of their wealth and the punishment that overtook them; then He said:

“Such is the punishment, but the punishment of the Hereafter is even greater, if only they knew.” ⦗68:33⦘

Likewise, in Surah al-Taghābun He says:

“Has the report not reached you of those who disbelieved before? They tasted the grievous consequence of their conduct, and for them there is a painful punishment. That was because their messengers used to come to them with clear proofs, yet they said, ‘Shall a human being guide us?’ So they disbelieved and turned away, and Allah had no need of them—Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.” ⦗64:5-6⦘

He then said:

“Those who disbelieve claim that they will never be resurrected. Say, ‘Yes indeed, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected…’” ⦗64:7⦘

The same pattern appears in Surah Qāf, where He depicts the condition of those who oppose the messengers and sets forth both promise and warning for the Hereafter; likewise in Surah al-Qamar He brings both themes together. The trend continues in the group of Ha-Mīm surahs—such as Ha-Mīm Ghāfir, Ha-Mīm Sajdah, al-Zukhruf, ad-Dukhān, and others—indeed, in countless passages besides.

Thus monotheism (tawḥīd), together with the promise and the threat, was the very first subject revealed. As recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Yūsuf ibn Māhak reported:

“I was with ʿĀʾishah, Mother of the Believers, when an Iraqi man came and asked, ‘Which shroud is best?’ She replied, ‘Woe to you! What does it matter to you?’ He said, ‘Mother of the Believers, show me your copy of the Quran.’ She said, ‘Why?’ He answered, ‘Perhaps I can arrange the Quran upon it, for it is being recited out of sequence.’ She said, ‘What harm is it to you which surah you read first? The first thing revealed was a surah from the Mufaṣṣal that spoke of Paradise and Hell. Once the people had embraced Islam, the lawful and the unlawful were revealed. Had the first revelation been, “Do not drink…’”