And when he negated the cause of the accusation, he mentioned the barrier that necessitates submission and said: (p-528) ﴿And they denied﴾ meaning they did what they did, while he had certainly denied ﴿those before them﴾ meaning from the people of Noah and those after them who hastened to what these hastened to, because denial was in their nature due to what they had of harshness and arrogance. ﴿And they did not reach﴾ meaning these ﴿a tenth of what We had given them﴾ meaning a small tenth of what We had given those of strength in bodies, wealth, and ability [in everything] from intellects, long lives, and freedom from distractions. ﴿So they denied﴾ [meaning] because of what they were accustomed to of obstinacy, [and he singled out the pronoun as is its right and textually to indicate that the plural in what has passed is for greatness, not for gathering, to refute the stubbornness of a stubborn one, and he said]: ﴿My messengers﴾.

And when their daring against the messengers was the cause of their destruction in astonishing ways, it became a parable that remains until the Day of Resurrection. And what was spread for them of blessings did not avail them in warding off the punishments. It was appropriate to say to his audience or to his listener: ﴿So how was My denial﴾ [meaning in what was for Him of the severity that is like instinct] meaning My denial against those who denied My messengers, so that the question serves as a reminder to this questioned one and a call for him to submit out of fear that what befell them may befall him if he does like what they did. [Whether the denial was in the slightest ways as we have established it as a cause for the disruption of the means, or in the highest as We sent down upon the people of Noah, peace be upon him, and those similar to them (p-529) and poured out the punishment and the complete destruction upon what was indicated by the readings of omitting the 'ya' and affirming it].