Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (And that He destroyed the first 'Ad)
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Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: (And that He destroyed the first 'Ad)
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Surat al-Najm: 50] They were the people of Hud.
And (the first) is a descriptive attribute, not a restrictive one,Meaning: there is no first 'Ad and a second 'Ad, but rather it is one, however it is an ancient, preceding 'Ad,For this reason He described it as the first, meaning: the ancient, preceding one, and there is no other 'Ad.
'Ad: They were the people of Hud, and Allah the Exalted had given them of strength, vigor, and severity of force what no others had,Until they said: [Surat Fussilat: 15] So Allah the Exalted said: [Surat Fussilat: 15] , these people boasted of their strength and power, so Allah the Exalted destroyed them with the gentlest of things, where He destroyed them with a violent, scorching wind, [Surat al-Haqqah: 7] which began after dawn and ended at sunset, so the days became eight and the nights seven, [Surat al-Haqqah: 7] it carried the person to the top and then threw him to the ground, so they became like the trunks of empty date palms, refuge sought in Allah, or [Surat al-Qamar: 20] .
So these people, despite their severity of force and their severity of might, that did not prevent them from the punishment of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And that He destroyed the first [people of] 'Aad
وَأَنَّهُ أَهْلَكَ عَاداً الْأُولَىAnd (the first) is a descriptive attribute, not a restrictive one,Meaning: there is no first 'Ad and a second 'Ad, but rather it is one, however it is an ancient, preceding 'Ad,For this reason He described it as the first, meaning: the ancient, preceding one, and there is no other 'Ad.
'Ad: They were the people of Hud, and Allah the Exalted had given them of strength, vigor, and severity of force what no others had,Until they said:
Who is greater than us in strength?
مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةًDid they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَكَانُوا بِآياتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَWhich Allah imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession
سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُوماًfor seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُوماً فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍtrunks of palm trees uprooted.
أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ مُنْقَعِرٍSo these people, despite their severity of force and their severity of might, that did not prevent them from the punishment of Allah Mighty and Majestic.