أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا ﴿۵۷﴾ وَإِنْ مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا كَانَ ذَلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَسْطُورًا ﴿۵۸﴾

﴾57﴿ Ulaaa'ikal lazeena yad'oona yabtaghoona ilaa Rabbihimul waseelata ayyuhum aqrabu wa yarjoona rahmatahoo wa yakhaafoona 'azaabah; inna 'azaaba rabbika kaana mahzooraa
﴾58﴿ Wa in min qaryatin illaa Nahnu muhlikoohaa qabla Yawmil Qiyaamati aw mu'az ziboohaa 'azaaban shadeedaa; kaana zaalika fil Kitaabi mastooraa

﴾57﴿ Those whom they call upon seek a way to draw near to their Lord, striving as to which of them will be closest, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever to be feared
﴾58﴿ And there is no city but that We will destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or punish it with a severe punishment. That has been inscribed in the Preserved Tablet

[57] In the previous verse, the helplessness of false gods was shown by negating their power of control.
In this verse, their inability to be worthy of worship is shown in three aspects:
1. Their love for Allah, the Exalted, through which they seek nearness to Him.
2. Their hope for the mercy of Allah.
3. Their fear of the punishment of Allah.
The phrase (ayyuhum aqrab) is an explanation of al-wasīlah—i.e., wasīlah means nearness, as mentioned previously in verse 35 of Surah Al-Mā’idah.
The word (maḥdhūran) also appears similarly in verse 28 of Surah Al-Ma‘ārij. It means something intensely feared or dreaded.
[58] This verse contains a worldly warning (takhwīf dunyawī), meaning that punishment and destruction may descend upon the towns of the polytheists, yet their false deities will not be able to save them.
A similar message appears in:
– Verse 101 of Surah Hūd
– Verses 27 and 28 of Surah Al-Aḥqāf
The word (qaryah) refers to disobedient and polytheistic people, as indicated in verse 8 of Surah At-Ṭalāq.
The phrase (‘adhāban shadīdan) refers to severe punishments—such as killings, corruption, famines, etc.
The term (al-kitāb) means the Book of Decree, i.e., the Lawḥ Maḥfūẓ (Preserved Tablet), which serves as proof that all things are preordained and written in divine decree.