His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And Pharaoh came, and those before him, and the overturned cities with sin." "So they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, so He seized them with a violent seizing." "Indeed, when the water overflowed, We carried you in the ship." "So that We may make it a reminder for you, and that a conscious ear may retain it." "And when the horn is blown, a single blowing." "And the earth and the mountains will be lifted, and they will be crushed with a single crushing." "So on that Day, the Event will occur." "And the heaven will split open, and on that Day it will be weak." "And the angel will be on its sides, and he will carry the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day, eight [angels]." Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Asim, Ibn Amir, Hamzah, Abu Ja'far, Shaiba, Abu Abd al-Rahman, and the people read: "And those before him" with the opening of the qaf and the sukoon of the baa, meaning the disbelieving nations that were before him. This is supported by the mention of them after the story of Noah in the flood of water; for his saying: "those before him" includes them, so it is appropriate to omit their matter after that without explicit mention. Abu Amr, Al-Kisai, and Asim in the narration of Aban, and Al-Hasan in contradiction to him, and Abu Rija' and Al-Jahdari and Talhah read: "And those before him" with the kasra of the qaf and the opening of the baa, meaning: his armies and the people of his obedience. This is supported by the fact that in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is: "And Pharaoh came, and those with him," and in the readings of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari: "and those in front of him," and Talhah ibn Musarif read: "and those around him." And "in front of a person" means what is near him in place, and its usage has become so common that it is equivalent to: with me, in my debt, and whatever is near me in any way. And "the overturned cities" refers to the towns of the people of Lot, peace be upon him, and it was said to be four according to what has been narrated. And "overturned" means turned upside down, and its high parts became its low parts, so it is called "overturned." Al-Hasan read here: "the overturned" in the singular form. And "with sin" may be an adjective for something omitted, as if it was said: with the sinful action, or it may refer to the source, meaning: with the sin in their disbelief and disobedience. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord" may imply that "the messenger" is a generic name, as if it was said: those nations and groups disobeyed the prophets of Allah, exalted is He, whom He sent to them. And it may imply that "the messenger" means the message itself. Al-Kalbi said: it means Moses, peace be upon him. Others said - in the book of Al-Thalabi -: it means Lot, peace be upon him. And "the violent seizing" refers to the seizing that has grown very large, and from it is "riba" (usury), and from it is "it shook and grew." Then He enumerated His favor upon the people in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, when the water overflowed," and the intended meaning is: the water overflowed at the time of the flood that was upon the people of Noah, peace be upon him. And "overflowing" means exceeding the known limits in things, and its meaning is: it overflowed upon its containers in its emergence, and upon the humans in that they were drowned. Qatadah said: it rose above everything by fifteen cubits, and "the ship" refers to the vessel.

The pronoun in His saying, "Let us make it," refers back to the action, meaning: whoever remembers it is deterred. It is possible that it refers to "the ship," meaning: whoever hears it takes heed. "The ship" refers to the ship of Noah, peace be upon him, as stated by Mundhir. Al-Mahdawi said: the meaning is in the sailing ships. Qatadah said: Allah, glorified and exalted is He, preserved that ship until some of its ribs saw the early ones of this nation, and other ships that were made after it have turned to ashes.

And His saying, "And an ear that hears it," is an expression about the understanding man whose heart is enlightened, who hears the words and receives them with understanding and contemplation. Abu Imran al-Jawni said: "Hearing" means that it comprehended from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him: "I prayed to Allah to make it your ear, O Ali." Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "After that, I did not hear anything and I forgot it."

The majority read: "And an ear that hears it" with a kasra on the 'ayn, in the form of "taliha." Ibn Kathir - in the narration of al-Halwani - and Qanbal, and Ibn Musarif read: "And an ear that hears it" with a sukoon on the 'ayn, making the 'taa' which is a sign in the present tense equivalent to the 'kaf' in "katif"; since the present tense letter does not leave the verb and becomes silent for ease, as it is said: "katf" and similar to this is the saying of the poet:

Sulaima said: "Buy us some flour."

Although this verse is separate, it is more distant, but the necessity of poetry allows for it.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned the matter of the Resurrection, and "the trumpet" is the horn in which He blows. Sulayman ibn Arqam said: I have been informed that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about the trumpet and he said: "It is a horn of light, and it is wider than the heavens." The blowing referred to in this verse is the blowing of the Resurrection which is for the terror, and with it will be the swoon, then the blowing of the resurrection. It is said: there are three blowings: the blowing of terror, the blowing of swoon, then the blowing of resurrection. The reference in our verses to this blowing of terror is because the carrying of the mountains is its distance. The majority of the reciters read: "a blowing" in the nominative, when it was described, its nominative is correct. Abu al-Samal read it in the accusative.

The majority of the reciters read: "And it carried" with a light 'mim', meaning: the winds and power carried it. Ibn Amer, in what was narrated from him, read: "And it carried" with a heavy 'mim', and this can have two meanings: one of them is that it is a carrier that carried a power for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and a force and strength that shatters it, so it is a carrying carrier. The other is that it is a carried one that was carried by angels or power.

And His saying, "So they were crushed in one crushing." He said: "So they were crushed" and he mentioned a plural, and this is permissible because what is mentioned are two groups. This is as the poet said:

Did it not sadden you that the ropes of my people and your people have become distinct in severance?

And from it is His saying, "They were two sewn together," and "they were crushed" means: other than both of them, as it is said: "a she-camel that is crushed" if it weakens and its hump becomes level with its back.

'The Event' is the Day of Resurrection and the Great Catastrophe. Some people said it refers to the Rock of Al-Aqsa. This is weak. 'The splitting of the sky' is its tearing and the distinction of some parts from others. This is the weakness that befalls it, as it is said about old cracked walls: they are weak. 'The angel' is a generic name referring to the angels. The majority of the interpreters said that the pronoun in 'its corners' refers back to the sky, meaning the angels on its sides and what is encompassed by it. 'Al-Raja' refers to the side of a wall, a well, and similar things. From this is the saying of the poet: 'As if you have not seen before me a captive bound, nor a man thrown into the depths.' This means he encounters a well and finds nothing to hold onto. Al-Dahhak and Ibn Jubair also said that the pronoun in 'its corners' refers back to the earth, even though there has not been a close mention of it, because the story and the wording necessitate understanding this. This verse is explained by what has been narrated that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commands the angels of the lower sky to stand in rows at the edges of the earth. Then He commands the angels of the second sky to line up behind them, and so on with the angels of every sky. Whenever one of the jinn or humans appears, he finds the earth surrounded. They said: This is the interpretation of this verse, and it is also the meaning of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And your Lord comes and the angels in rows' [Al-Fajr: 22]. It is also the interpretation of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'On the Day of Calling, the Day you will turn your backs' regarding the reading of whoever strengthens the letter 'dāl'. It is the interpretation of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'O assembly of jinn and humans, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass beyond' [Ar-Rahman: 33]. People have differed regarding the eight bearers of the Throne. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: They are eight rows of angels, and no one knows their number. Ibn Zayd said: They are eight angels in the form of bulls. A group of interpreters said: They are in the form of humans, their legs beneath the lowest earth and their heads and shoulders above the sky. It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'Today they are four, and when the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah will strengthen them with four others.' The pronoun in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Above them' is said to refer to the angels who bear the Throne, and it is said to refer to the entire creation. Every power, however it is conceived, is indeed by the might and strength of Allah.