His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And your Lord was not to destroy the cities until He had sent in their mother a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.﴾ ﴿And whatever you have been given of anything, it is but the enjoyment of the worldly life and its adornment. And what is with Allah is better and everlasting. So will you not reason?﴾ ﴿Then is one to whom We have promised a good promise, and he will meet it, like one to whom We have given enjoyment of the worldly life, then on the Day of Resurrection he will be among those presented?﴾

If the destruction of the cities is absolute at all times, then their mother in this context is the greatest and best of them, which is like Mecca in the time of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And if Mecca is the mother of all cities also in that it is the first created of the earth, and in that it contains the House, the meaning of the verse is that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, establishes proof against His servants by the messengers. He does not punish except after a warning and after the people of the cities persist in wrongdoing and tyranny. And wrongdoing here encompasses disbelief, sins, and shortcomings in striving in the path of Allah, and in general, it is placing falsehood in the position of truth.

Then He addressed Quraysh, belittling what they were proud of, such as wealth, children, and other forms of strength that were not present with Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, nor with those who believed in him. Allah, exalted is He, informed Quraysh that this is the fleeting enjoyment of this world, and that the Hereafter and what is in it of the blessings that Allah has prepared for these believers is better and everlasting. Then He reproached them with His saying: ﴿So will you not reason?﴾ The majority read: "yā'qilūn" with a 'yā', while Abu Amr alone read: "ta'qilūn" with a 'tā' from above, which is the reading of Al-A'raj, Al-Hasan, and 'Isa.

Then He increased their rebuke with His saying: ﴿Then is one to whom We have promised...﴾ The saying: ﴿Then is one to whom We have promised...﴾ encompasses all of creation, but the people differed regarding whom it was revealed about. Mujahid said: The one promised the good is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and his opposite is Abu Jahl, may Allah curse him. Mujahid also said: It was revealed about Hamza, may Allah be pleased with him, and Abu Jahl. And Qatadah said: It was revealed about the believer and the disbeliever, just as its meaning is general.

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

And its revelation is general, clearly consistent with what preceded it of the rebuke of Quraysh.

And ﴿of those presented﴾ means: in the punishment of Allah, exalted is He, as said by Mujahid and Qatadah. And the term "muḥḍarīn" indicates being brought forth and dragged. Talhah read: "Amān wa 'adnāhu" without a conjunction. And Masruq read: "Then is one to whom We have promised a blessing from Us, and he will meet it."