قُلْ هُوَ الْقَادِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُمْ بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ ﴿۶۵﴾ وَكَذَّبَ بِهِ قَوْمُكَ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ قُلْ لَسْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكِيلٍ ﴿۶۶﴾

﴾65﴿ Qul huwal Qaadiru 'alaaa ai yab'asa 'alaikum 'azaabam min fawqikum aw min tahti arjulikum aw yalbisakum shiya'anw wa yuzeeqa ba'dakum ba'sa ba'd; unzur kaifa nusarriful Aayaati la'allahum yafqahoon
﴾66﴿ Wa kaz zaba bihee qawmuka wa huwal haqq; qul lastu'alaikum biwakeel

﴾65﴿ You say: Allah Almighty is able to send a punishment on you from above you or from under your feet or join with you a group with different thoughts, And let some of you taste the war of others, See how we express the reasons in different ways so that they understand
﴾66﴿ And they falsely attributed him that your people and that is the truth, Say, I am not a guardian over you

[65] This is another rational proof: the authority to send punishment belongs solely to Allah the Exalted, and this warning refers to worldly punishment.
The connection is that when Allah the Exalted rescues you from one trial, you return to associating partners with Him—therefore, Allah is fully capable of sending punishment upon you in another form.
(أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ) — The address here is to the polytheist disbelievers, as narrated from Hasan al-Basri.
Or, according to the narration from Mujahid, it is addressed to the Ummah of Muhammad (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
According to this second view, the first two types of punishment were lifted from this Ummah due to the supplication of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
Ibn Kathir mentions seventeen (17) hadiths in his tafsir supporting this meaning.
(مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ) — This includes punishments like wind, thunderous cries, stoning, and floods, such as those that afflicted the people of Nuh (peace be upon him), ‘Ad, Thamud, the people of Lut (peace be upon him), and the Companions of the Elephant.
(أَرْجُلِكُمْ) — Refers to drowning and the earth swallowing people, such as what happened to Pharaoh and Qarun.
From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and Mujahid, the interpretation is that the first refers to oppressive rulers, and the second to disobedient servants and children.
Al-Zamakhshari said it refers to withholding rain from above and crops from the earth.
This punishment "from above and below" is a comprehensive affliction.
(شِيَعًا) — Means divided factions that follow desires.
As mentioned in the hadith, this Ummah will split into seventy-three sects, all following their desires except one.
This too is an independent form of punishment—and it becomes a cause for another punishment: (يُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُمْ بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ) — Refers to mutual killing and fighting among yourselves.
(لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ) — It becomes clear that through various verses of the Qur'an and rational proofs, true understanding is attained.
[66] This is a warning to the deniers, and the pronoun "bihi" refers either to the Qur’an, the punishment, or the affirmation of the signs.
(بِوَكِيلٍ) — A wakil is someone entrusted with a task or authority.
Therefore, after their rejection, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) is being told that he cannot be held responsible to prevent punishment from them—it is not his task to stop it.