كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا كُلِّهَا فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ أَخْذَ عَزِيزٍ مُّقْتَدِرٍ
“The denied (or considered a lie) all Our Ayaat (signs). So, We seized them with a seizing of one Exalted in Might and Perfect in Ability”.
Seizing of Absolute Might and Perfect Capabilityوَإِن يَرَوْا آيَةً يُعْرِضُوا
This Ayah echoes what was said about the Quraish at the beginning of the Surah: “And if they see an Ayah (sign), they turn away”. Here Allah is saying that “Aala Fir’awn” denied all Our Ayaat.
Allah does not just say: فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ “So, We took hold of them” but qualified the grabbing as a “taking hold” (أَخْذَ) of One who is عَزِيز “All powerful and mighty possessing an absolute authority and dominance” and مُّقْتَدِرٍ “Perfect in capability”. It is like Allah is saying that these people who claimed to be almighty, all-powerful and capable of anything, were seized by One who is truly almighty and capable of anything.
عَزِيز: “All powerful and mighty possessing an absolute authority and dominance”.
مُّقْتَدِرٍ is a hyperbolised, more active and intense for of the word قَدِير (Qadeer) which means “Capable”.
The most powerful rule on earth at that time sought to kill Musa (as) and the children of Bani Isra’eel but Allah sent one calamity after another over a span of years which kept them in a state of perpetual paralysis for years, completely powerless and incapable of executing their desire to kill just a single man and children. That is because Allah seized them with a seizing of One who was ‘Azeez and Muqtadir (عَزِيزٍ مُّقْتَدِرٍ), a seizing that they had absolutely no power nor ability to stand up to and confront. In this way, Fir’awn was taken from the height of arrogance to the height of humility.
Seizing of ‘Azeez & Muqtadir
فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ
“So, how was My punishment and warnings”.
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
“And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for Adh-Dhikr (remembrance – to be reminded)”. So, is there anyone who will (put in the effort to) remember?”
Even though the Ayah: فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ and the Ayah: وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ were not repeated after the mention of the destruction of Aali Fir’awn, these verses have been permanently etched into our minds and hearts whenever we hear about the fall of nations in the Qur’an.
Look at how Allah dealt with them and how Allah is merciful upon us by giving us the Qur’an. It is because of the Qur’an that no other nation will be destroyed and wiped out ever again. The ultimate Rahmah (mercy) of Allah is that He sent the Qur’an and the only time now where humanity will face ultimate destruction is Judgement Day itself.
This brings to an end the discussion of the five destroyed nations mentioned in Surah Al-Qamar.
Those who claimed might and capability were seized by the One who is truly almighty and capable of anything. This is the decisive meaning of أَخْذَ عَزِيزٍ مُّقْتَدِرٍ.