Ad-Dukhaan (The Smoke)

14. Then they had turned away from him and said: “[He is] one taught [by someone], a man possessed!”

15. Indeed, We shall remove the torment for a while. Indeed you will return [to disbelief].

16. On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure. Indeed, We will exact retribution.

Divine Retribution will not be exacted for gratification of His thirst for revenge, rather it will be exacted for administration of justice.

The word batsh is employed in the sense of “seize with awe, severity, and greatness.” Some have taken the word in the sense of defeating polytheists in the battle of Badr. God Almighty is the source of Mercy; however at times, He is Wrathful. Those who take Divine Revelation as mere play shall suffer severely from Divine Wrath.

God Almighty shall exact retribution of disbelievers who called the Prophet (S)

“taught [by someone], a man possessed.”

Instead of believing in his prophethood and Divine Unity wholeheartedly, they turned away from him and said that:

“he was taught by someone and he was a man possessed [by evil spirits].” They said at times that “a Roman slave” had heard the legends of the prophets and he taught him such legends. At times they also claimed that his words spring from his mental imbalance.

Verse 15 reads:

“Indeed, We shall remove the torment for a while. Indeed you will return [to disbelief].”

It is thus evident that regretting one’s deeds when afflicted with torment is of no avail since their decision as to the revision of their deeds is transient and when disasters subside, they proceed with their previous stratagems.

Verse 16 reads:

“On the Day when We shall seize you with the greatest seizure. Indeed, We will exact retribution.”

The word batsh denotes seizing by force and it ad hoc designates seizing for severe chastisement and the adjective:

kubra (“great, severe”)

modifying batsha indicates the harsh and severe chastisement in store for disbelievers and polytheists.

In short, subsiding and removal of their ad hoc chastisement will be of no avail since the harsh and final chastisement is inevitably in store for them. Muntaqimun is from intiqam indicating, as mentioned above, chastisement, though the latter is used in common usage in the sense of revenge which is accompanied by anger and hatred.