Al-Qalam (The Pen)
Verse 31 - 33
Table of Contents
31. They said: “Woe to us! We were disobedient.
32. We hope that our Lord will [forgive us and] give us in exchange something better. Truly, we turn to our Lord.
33. Such is Divine chastisement, but truly that of the Hereafter is greater if they but knew.
The blessed Verse 31 is saying that when they noticed the depth of their dire fate, they cried:
“Woe unto us!”
They had previously confessed to their wrong doing, since wrong doers may acknowledge the principle, though he may do wrong owing to being overwhelmed by his concupiscent desires. Au contraire, the disobedient never follow the rules nor does he acknowledge it. Wrong doing may herein connote doing wrong to oneself and disobedience may imply transgressing the rights of others.
It is worthy of note, however, that when arabs face a grave affliction, they say
wayla (“woe”).
According to the blessed Verse 32, upon such rude awakening and confessing to their sins, they turned toward God Almighty saying that may their Lord forgive their sins and provide them with a better orchard, since they have turned towards Him, set their hopes on His Pure Essence, and invoke Him to render them Assistance in their hardships. It is narrated in some traditions that they sincerely repented and God Almighty pardoned them and provided them with a better orchard.
The blessed Verse 33 draws a general conclusion saying that thus is Divine torment and that in the hereafter is more severe than that if but they knew. Furthermore, the story reflects that there is an intimate relationship between committing sins and being deprived of Divine Sustenance and Provision.
In this vein, it is narrated from Imam Baqir (as) as saying:
“Man at times commits a sin and is thereby deprived of his Divine Provision.”
Then, the noble Imam (as) recited the blessed Verse in question.1 It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas as saying that the relationship between committing sins and being deprived of Divine Provision is crystal clear such that God Almighty makes mention of the same in the Chapter in question.2