Allah affirms His perfect justice and fairness in His decisions, for He decided that He will not change a bounty that He has granted someone, except on account of an evil that they committed. Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَآ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

(Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves. But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, and they will find besides Him no protector.) 13:11

Commentary

The words used in the first of the verses cited above are almost the same as have appeared a verse earlier in: كَدَأْبِ آلِ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ ۙ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ ' (Their way is) like the way of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them - 52.' But, the purpose behind these two statements differs in both. The purpose in the first verse (52) was to state that the disbelief of those people became the cause of their punishment while, in the present verse (54), the purpose is to state that, according to the common law of Allah Ta` ala - when the blessings of Allah Ta` ala descend upon a people and they fail to recognize their worth and value and refuse to bow down before Him - then, His blessings are transformed into misfortunes and punishments. When the people of Pharaoh and the peoples before them failed to appreciate the blessings of Allah Ta` ala as due, blessings were taken away from them and they were seized 'by punishment instead. Apart from this difference in purpose, changes have also been introduced in words used at some places which serve to release particular hints in the text. For example, in the first verse (52), the words used were: كَفَرُ‌وا بِآيَاتِ اللَّـهِ (They disbelieved the signs of Allah) while here, the words used are: بِآيَاتِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ the signs of their Lord - 54). Thus, by mentioning the attribute: رَبّ (Rabb: Lord) instead of the name, 'Allah,' hint was given that these people were terribly unjust and insensate against truth, people who would just go ahead and start belying the signs of the very Being who was their Rabb رَبّ (sustainer, nourisher, cherisher) under whose blessings they all, from their dawn of existence to their present condition, have been brought up.