And when He clarified by what has passed of the oath and what He followed it with, that He has placed in the heavens and the earth and what is between them, righteous causes for bringing forth what We promised of good, and what We warned of regarding evil, even if we have not seen them, and He is capable and chosen. That became as if it were witnessed, and there is no reason for denying a promise or a warning. He indicated it and depicted it by what has been witnessed of the conditions of the nations. And He began - because the context is for the doers of good - with the head of the doers of good among the people of this news, which the angels, peace be upon them, informed him of what he caused to happen with him, even if it was not according to the usual way. His wife was astonished by that, despite her being the highest of women of that time. He followed his story with the story of Lot, the son of his brother, peace be upon them, due to the connection between their stories in time, and for the relevance of their punishment to what he swore by at the beginning of the surah. For indeed, He, glorified and exalted is He, commanded the winds, and they uprooted them with their villages and carried them as clouds carry, then they cast them down and stoned them, and the earth was swallowed up with them, and the angels assigned to such matters did all that they were commanded to do. They saw them in their village and aimed at them with deceit, for their matter was hidden from them. They came to the Friend, peace be upon him, who was the highest of that time, and they were in that state, and he did not know at first anything of their condition nor did he suspect them to be anything other than human beings. He said, emphasizing the matter of the story by specifying the address to the highest of creation and the most profound in understanding, indicating that no one understands this as it should be understood except him, in the manner of inquiry according to the custom of the Arabs in informing about past matters, even if the informant knows that the addressed has no knowledge of that. For the intended purpose is only to alert that this matter is something that should be cared for and researched to know what is in it of great matters. Abu Hayyan said: It is a confirmation for the soul of the addressed to gather, as one begins with a person when you want to tell him something astonishing, and you confirm it: Did you hear that or not? So it is as if you compel him to say: No. And he seeks to hear the story. Ended.

﴿Has the story of the guests﴾ come to you, O most complete of creation? ﴿reached you?﴾ He expressed them with the singular term, indicating the unity of their words. ﴿Abraham﴾, and he is our Friend. This indicates that he did not know anything of what they brought, indicating that they are a group. ﴿the honored﴾, meaning: those who are worthy of honor, and the most honored among them is Abraham, peace be upon him, by his words and actions. So in his story there is a clear sign of what has been clarified in this surah regarding the power of Allah, the Exalted, and the truth of His promise and warning, along with what is in it of consolation for you and for those who follow you, and the good news of honoring the believer and humiliating the disbeliever. Al-Qushayri said: It is said that their number was twelve kings, and it is said that it was Gabriel, peace be upon him, and he was with him nine, and it is said that they were three.