فَذاقَت وَبالَ أَمرِها وَكانَ عاقِبَةُ أَمرِها خُسرًا
So it tasted the evil consequences of its conduct, and the outcome of its conduct was ruin.
EXEGESIS
Wabāl (evil consequences) is the evil and severe outcome of specific action. It comes from the word wabl or wābil, that literally means heavy rain, like in the verse, a downpour (wābil) strikes it (2:264). Related to the meaning of heaviness is something that has heavy and seriously negative consequences, so We seized him with a terrible (wabīl) seizing (73:16).
ʿĀqibah (outcome) comes from ʿaqib meaning a person’s behind, such as will you turn back on your heels (aʿqāb) (3:144). As the rear is the final part of a person, it carries the meaning of final outcome or conclusion for something, like in the verse, So the fate (ʿāqibah) of both is that they will be in the fire (59:17). There are forms of the word that have the meaning of punishment only, such as ʿuqūbah (22:60), muʿāqabah (16:126), and ʿiqāb (38:14), as well as forms used for reward only, such as ʿuqb (18:44) and ʿuqbā (13:22). The form ʿāqibah can linguistically mean either reward or punishment, although here it is obviously referring to punishment, however its usage connotes that the fate of the defiant nation was not set in stone, and it was their own conduct that led to the evil outcome of ruination.
Khusr (ruin) literally means to lose one’s capital, but is used in a general sense for all kinds of loss, whether in health, mind, self, intellect, faith, or reward. The most severe of these losses is of course loss of faith leading to the loss of reward in the hereafter (see 18:103-6). Considering the previous verse, the loss should be referring to the ruination visited upon those nations in this world and the hereafter.
EXPOSITION
This verse further explains the reason for the hastened, worldly punishment that visited the defiant nations described in the previous verse. We are told that any such nation tasted the evil consequences of its conduct. The punishment was not unjust, nor excessive, but rather a natural consequence of its actions, and the outcome of its conduct was ruin.
Amr was discussed in the first verse. As we mentioned earlier, there it has the meaning of any event, action, or speech. Here it refers to the defiance in verse 8. However, there is another layer of meaning that may be intended here as well. Considering the thematic centrality of the amr (command) of God, it may here be referring to that. In other words, the consequences of the people defying God’s command. We should keep in mind that the punishment that befalls people is a natural consequence of their actions and is therefore not most accurately thought of as an active punishment, but rather a natural outcome. Hence, ruin is the outcome decreed for them in God’s amr, as it would be for all those who choose a path of defiance, because that is the reality of His creation and its order. Hence, the verse could also be understood in this sense to mean: So it tasted the evil consequences of its conduct, and the final manifestation and outcome of its decree was ruin.
There is also a reminder here that a person should think not only of the immediate ‘front’ of an action, but also to look ‘behind’ it (its ʿāqibah) as well, and think of its final outcome. This is also thematically important, as all the rulings regarding divorce, waiting periods, and upkeep are to remind us to not just think of short-term perceived benefits, but to think of the larger scale and long-term effects. A woman may be tempted to ignore her waiting period and immediately marry; and a man may think he should save his money and not spend on upkeep for his ex-wife. The call here is to think then of what such courses of action will entail for society as a whole and for one’s future.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Masʿadah ibn Ṣadaqah, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) related that Imam Ali (a) said in a sermon in Medina, after praising God and sending salutations on His Messenger and his family: ‘Verily God – blessed and high – has not destroyed the tyrants of the ages except after giving them respite and ease, nor did He mend the broken bones of nations except after hardship and tribulations. O people, there is admonition enough in [things] even less than the reminders that you faced and the misfortunes that you already experienced. [Alas] not everyone who has a heart is reflective, and not everyone who has hearing can hear, and not everyone who has eyes can see. Servants of God! Be attentive to the things that require your attention. Then look to the uninhabited lands of those upon whom God’s rightful punishment befell. They were following the same path as the people of Pharaoh, having gardens and rivers and farmlands and honourable places. Then look how God sealed their fates after all that bliss and joy, and after all those commands and prohibitions. The one who is patient from amongst you will end up (ʿāqibah) in gardens, [I swear] by God, staying therein forever! And to God belongs the final outcome (ʿāqibah) of all things.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Tabatabai has argued that the evil outcomes spoken of in the previous verse refer to the hereafter, and that this verse refers to worldly punishment. Although what seems more correct is what we mentioned, that both this and the previous verse speak of worldly punishments and that the punishment of the hereafter is then mentioned in the next verse.
[1] Tibyan, 10/38.
[2] Raghib, p. 852; Lisan, 11/721.
[3] Raghib, p. 575.
[4] Raghib, pp. 281-282.
[5] Tabrisi, 65/9; Thalabi, 5/114.
[6] Razi, 30/565; Mizan, 19/324.
[7] Qaraati, 10/114.
[8] This refers to the revelation that came to them, and the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance that they left behind them.
[9] Kafi, 8/63.
[10] Mizan, 19/324.