Surah Al-Mulk 67:18 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection
سُورَةُ المُلۡكِ · Meccan · Verse 18 of 30
وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
English: Those who went before them also disbelieved- how terrible was My condemnation!
Bengali: তাদের পূর্ববর্তীরা মিথ্যারোপ করেছিল, অতঃপর কত কঠোর হয়েছিল আমার অস্বীকৃতি।
Meaning & Reflection
'Those before them denied too — so how was My rejection of them?' Ibn Ashur notes the shift from speaking *to* them to speaking *about* them, a subtle withdrawal that signals displeasure. al-Biqa'i frames the whole passage as long divine forbearance finally answered. History is offered as open evidence: the same denial has been run before, and its results are on record for anyone willing to look. Ask yourself: I treat my situation as if its rules were brand new and its outcome unknowable. But the pattern — comfort, warning, dismissal, consequence — has played out again and again. Am I studying the ruins of those who took this exact road before me, or assuming I'll somehow be the exception?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, Ibn Kathir.
Reflect with the Five Lenses
Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Mulk 67:18:
- Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
- Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
- Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
- Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
- General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?