His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Certainly, those who plotted before them have plotted, so Allah came to their building from its foundations, and the roof fell upon them from above, and punishment came to them from where they did not perceive.﴾ ﴿Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will disgrace them and say, 'Where are My partners concerning whom you used to oppose?' The ones who were given knowledge will say, 'Indeed, disgrace today and evil are upon the disbelievers.'﴾

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others among the commentators said: The reference in ﴿those who were before them﴾ is to Nimrod, who built the tower to ascend to the heavens, according to his claim. When he exceeded in his arrogance and height in the sky by two farsakhs, as narrated by Al-Naqqash, Allah sent upon him a wind that destroyed it, and its roof fell upon him and his followers. It is said that Gabriel, peace be upon him, destroyed it with his wing and cast its top into the sea, and those who had preceded him were swept away. Another group said: The intended meaning of ﴿those who were before them﴾ is all those who disbelieved among the previous nations and plotted, and punishment descended upon them from Allah, the Exalted. His saying - on this - ﴿So Allah came to their building from its foundations﴾ to the end of the verse is a representation and analogy, meaning: Their state is like the state of one who did this to them. Another group said: The intended meaning of His saying: ﴿And the roof fell upon them from above﴾ is that punishment came to them from the direction of the heavens.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This leans towards the riddle.

The meaning of His saying: ﴿from above them﴾ removes the ambiguity in His saying: ﴿And the roof fell upon them﴾, for you say: 'His building collapsed upon so-and-so' while he is not under it, just as you say: 'His belongings were ruined.' And His saying: ﴿from above them﴾ necessitates that they were under it.

And His saying: ﴿So came﴾ means: So came the command of Allah and His authority. The majority read: ﴿their building﴾, and a group read: ﴿their structure﴾, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad read: ﴿their construction﴾, and Al-Dhahak read: ﴿their houses﴾. The majority read: ﴿the roof﴾ with the qaf being silent, and a group read it with a dhamma, and this is a dialectical variation. Al-A'raj read it with a dhamma on the seen and qaf, and Mujahid read it with a dhamma on the seen and a silent qaf.

And His saying: ﴿Then, on the Day of Resurrection﴾, in this verse, Allah, the Exalted, mentioned in the previous verse the state of those plotters in this world, and He mentioned in this their state in the Hereafter. His saying: ﴿He will disgrace them﴾ is a term that encompasses all the humiliations that will befall them, and this refers to their being cast into the Fire. This is similar to His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Our Lord, indeed, whoever You admit to the Fire, You have disgraced him.﴾ [Aali 'Imran: 192]. And His saying: ﴿Where are My partners?﴾ is a rebuke to them, and He attributed them to Himself in addressing the disbelievers, meaning: According to your claim and assertion. Abu Ali said: This is as Allah, the Exalted, said in a narration: ﴿Taste, indeed, you are the Mighty, the Honorable.﴾ [Ad-Dukhan: 49], and as He, the Exalted, said: ﴿O magician, call upon your Lord for us.﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 49].

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The additions are logically and verbally arranged with the most delicate reason, and this is common in their speech, and among it is the saying of the poet:

If I say, "Lead me," he swore by Allah, "To suffice me with your vessel altogether."

So he added the vessel to his side. Al-Bazzi read from Ibn Kathir: "My partners" with the shortening of the word 'partners' and the opening of the 'ya'. The majority read with the elongation and the opening of the 'ya' after the hamzah. A group read with the elongation and a silent 'ya'.

And his saying: "You oppose" means: you fight and argue, that is, you are in one side and the truth is in another side. The majority read: "You oppose" with the opening of the 'noon'. Nafi alone read with the breaking of it, and it was narrated from Al-Husayn with a difference. Abu Hatim weakened this reading. The saying has previously been mentioned in its example in "the stone" in "You give glad tidings." A group read: "You oppose me" with the emphasis on the 'noon' and breaking it and a 'ya' after it.

And "those who were given knowledge" are the angels according to what some of the interpreters said. Yahya ibn Salam said: "They are the believers, and this address is from them on the Day of Resurrection."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the correct view is that it encompasses all whom Allah has given knowledge of that from all who are present at the standing, whether they are angels, humans, or others. And the rest of the verse is clear.