If They Disobey, They Will Perish
Allah said,
وَرَبُّكَ
And your Lord..., (O Muhammad),
الْغَنِيُّ
is Al-Ghani,
Rich, free from needing His creatures in any way or form, while they stand in need of Him in all situations,
ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ
full of mercy;
towards creation.
Allah said in another Ayah,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Truly, Allah is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind. (2;143)
إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ
if He wills, He can destroy you.
if you defy His commandments,
وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَاء
And in your place make whom He wills as your successors,
who behave obediently,
كَمَأ أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ اخَرِينَ
As He raised you from the seed of other people.
and surely, He is able to do this, and it is easy for Him. And just as Allah has destroyed the earlier nations and brought their successors, He is able to do away with these generations and bring other people in their place.
Allah has also said;
إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ وَيَأْتِ بِـاخَرِينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى ذلِكَ قَدِيراً
If He wills, He can take you away, O people, and bring others. And Allah is Ever Capable over that. (4;133)
يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ
إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُـمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ
وَمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ
O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah. But Allah is Rich (free of all needs), Worthy of all praise. If He willed, He could destroy you and bring about a new creation. And that is not hard for Allah. (35;15-17)
and,
نَّفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْاْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُواْ
But Allah is Rich (free of all needs), and you are poor. And if you turn away, He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be your likes. (47;38)
Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Yaqub bin Utbah said that he heard Aban bin Uthman saying about this Ayah,
كَمَأ أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ اخَرِينَ
(As He raised you from the seed of other people),
"`The seed' means the offspring and the children."
Allah's statement,
إِنَّ مَا تُوعَدُونَ لاتٍ وَمَا أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ