﴿ وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا قَرْيَةًۭ كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةًۭ مُّطْمَئِنَّةًۭ يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًۭا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍۢ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ ﴾

“AND GOD propounds [to you] a parable: [Imagine] a town which was [once] secure and at ease, with its sustenance coming to it abundantly from all quarters, and which thereupon blasphemously refused to show gratitude for God's blessings: and therefore God caused it to taste the all-embracing misery of hunger and fear in result of all [the evil] that its people had so persistently wrought.”

If a settlement of human beings is in a good condition and is well provided for, God raises one of His subjects from among them, who calls them to the Truth. Under these circumstances, either these people accept the truth and become deserving of more blessings from God, or they do not do so and then they are subjected to different types of affliction. These afflictions are not a punishment from God, but God’s warnings. Their purpose is to awaken the people so that their sensitivity becomes keener and they become willing to give a positive response to the call of the preacher of truth. If such warnings are not effective, then after the conclusion of the dayee’s work the second stage comes: the destruction of that community. This is so that after reaching the world of the Hereafter, they face eternal punishment for their rejection of God’s messenger.