حِكمَةٌ بالِغَةٌ ۖ فَما تُغنِ النُّذُرُ

[And representing] far-reaching wisdom; but warnings are of no avail!

EXEGESIS

Ḥikmah (wisdom) is from the root ḥakama which originally means to prevent. A ruling is called ḥukm because it prevents its addressee to act otherwise. Ḥikmah is that quality which prevents from wrongs and vices. It could also be a speech or word that is beneficial and represents the truth.[1]

Bālighah (far-reaching) is an adjective describing ḥikmah, meaning that it is far-reaching in effectiveness and truth and most efficient as admonishment. Together, ḥikmatun bālighah is an apposition which describes the admonishment mentioned in the previous verse.

Nudhur (warnings) is the plural of nadhīr which means warner (active participle) or that which is warned against (passive participle) or warning (infinitive).[2]

Tughni (avail) is the clipped form of the verb tughnī which helps the rhythm of the verse to flow better. Used in the present tense, mā tughni (does not avail) indicates continuity.[3] The preposition mā has generally been understood to be negatory (nāfiyah) and the sentence a declarative statement, meaning: the warnings do not avail them. Notwithstanding, some have suggested that mā could be interrogatory, in a rhetorical question, meaning: do the warnings not avail?![4]

EXPOSITION

This verse serves as a continuation of the previous verse by describing the admonishment mentioned there. The admonishment that the news of the past nations and the communications of God presented to them is a far-reaching wisdom which would shake every conscious soul and every conscientious person, but, alas, it does not avail these people. In more technical words, it means that there is no deficiency in the actor but the deficiency is in the recipient.[5]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

It has been attributed to Jubbāʾī that nudhur here means the warners, i.e. the prophets, and the verse is indicating that the prophets who were sent to these people shall not be able to save them from the punishment of God in the hereafter, which they deserve due to their obstinate disbelief.[6]

[1] Munyah, 27/188; Mizan, 19/57.
[2] Daqaiq, 12/531.
[3] Alusi, 14/78.
[4] Safi, 5/100.
[5] Amthal, 17/302.
[6] Tabrisi, 9/283; Tibyan, 9/444.