And when he mentioned destruction by water and by other means, and that destruction by water occurs sometimes by the sea and sometimes by rain, and he concluded with the sinking, he mentioned the sinking that arises from rain, with stones of fire, along with being overwhelmed by water. This indicates the completeness of power and overwhelming greatness, and serves as a reminder of what they see occasionally in their travels to the holy land for their trade. He began the story with the letter that indicates great concern, coupled with the letter of certainty, indicating that they, due to their lack of benefit from the signs, are like those who deny the tangible realities. He changed the style to alert them to the great matter and to shake the listener, saying: "And certainly they came," meaning these deniers from your people. And he said: "upon the city" - even if it were seven or five cities as it has been said - to belittle its significance in comparison to His power, glorified is He, and to humiliate those who desire His punishment. This indicates the gathering of their wickedness until they were as if they were one thing, as indicated by the expression with the root "qara" which denotes gathering. "That which was rained upon" means that its rain came from one who cannot rain except Him with stones. Therefore, he said: "the rain of evil," and it refers to the towns of the people of Lot. Then it sank and was overwhelmed by that which there is nothing like it on earth in types of wickedness. Al-Baghawi said: There were five towns, and Allah destroyed four of them, and one was saved, and it was the smallest of them, and its people did not commit the wicked deed.

And when they would pass by it in their travels, and it was their right to take a lesson from their condition, so they would return from their misguidance, this resulted in their deserving severe denial in His saying: "Did they not see it?" meaning with what is in their natures of high morals. "They see it" means in their travels to the Levant to take heed of what befell its people from Allah's punishment so that they might repent.

And when the intended meaning was: rather they saw it, he refrained from it with his saying: "Rather," meaning their denial was not due to not seeing it or not knowing what befell its people, but rather because they "were" denying the resurrection as if it were their nature.

And when the return of a person to what he was in his health is beloved to him, it was appropriate for them, if they understood, to attach their hope to resurrection because there is no return to life. It is like the return of the sick, especially the severely ill, to health. Therefore, he said, expressing hope to alert them to this: "They do not hope for resurrection" after death so that they may fear Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, and dedicate themselves to Him, and He may reward them for that. Because it has settled in their souls their belief in denying the Hereafter, and they have persisted in it from generation to generation until it has become firmly established, from which reflection is of no benefit except for whom Allah wills.