Tafseer of the verse “So flee to Allaah. Verily, I (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain warner to you from Him” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:50]
Question

                What is the meaning of the first in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So flee to Allaah. Verily, I (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain warner to you from Him” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:50]? Why does the verse not start with the word Qul (“Say”) as many verses do?.
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 

    This verse is 
    one of the greatest verses in the Holy Qur’aan. It combines meanings of both 
    fear and hope: fear of Allah and turning to Him, for there is no refuge from 
    Him except in Him. The fact that no one offers refuge from Him except Him 
    serves to tell His slaves that He is More Merciful than anyone else, and He 
    wants to show mercy and forgive. 

    In Madaarij 
    al-Saalikeen (1/469-481), al-‘Allaamah ibn al-Qayyim spoke at length 
    explaining that the level of “ fleeing to Allah” is one of the levels of 
    those who are striving to reach Allah. 

    Allah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): “So flee to Allaah. Verily, I (Muhammad
    صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain warner to 
    you from Him” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:50]. 

    Imam al-Tabari 
    (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Allah says: 
    Flee, O people, from the punishment of Allah to His Mercy by believing in 
    Him, following His commands and striving to obey Him. “Verily, I 
    (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain 
    warner to you from Him” means: I am a warner to you from Allah, sent to 
    warn you of His punishment and make you fear the punishment that Allah sent 
    against those nations He has told you about, and which He will cause them to 
    taste in the Hereafter. The word “plain” (mubeen) means: to explain 
    to you His warning. End quote. 

    Jaami‘ 
    al-Bayaan, 
    22/440 

    Al-Qurtubi 
    (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Because of 
    what is mentioned in the verses about how the nations disbelieved and 
    rejected their Prophets and Allah brought about their destruction because of 
    that, Allah says to His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): 
    Tell them, O Muhammad, i.e., tell your people: “Verily, I (Muhammad
    صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain warner to 
    you from Him” i.e., flee from disobedience of Him to obedience to Him. 

    Ibn ‘Abbaas 
    said: Flee to Allah by repenting from your sins. And it was narrated that he 
    said: Flee from Him to Him, and strive to obey Him. 

    Muhammad ibn 
    ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan said: “Flee to Allah” means, Go 
    to Makkah. 

    Al-Husayn ibn 
    al-Fadl said: Flee from everything except Allah. The one who flees to 
    anything else will not escape His punishment. 

    Abu Bakr 
    al-Warraaq said: Flee from obeying the Shaytaan to obeying al-Rahmaan (the 
    Most Merciful). 

    Al-Junayd 
    said: The Shaytaan calls to falsehood, so flee to Allah and He will protect 
    you from him. 

    Dhu’l-Noon 
    al-Masri said: Flee from ignorance to knowledge, and from disbelief (kufr) 
    to gratitude (shukr). 

    ‘Amr ibn 
    ‘Uthmaan said: Flee from yourself to your Lord. 

    He also said: 
    Flee to (and be content with) that which Allah has already decreed for you, 
    and do not rely on your own efforts. 

    Sahl ibn 
    ‘Abd-Allah said: Flee from everything except Allah to Allah. 

    “Verily, I 
    (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain 
    warner to you from Him” 
    means: I am warning you of His punishment for disbelief and sin. End quote. 

    Al-Jaami‘ 
    li Ahkaam al-Qur’aan, 
    17/53-54 

    Al-‘Allaamah 
    ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    When Allah 
    called people to look at His signs which prompt one to fear Him and turn to 
    Him, He enjoined that which is the aim behind that, which is to flee to Him, 
    i.e., flee from that whichAllah hates, both visible and hidden, to that 
    which He loves, both visible and hidden; flee from ignorance to knowledge, 
    from kufr to faith, from disobedience to obedience, from heedlessness to 
    remembrance (dhikr)of Allah. The one who achieves all of that has fulfilled 
    all the commitments enjoined by Islam, and will no longer have any fears; he 
    will have achieved his ultimate goal.  

    Allah called 
    turning back to Him fleeing, because turning to anyone or anything other 
    than Him involves a great deal of fear and negative consequences. In turning 
    to Him there are all the things that one likes, security, happiness and 
    victory. So the individual flees from His will and decree to His will and 
    decree. Everyone you fear you can flee from, except Allah, may He be 
    exalted; the more you fear Him, the more you flee to Him. “Verily, I 
    (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) am a plain 
    warner to you from Him” means: a warner to you of the punishment of 
    Allah with a clear message. End quote. 

    Tayseer 
    al-Kareen al-Rahmaan, 
    p. 811 

    Secondly: 

    With regard to 
    the word Qul (“say”), it appears in many verses of the Holy Qur’aan, 
    in almost three hundred and ten verses, in various contexts and places, with 
    a variety of meanings. But that does not mean that every command that Allah 
    enjoins His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to convey to 
    the people must begin with the word “Qul”. The Qur’aan has a 
    well-known style and the Arabic language encompasses many styles of eloquent 
    expression, and this is part of the beauty and distinct quality of the 
    language. 

    With regard to 
    this word in particular, Dr. Fadl Hasan ‘Abbaas says: 

    With regard to 
    the word “Qul”, the one who ponders the verses of the Qur’aan and its 
    style will find that this word appears whenever there is a need for it, 
    which is when the style is one of prompting, whether the prompting is to 
    teach or to refute specious arguments. That may be seen in the last three 
    soorahs, and also in the following verses (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Say (O 
    Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): ‘Shall I 
    take as a Wali (Helper, Protector, Lord or God) any other than Allaah, the 
    Creator of the heavens and the earth? And it is He Who feeds but is not 
    fed.’ Say: ‘Verily, I am commanded to be the first of those who submit 
    themselves to Allaah (as Muslims).’ And be not you (O Muhammad
    صلى الله عليه وسلم) of the Mushrikoon 
    (polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah).
    

    15. Say: ‘I 
    fear, if I disobey my Lord, the torment of a Mighty Day.’

    16. Who is 
    averted from (such a torment) on that Day, (Allaah) has surely, been 
    Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success”

    [al-An‘aam 
    6:14-16]

    “Say (to 
    the disbelievers): ‘Tell me, if Allaah took away your hearing and your 
    sight, and sealed up your hearts, who is there — an Ilaah (a god) other than 
    Allaah who could restore them to you?” See how variously We explain the 
    Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), yet 
    they turn aside’”

    [al-An‘aam 
    6:46]

    “Say (O 
    Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): ‘Truly, my 
    Lord has guided me to a Straight Path, a right religion, the religion of 
    Ibraaheem (Abraham), Haneefa [i.e. the true Islamic Monotheism — to believe 
    in One God (Allaah, i.e. to worship none but Allaah, Alone)] and he was not 
    of Al-Mushrikoon.’

    162. Say (O 
    Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): ‘Verily, 
    my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allaah, 
    the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)’”

    [al-An‘aam 
    6:161-162]

    The one who 
    ponders these verses will have no doubt that their context is one of 
    prompting and teaching. End quote. 

    Qadaaya 
    Qur’aaniyyah fi’l-Mawsoo‘ah al-Breetaaniyyah (p. 57) 

    It is 
    important for us to know that reaching these eloquent meanings from these 
    verses is a matter of personal understanding; another researcher may come 
    with a different eloquent meaning alongside the first one, or one that is 
    more likely to be correct. With regard to such matters we should study the 
    style of the Qur’aan in expression and see the different contexts in which a 
    particular word was mentioned, in order to understand the role it is playing 
    in expressing the eloquent meaning and see the reason why it was mentioned. 
     

    And Allah knows best.