Allah the Exalted said: << فكذبوه فأخذتهم الرجفة فأصبحوا في دارهم جاثمين >

The rebuttal: Here it says: Even though denial is only for a report, and He said: "Worship Allah and hope for [His mercy] and do not transgress," and all three of these sentences are imperative, not declarative. The apparent implication was that it should say: "So they disobeyed Him," but here it says: "So they denied Him." The answer is that it is said that He addressed them with these commands or these two commands and the prohibition in his capacity as a Messenger from Allah, so they denied him, meaning they denied the claim of prophethood. This is more emphatic than disobedience, because they rejected his prophethood entirely; they did not acknowledge the prophethood, then say, "We will disobey you in this matter." Rather, they denied the prophethood entirely, so this is more emphatic than saying: "So they disobeyed Him." Did you understand this or not? Good. He said: And these "fa"s (the conjunction "so/then")—the "fa" in His saying: is for immediate succession, meaning this sentence immediately follows what came before it. And in His saying: it is possible that the "fa" is for immediate succession and it is possible that it is for causality. If we say it is for immediate succession, it is evidence that they were punished merely by their denial. If we say it is for causality, it does not necessarily follow that their punishment was close to their denial, because it is possible that Allah gave them respite after the denial and then took them. However, if we make it for causality, it does not contradict or prevent the punishment from being immediate. And on this basis, we say that it is more appropriate for it to be for causality, and this is more appropriate from three aspects. The first aspect is its indication of the wisdom of the punishment, which is the denial. Second, it is broader in indication than if the "fa" were for sequence, because it includes what immediately followed the sequence and what was delayed from it. Third, we are saved from the claim that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, did not give them respite, and we have no knowledge of that. So choosing that the "fa" here is for causality is more appropriate. And his saying: is more emphatic than his saying "they were struck," because "taking" is evidence that there is no truce in it and that it is destructive. And "al-rajfah" means: the severe earthquake. Is there a second verse that indicates that the shout took them? No, no.
The student: The people of Hud, and the shout and the earthquake were mentioned regarding them, but here...

The Shaykh : In Surat Hud Good, so the earthquake took them and the shout took them; there is no contradiction between them, because it is possible for them to occur together, such that the punishment was a shout, they were shouted at and heard it, and the earth shook for them, so they were punished by the sound and punished by the action, yes, by both matters together. He said: Yes.
The student: .....

The Shaykh : No, no, it does not mean that the cause is what comes after it. If it is said to be for causality, the cause may be what comes after it, or what comes after it may be the effect, meaning, because of their denial, they were taken, so the cause precedes. If we say it is for causality, it does not mean that it only enters upon the cause; it may enter upon the cause and it may enter upon the effect. He said: And the "fa" here, we say: it is a conjunction, yes, or causal; this and that are both suitable. "Jathimin" is in the accusative case as the predicate for "asbaha" (became in the morning), and his saying: And in another verse there is no contradiction, and that is because is a singular noun with a possessive, and the singular noun with a possessive... I say: "diyar" (homes) and "dar" (home) do not contradict each other, because is singular, and the singular noun with a possessive is general. We ask the brother for an example from the Qur'an that indicates that the singular noun with a possessive is general. Is anyone of you recalling one?
The student: His saying, the Exalted:

The Shaykh : His saying, the Exalted: "Ni'mah" (blessing) is singular, but certainly the intended meaning here is the plural, as evidenced by his saying:
The student:

The Shaykh : No, because the singular is counted. Good, so "dar" and "diyar" make no difference in meaning. And his saying: The author said: "Barakin 'ala al-rukab mayyitin" (Sitting on their knees, dead)—I seek refuge in Allah—this "jathim" (sitting) is due to the severity of what came upon them; they sat on their knees, then they became still and became "jathimin."