, kikitumikia lengo la mwisho. Sheria ya maumbile imebuniwa na mapenzi huru kabisa yaliyounda muundo wake. Ilikuwa kwa mujibu wa sheria hiyo, inayoendeshwa na mapenzi huru ya Mungu, ndipo jumuiya zile, ambazo historia yake imesimuliwa katika sura hii, zilipokutana na hatima yao.

Matters do not simply happen by themselves. Man does not stand alone, as alleged by later day atheists. Whatever takes place in the universe is part of an elaborate scheme, and has a definite purpose, serving an ultimate aim. The law of nature is devised by an absolutely free will which has shaped the constitution. It was in accordance with that law, operated by God’s free will, that those communities, whose history was related in this sūrah, met their fate.

“Na lau watu wa miji hiyo wangeamini na kuwa wacha Mungu, bila shaka tungewafungulia baraka kutoka mbinguni na ardhini. Lakini waliikanusha, kwa hiyo tukawaadhibu kwa sababu ya yale waliyokuwa wakiyatenda.” (Aya ya 96) Huu ni upande wa pili wa sheria ya kimaumbile ambayo Mungu ameiweka. Lau watu wa miji hiyo wangeamini badala ya kukanusha ujumbe wa Mungu, na lau wangemcha Mungu badala ya kuwa wazembe, Mungu angewafungulia baraka kutoka mbinguni na ardhini. Wangepewa baraka kama hizo kwa wingi, pasipo kizuizi. Baraka za Mungu zingewafikia kutoka juu na chini. Usemi wa Qur'ani ni wa jumla sana hata unaleta hisia ya wingi mkubwa ambao haukomei kwenye yale ambayo binadamu wanayafahamu kuhusu riziki na maruzuku.

“Yet had the people of those cities believed and been God fearing, We would indeed have opened up for them blessings out of heaven and earth. But they disbelieved, so We smote them on account of what they had been doing.” (Verse 96) This is the other part of the natural law God has set in operation. Had the people of those cities believed instead of denying God’s messages, and had they been God-fearing instead of being careless, God would have opened up for them blessings from heaven and earth. They would have been given such blessings in abundance, without restriction. God’s blessings would have come to them from above and beneath. The Qur’ānic expression is so general that it imparts a sense of great abundance that is not limited to what is familiar to human beings of provisions and sustenance.

Taarifa hii na ile iliyotangulia zinatuwekea mbele ya macho ukweli fulani unaohusiana, kwa upande mmoja, na imani, na kwa upande mwingine, na maisha ya mwanadamu duniani. Pia zinagusia jambo lenye athari kubwa katika historia ya binadamu, ingawa mara nyingi hupuuzwa na hata kukanushwa na nadharia na falsafa zilizobuniwa na binadamu. Ukweli huo unatuambia kwamba suala la kuwa na imani kwa Mungu na kumcha Yeye halitengani na uhalisia wa maisha wala na mwenendo wa historia ya binadamu. Kumwamini Mungu na kumcha Yeye huwastahilisha watu kupokea baraka kutoka mbinguni na ardhini. Hii ni ahadi aliyoitoa Mungu, na Mungu daima ni mkweli katika ahadi zake.

This statement and the one preceding it put in front of our eyes certain facts that relate to faith on the one hand and to human life in this world on the other. They also touch on a factor that has a great influence on human history, even though it is often overlooked and indeed denied by man-made theories and philosophies. That fact tells us that the question of having faith in God and fearing Him is not isolated from the reality of life and the course of human history. To believe in God and to fear Him qualify people to receive blessings from heaven and earth. This is a promise given by God, and God is always true to His promises.

Sisi tunaomwamini Mungu tunakubali ahadi hii kuwa ya kweli bila ya kwanza kuuliza juu ya sababu zake au vyanzo vyake. Hatusiti hata kidogo kutarajia kwamba itatimia.

Sūrah imethibitisha hivyo kwamba sheria ya Mwenyezi Mungu imewekwa katika utekelezaji na haitashindwa kamwe, kama inavyothibitishwa na historia ya jamii zilizotangulia. Sasa hisia zimepanda kuhusu maangamizi yaliyowapata wale waliokataa imani na kupuuza lengo la mtihani wao, sūrah inawageukia wale ambao hadi sasa wamepuuza ukweli huu wa maisha. Inajaribu kuamsha ndani yao hali ya kutarajia, ikiwaonya kwamba nguvu za Mwenyezi Mungu zinaweza kuwapiga wakati wowote wa mchana au usiku, wakiwa wamelala, kazini au wakiburudika: “Je, watu wa miji hii wanajiona salama kwamba nguvu Zetu hazitawapiga usiku wa manane wakiwa wamelala? Au watu wa miji hii wanajiona salama kwamba nguvu Zetu hazitawapiga mchana kweupe wakiwa wanacheza? Je, wanajiona salama dhidi ya mipango ya Mwenyezi Mungu? Hakuna anayejiona salama dhidi ya mipango ya Mwenyezi Mungu isipokuwa wale wanaopoteza. Je, si wazi kwa wale waliorithi ardhi baada ya vizazi vilivyotangulia kwamba, kama Tungetaka, Tungeweza kuwaadhibu kwa dhambi zao na kuyafunga mioyo yao, wakawa hawasikii?” (Aya 97-100)

The sūrah has thus established the fact that God’s law is set in operation and will never fail, as confirmed by the history of former communities. Now that feelings are high about the doom that befell those who rejected the faith and overlooked the purpose of their test, the sūrah addresses those who have so far overlooked these facts of life. It tries to awaken in them a sense of expectation, alerting them to the fact that God’s might may strike them at any time of day or night, when they are asleep, at work or having fun: “Do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them at dead of night when they are asleep? Or do the people of these cities feel secure that Our might would not strike them in broad daylight when they are playing around? Do they feel themselves secure from God’s designs? None feels secure from God’s designs except those who are losers. Is it not plain to those who have inherited the earth in succession of former generations that, if We so willed, We can punish them for their sins and seal their hearts, leaving them bereft of hearing.” (Verses 97-100)

Baada ya kuambiwa kuhusu sheria ya Mungu inayowaweka watu na jamii katika majaribu ya dhiki na ustawi, na baada ya kuona maangamizi yaliyowapata waliokataa ujumbe wa kimungu katika nyakati zilizopita, je, watu wa kizazi cha sasa wanajihisi salama kiasi cha kudhani kwamba nguvu ya Mungu haitawapiga wakati wakiwa hawajui kabisa? Je, wanajihisi kinga dhidi ya nguvu ya Mungu inayoweza kuwapiga katikati ya usiku wa manane wakiwa wamelala usingizi mzito? Wanapaswa kukumbuka kwamba mtu aliyelala hana nguvu, hawezi kuchukua tahadhari wala hata kumfukuza mdudu mdogo dhaifu. Atawezaje kuzuia pigo kubwa kutoka kwa Mungu, ilhali hakuna binadamu, awe macho na mwenye nguvu kiasi gani, anayeweza kulipinga au kulizuia?

Having been told of God’s law that exposes people and communities to tests of adversity and affluence, and having seen the doom that befell those who rejected the divine message in former times, do the people of the present generation feel so secure that they assume that God’s might will not strike when they are totally unaware? Do they feel so immune against God’s might striking at dead of night when they are fast asleep? They should remember that a sleeping person is powerless, unable to take precautions or even repel a weak, small insect. How could he prevent a mighty strike from God, when no human being, however alert and strong can resist or prevent it?

Baada ya kueleza, kwa mifano yenye kugusa moyo, kanuni za kiutendaji za maumbile, sura hii inamwelekea Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu (rehema na amani ziwe juu yake) ikimjulisha matokeo ya mwisho ya kuzijaribu jamii zile, na inaeleza baadhi ya ukweli kuhusu hali ya imani na kufuru, pamoja na hali ya binadamu, kama zinavyoonekana katika jamii zile: "Tumekusimulia baadhi ya habari za jamii hizo. Mitume kutoka miongoni mwao iliwajia na hoja zilizo wazi za ukweli; lakini hawakuwa tayari kuamini yale waliyoyakataa hapo awali. Hivyo ndivyo Mwenyezi Mungu anavyozifunga nyoyo za makafiri."

Having outlined, with highly inspiring touches, the operative rules of nature, the sūrah addresses God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) informing him of the net outcome of putting those communities to trial, pointing out certain facts about the nature of faith and disbelief, as well as the nature of human beings, as seen in those communities: “We have related to you parts of the history of those communities. Messengers from among themselves came to them with clear evidence of the truth; but they would not believe in what they had formerly rejected. Thus does God seal the hearts of the unbelievers.

Tuliwakuta wengi wao hawakushika ahadi zao; kwa hakika, tuliwakuta wengi wao ni wavunjaji wa mipaka.” (Aya 101-102)

We found that most of them were untrue to their commitments; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors.” (Verses 101-102)

Historia hii imeelezwa wazi kuwa ilifunuliwa na Mungu. Nabii ﷺ hakuweza kuijua kutoka chanzo chochote kingine isipokuwa wahyi.

This history is clearly stated to have been revealed by God. The Prophet could not have learnt it from any source other than revelation.

"Wajumbe kutoka miongoni mwao walikuja kwao wakiwa na ushahidi wa wazi wa ukweli." (Aya ya 101) Lakini hakuna ushahidi wowote uliowanufaisha, kwa sababu waliendelea kukataa ujumbe baada ya kupokea ushahidi huo, kwa njia ile ile waliyokuwa wakiukataa kabla ya ushahidi huo kutolewa kwao. Hawakuwa tayari kuamini yale ambayo tayari walishayakataa. Haijalishi ushahidi wa ukweli ulivyo wazi, hautawaongoza watu wa aina hiyo kuukubali imani. Walichokosa watu hao hakikuwa ushahidi wa wazi wa ukweli, bali ni mioyo na akili zilizo wazi, na hamu kubwa ya kupokea mwongozo. Walikosa tabia hai inayopokea na kuitikia. Walipokataa kufungua akili zao kwa vipengele vya mwongozo, Mwenyezi Mungu aliifunga mioyo yao, na hawakuweza tena kutoa mwitikio wowote sahihi: "Hivyo ndivyo Mwenyezi Mungu anavyoifunga mioyo ya makafiri." (Aya ya 101)

“Messengers from among themselves came to them with clear evidence of the truth.” (Verse 101) But no evidence was of benefit to them, because they continued to reject the message after having received that evidence in the same way as they rejected it before such evidence was given them. They simply would not believe in what they had already rejected. No matter how clear the evidence of the truth is, it will not lead such people to adopt the faith. What those people lacked was not plain proof of the truth, but rather open hearts and minds, and a keen desire to receive guidance. They lacked an active nature that receives and responds. When they refused to open their minds to elements of guidance, God sealed their hearts and they could no longer give any proper response: “Thus does God seal the hearts of the unbelievers.” (Verse 101)