(1–7) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Alif, Lām, Mīm, Sād. A Book has been revealed to you, so let there be no distress in your heart because of it, so that you may warn with it and it may serve as a reminder for the believers. Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and do not follow any protectors besides Him. Little do you take heed! How many a town We have destroyed! Our punishment came upon it by night or while its people were resting at midday. Their only cry when Our punishment came upon them was, ‘We were indeed wrongdoers.’ We will surely question those to whom messengers were sent, and We will surely question the messengers. Then We will surely recount everything to them with knowledge, for We were never absent.”
Allah, Most High, says to His Messenger Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—explaining to him the greatness of the Quran: “A Book has been revealed to you”; that is, a sublime Book containing everything the servants need, all matters of divine knowledge, and all the objectives of the Sacred Law, made precise and explained in detail. “So let there be no distress in your heart because of it”; that is, no unease, doubt, or confusion. Rather, know that it is a revelation from One All-Wise, Praiseworthy: “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it—a revelation from One All-Wise, Praiseworthy,” and that it is the truest of speech. Let your heart therefore open to it, let your soul find serenity in it, proclaim its commands and prohibitions openly, and fear no critic or opponent.
“So that you may warn with it” all creation, admonishing and reminding them so that the proof is established against those who stubbornly resist;
and so that it may be “a reminder for the believers.” As Allah, Most High, says: “And remind, for indeed the reminder benefits the believers.” Through it, they remember the straight path, the outward and inward deeds it entails, and everything that prevents the servant from following it.
Allah then addressed His servants and drew them toward the Book, saying: “Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord”; that is, the Book whose revelation was intended for your sake. It is “from your Lord,” who wills to bring His nurturing of you to completion. He therefore sent down this Book to you; if you follow it, His nurturing of you will be perfected, His favor upon you completed, and you will be guided to the finest and noblest deeds and character. “And do not follow protectors besides Him”; that is, do not take them as allies, follow their whims, and abandon the truth for their sake.
“Little do you take heed!” Had you reflected and recognized what truly served your interests, you would not have preferred what is harmful over what is beneficial, nor an enemy over a true ally.
He then warned them of His punishments upon the nations that denied what their messengers brought them, lest they become like them (1). He said: “How many a town We have destroyed! Our punishment came upon it”; that is, Our severe punishment, “by night or while its people were resting at midday”; that is, while they were heedless, caught unawares and oblivious, with destruction never crossing their minds. When the punishment came upon them, they could not ward it off themselves; the gods in whom they had placed their hopes did them no good, nor did they deny the wrongdoing and sins they had committed.
“Their only cry when Our punishment came upon them was, ‘We were indeed wrongdoers.’” As Allah, Most High, says: “How many a wrongdoing town We shattered, then raised up another people after it! When they sensed Our punishment, they immediately fled from it. ‘Do not flee! Return to the luxury you enjoyed and to your homes, so that you may be questioned.’ They said, ‘Woe to us! We were indeed wrongdoers.’ That cry of theirs did not cease until We made them like a field mown down, lifeless.”
His words, “We will surely question those to whom messengers were sent,” mean that We will surely question the nations to whom Allah sent the messengers about how they answered their messengers: “And on the Day He calls them and says, ‘What response did you give to the messengers?’” and the verses that follow.
“And We will surely question the messengers” about whether they delivered their Lord’s messages and how their nations responded to them.
“Then We will surely recount everything to them”; that is, We shall recount to all creation everything they did, “with knowledge”—His, Most High, knowledge of their deeds. “We were never absent” at any time. As Allah, Most High, says: “Allah recorded it while they forgot it.” He also says: “We certainly created seven paths above you, and We were never heedless of creation.”