18:58

وَرَبُّكَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ذُو ٱلرَّحۡمَةِۖ لَوۡ يُؤَاخِذُهُم بِمَا كَسَبُواْ لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡعَذَابَۚ بَل لَّهُم مَّوۡعِدٞ لَّن يَجِدُواْ مِن دُونِهِۦ مَوۡئِلٗا

Warabbuka alghafooru thoo alrrahmati law yuakhithuhum bima kasaboo laAAajjala lahumu alAAathaba bal lahum mawAAidun lan yajidoo min doonihi mawilan

And your Lord is the Forgiving, full of mercy. If He were to impose blame upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened for them the punishment. Rather, for them is an appointment from which they will never find an escape.

Word by word
  1. وَرَبُّكَAnd your Lord
  2. ٱلۡغَفُورُ(is) the Most Forgiving
  3. ذُوOwner
  4. ٱلرَّحۡمَةِۖ(of) the Mercy
  5. لَوۡIf
  6. يُؤَاخِذُهُمHe were to seize them
  7. بِمَاfor what
  8. كَسَبُواْthey have earned
  9. لَعَجَّلَsurely,He (would) have hastened
  10. لَهُمُfor them
  11. ٱلۡعَذَابَۚthe punishment
  12. بَلBut
  13. لَّهُمfor them
  14. مَّوۡعِدٞ(is) an appointment
  15. لَّنnever
  16. يَجِدُواْthey will find
  17. مِنother than it
  18. دُونِهِۦother than it
  19. مَوۡئِلٗاan escape
Al-Kahf · 18:58Makkah

Your Lord is Forgiving, full of mercy, and patient.

Why the punishment is not rushed


Why there is time
Most Forgivingowner of mercy
so
not hastenedtime to return
until
an appointmentno escape after
What the delay means
He does not carenothing happened
He is giving timemercy and patience

Right after the warning, Allah reminds His Messenger ﷺ that your Lord is forgiving and has great mercy. Ibn Kathir says He is patient, conceals faults, forgives sins, and may guide some of them from wrongdoing to true guidance. But the time is fixed.

You did something wrong years ago and nothing bad followed. You assumed it did not matter. Allah is not ignoring you. He is giving you room to come back.

Nothing happened to me, so it must not matter.

The delay is mercy, giving me time to turn back.

Try this

Think of one past wrong you never repented for, and repent for it today.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 18:57)

And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat (signs) of his Lord, but turns away from them, forgetting what his hands have sent forth. Truly, We have set over their hearts Akinnah, lest they should understand this (the Qur'an), and in their ears, deafness. And if you call them to guidance, even then they will never be guided (57)And your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of mercy. Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, then surely, He would have hastened their punishment. But they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no escape (58)And these towns, We destroyed them when they did wrong. And We appointed a fixed time for their destruction (59)

The Worst People are Those Who turn away after being reminded

Allah says, 'Who among My creatures does more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of Allah then turns away from them,' i.e., ignores them and does not listen or pay attention to them.

وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ

(forgetting what his hands have sent forth.) means, bad deeds and evil actions.

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ

(Truly, We have set over their hearts) means, the hearts of these people,

أَكِنَّةً

(Akinnah) means, coverings.

أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ

(lest they should understand this,) means, so that they will not understand this Qur'an and its clear Message

وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا

(and in their ears, deafness.) means that they will be deaf in an abstract way, to guidance.

وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَىٰ فَلَن يَهْتَدُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا

(And if you call them to guidance, even then they will never be guided.)

وَرَبُّكَ الْغَفُورُ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ

(And your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of mercy.) means, 'your Lord, O Muhammad, is forgiving and has great mercy.'

لَوْ يُؤَاخِذُهُم بِمَا كَسَبُوا لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ الْعَذَابَ

(Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, then surely, He would have hastened their punishment.) This is like the Ayah:

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ

(And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving creature on the surface of the earth.)[35:45]

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ لِّلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ ظُلْمِهِمْ ۖ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَشَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ

(But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrongdoing. And verily, your Lord is (also) severe in punishment)[13:6].

And there are many Ayat which say the same thing.

Then Allah tells us that He is patient, He conceals faults and forgives sins. He may guide some of them from wrongdoing to true guidance, and whoever continues in his evil ways, then there will come to him a Day when infants will turn grey and every pregnant female will shed her load. He says:

بَل لَّهُم مَّوْعِدٌ لَّن يَجِدُوا مِن دُونِهِ مَوْئِلًا

(But they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no escape.) meaning, they will find no way out.

وَتِلْكَ الْقُرَىٰ أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا

(And these towns, We destroyed them when they did wrong.) This refers to earlier nations in times past; 'We destroyed them because of their stubborn disbelief.'

وَجَعَلْنَا لِمَهْلِكِهِم مَّوْعِدًا

(And We appointed a fixed time for their destruction.) 'We appointed for them a set time limit, not to be increased or decreased. The same applies to you, O idolators, so beware or what happened to them will happen to you too, for you have rejected the noblest Messenger and greatest Prophet, and you are not dearer to Us than them, so fear My punishment and wrath.'