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Does the interpretation of the verse: "And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its affluent ones, so they defiantly disobey therein; then the word comes into effect upon it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction" in Warsh's recitation (أمَّرنا - We appoint as commanders) mean that Allah Almighty makes the affluent ones rulers who govern with injustice, knowing that Allah does not command indecency and disobedience?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Neither Warsh nor any of the ten reciters recited with a shaddah (gemination) on the letter 'mim' in the word "amarnā" in the Almighty's saying: "amarnā mutrafīhā" (We commanded its affluent ones). Rather, they differed concerning the lengthening and shortening of the hamzah. The recitation with a shaddah on the 'mim' is a variant, anomalous recitation that falls outside the ten widely transmitted recitations. The correct and preferred meaning of the verse, according to the verifiers among the scholars of tafsir, is that Allah commanded them to obey, but they transgressed, and not that He commanded them to commit transgression, for Allah does not command indecency.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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