His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And We left in it a sign for those who fear the painful punishment" and "And in Moses when We sent him to Pharaoh with a clear authority" and "So he turned away with his might and said, 'A magician or a madman'" and "So We seized him and his soldiers, and We threw them into the sea, and he was blameworthy" and "And in 'Aad when We sent upon them the barren wind" and "It left nothing that it came upon except it made it like decayed matter" and "And in Thamud when it was said to them, 'Enjoy yourselves for a time'" and "But they transgressed the command of their Lord, so the thunderbolt seized them while they were looking on." The meaning: And We left in the mentioned village - which is Sodom - a remnant of the punishment that remains, a record that does not fade from mention. So it is a sign - that is, a marker - of the power of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, and His vengeance upon the disbelievers. It is possible that the meaning is: We left in its matter, as He said: "Indeed, there were in Joseph and his brothers signs for those who ask" [Yusuf: 7]. And Ibn Jurayj said: He left in it a very great pile of stones. And "those who fear the punishment" are those who know Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And in Moses" may be an addition to His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "in it," that is, We left in Moses and his story a sign as well, and it may be an addition to His previous saying: "And in the earth are signs for the certain" [Adh-Dhariyat: 20]. And Pharaoh is the master of Egypt, and "the authority" in this verse means the proof. And "turned away" means he turned aside and turned away from the command of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And "his might" refers to his authority, his soldiers, and the strength of his matter, which is the matter that Pharaoh relies upon and supports himself in his difficulties. And Ibn Zayd said: "his might" means his multitude. And Qatadah said: "his people." And Pharaoh's saying about Moses, blessings and peace be upon him: "A magician or a madman" is a division of his suspicion that Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, must be one of these two. And Abu Ubaidah said: "or" here means "and," and he cited the verse of Jarir: "Did you not see the horsemen or the winds that you equated with them?" And the winds refer to the houses among Banu Tamim. And the saying of Abu Ubaidah is weak and unnecessary in this context. And "We threw them" means We cast them, and "the sea" refers to the ocean. And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is written: "So We threw him." And "the blameworthy" refers to one who has committed sins and similar things for which he is blamed. And Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt said: "And whoever forsakes his brother has indeed been blameworthy."

(p-78) And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "And in 'Aad" is connected to His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "And in Musa." 'Aad is the tribe of Hud, the prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And "the barren" means: that which has no blessing in it, it does not pollinate trees nor bring rain. And Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib said: It was the southern wind. And it was narrated from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that it was a destructive wind. And this, in my view, is not authentic from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, because it contradicts the words of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "I was aided by the south wind, and 'Aad was destroyed by the north wind." And "it leaves" means: it lets go. And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "Of anything it came upon" means of what Allah, exalted and mighty is He, permitted it in its destruction. And "the decayed" refers to the perished, disintegrated, dry remnants of trees, leaves, ropes, or bones. From this is His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "He said, Who will revive the bones while they are decayed?" [Yasin: 78], meaning in the state of ash. And a hadith was narrated: "Indeed, that wind was blowing upon the people among them the 'Aad and others, and it would seize the 'Aad from among the people and take it away."

And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "And in Thamud when it was said to them, Enjoy yourselves for a time" may imply: It was said to them at the beginning of the mission of Salih, peace be upon him: Believe and obey, so enjoy a good provision until your appointed time. And this "time" is in this context, and it is the saying of Al-Hasan as narrated from Al-Rummani. And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "So they were arrogant" is arranged in wording in the verse and in meaning, it comes after the saying to them "Enjoy yourselves." And it may be intended: when it was said to them after the slaughter of the she-camel: "Enjoy yourselves in your abode for three days" [Hud: 65], and this is the "time" in this interpretation, and it is the saying of Al-Farra. And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "So they were arrogant" is not arranged in meaning in its existence, because their arrogance was before they were told: "Enjoy yourselves." And it seems that the meaning is: So it was from their affair before this statement that they were arrogant, and this was the reason for them being told that and being punished. And the majority of the readers recited: "the thunderbolt," and Al-Kisai recited, which is the recitation of Umar and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them: "the stunning blow," (p-79) and it is - in both recitations - the great sound. And from this, it is said for a severe occurrence from thunder: a thunderbolt, which is that which comes with fire, which is narrated in the hadith that it is from the club that is in the hand of a king who drives the clouds. And His saying, exalted and mighty is He: "And they were looking on" may imply: suddenly while they were seeing with their eyes their state. And this is the saying of Al-Tabari. And it may imply: while they were looking at that in those three days that they were informed of it and saw its signs in their changing colors. And this is the saying of Mujahid according to the progression of his interpretation, and their waiting for the punishment is more severe than the punishment.