Tafsir of Surah An Nahl | quranmazid.com

هَلْيَنظُرُونَإِلَّآأَنتَأْتِيَهُمُٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُأَوْيَأْتِىَأَمْرُرَبِّكَكَذَٰلِكَفَعَلَٱلَّذِينَمِنقَبْلِهِمْوَمَاظَلَمَهُمُٱللَّهُوَلَٰكِنكَانُوٓا۟أَنفُسَهُمْيَظْلِمُونَ ٣٣

Saheeh International

Do the disbelievers await [anything] except that the angels should come to them or there comes the command of your Lord? Thus did those do before them. And Allah wronged them not, but they had been wronging themselves.

en: Ibn Kathir

Tafseer 'Ibn Kathir' (EN)

The Disbelievers' Refrain from Faith means that They were simply awaiting Punishment

Allah says:

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَليِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ

Are they but waiting for the angels to come to them, or there comes the command of your Lord!

Threatening the idolators for their persistence in falsehood and their conceited delusions about this world, Allah says:Are these people waiting only for the angels to come and take their souls!

Qatadah said:

أَوْ يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ

(Or there comes the command of your Lord),

"means the Day of Resurrection and the terror that they will go through."

كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ

Thus did those before them.

means, thus did their predecessors and those who were like them among the idolators persist in their Shirk, until they tasted the wrath of Allah and experienced the punishment and torment that they suffered.

وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّهُ

And Allah did not wrong them.

because by sending His Messengers and revealing His Books He gave them enough warning and clearly demonstrated His proofs to them.

وَلـكِن كَانُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

but they were wronging themselves.

meaning, by opposing the Messengers and denying what they brought