And when the decree was that He prevented them from entering the sanctuary of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him, let alone reaching the city of His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, it is an inclination towards him or towards "He makes" expressed in the past tense because it is in its meaning and is clearer, and expressing it this way is more appropriate. His saying, "And He sent," indicates that it is the sending of punishment by His saying, "upon them," meaning specifically from among those who were there from the disbelievers of the Arabs. He pointed to their belittlement and degradation, that He would not punish them with something great because they magnified themselves and tyrannized against their Creator with the vile intent towards His House. So He, glorified and exalted is He, informed that He unleashed upon them what does not typically kill like it: "birds," which is a plural name that is masculine in form but feminine in meaning, and it may refer to a single one. Therefore, He said, clarifying the multitude: "flocks," meaning very many groups that follow one another from various directions, wave after wave and troop after troop, in front of each group of them is a bird leading them, red beaked, black headed, and long necked. Abu Ubaidah said: It is said: the horses came in flocks from here and there, and it is the plural of "ibalah" with a kasra and shadda, which is the large bundle - it was likened to the group of birds in their compactness. In their sayings: "a burden upon a burden," meaning a calamity upon another.