﴿ أَفَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ إِن نَّشَأْ نَخْسِفْ بِهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ أَوْ نُسْقِطْ عَلَيْهِمْ كِسَفًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَةًۭ لِّكُلِّ عَبْدٍۢ مُّنِيبٍۢ ﴾

“Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them? [or that,] if We so willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them, or cause fragments of the sky to fall down upon them? In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for every servant [of God] who is wont to turn unto Him [in repentance].”

The last verse (9): أَفَلَمْ يَرَ‌وْا إِلَىٰ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُم (Have they not, then, looked to the sky and the earth that lies before them and behind them? ) carries two chastening messages: (1) It proves that one can come to believe in the coming of the Qiyamah by pondering over what has been created in the heavens and the earth, and once the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala becomes visible through observation, the element of improbability which prohibited its deniers from accepting it could stand removed. (2) Then, right along with this positive invitation to see and learn on their own, the deniers have also been served with a warning of punishment. They have been told that should they continue to hold firmly to their attitude of rejection and denial, then, they should also realize that it is within this power of Allah Ta’ ala which could make the very same blessings to become a punishment for them, such as, the earth swallows them, or that the sky cracks apart and falls on them.