His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And how many a town have We destroyed? Our punishment came to them by night or while they were sleeping." "So their cry, when Our punishment came to them, was nothing but that they said, 'Indeed, we were wrongdoers.'" "So We will surely question those to whom [Our messengers] were sent, and We will surely question the messengers." "So We will surely relate to them with knowledge, and We were not absent."

"And how many"; is in the position of raising as an introduction; and the news is "We destroyed them"; and it is correct that the news is in His saying - exalted is He - "So Our punishment came to them"; and "We destroyed them" is an attribute; and it is correct that it be in the position of accusative with an implied verb after it; its estimation is: "And how many towns have We destroyed?"; and the verb was estimated after it - and it is a news - likening it to an interrogative; in that it has - in every case - the beginning of the speech; and a group said: what is meant is: "And how many of the people of a town"; and the addition was omitted; and the added was placed in the place of the added; and a group said: He expressed Himself with the town because it is greater in punishment when He destroys the people and their town; and He clarified - exalted is He - at the end of the verse with His saying - glorified is He -: "Or they are"; that the people are included in the destruction; so the verse - according to this interpretation - includes the destruction of the town and all its inhabitants; and according to the first interpretation, it includes the destruction of the inhabitants.

And what is meant by the verse is the abundance; and Ibn Abi Abla read: "And how many a town have We destroyed? Our punishment came to them"; and His saying - exalted is He - "So Our punishment came to them"; its apparent meaning is that the coming is after the destruction; and that is impossible; so nothing remains except that it be adjusted from the apparent meaning of this sequence; it was said: the conjunction may come in the place of the 'and'; and it does not give a rank.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is weak:

And it was said: He expressed the intention of destruction with destruction; Makkī said in "Al-Mushkil": like His saying - exalted is He -: "So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge." (An-Nahl: 98).

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is used by those who said: the conjunction in this verse is for the sequence of the saying; and it was said: the meaning is: "We destroyed it by forsaking and lack of guidance; so Our punishment came to it after that"; and Al-Farra' - and it was narrated by Al-Tabari - said: Indeed, destruction is the coming of the punishment; and the coming of the punishment is destruction; so when they are linked, it does not matter which of them is presented in rank; and it was said: that the conjunction is only for the arrangement of the saying; so it is as if he informed about many towns that he destroyed; then he said: "So it was from its affair the coming of the punishment."

'And 'bayatan'; it is set as a source; in the position of a state; and 'qailun'; from 'al-qailah'; and it is specified for the times of rest and stillness; because the coming of the punishment in them is more dreadful and terrifying; due to the suddenness and unexpectedness in them; and 'or' in this position is as you say: 'The people regarding so-and-so are of two types; one who praises or one who blames'; so it is as if he said: 'Our punishment came to them in two groups; at night or during the day'; and this is what is called 'al-laf'; and it is a generality in the wording that the mind of the addressee distinguishes without difficulty; and 'al-baas': is the punishment; and it is said: the intended meaning is 'or they are saying'; so the conjunction was disliked; and the 'wa' was omitted; and this is a contrivance; because the meaning of the 'laf' remains.

And His saying, the Exalted, 'So what was their calling?'; the verse; it has been clarified in this verse the utmost clarity that the intended meaning in the verse before it is the people of the villages; and 'da'wah' in the speech of the Arabs has two meanings: one of them is the call; Al-Khalil said: you say: 'O Allah, include us in the good call of the Muslims'; and from it is His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: 'So their calling did not cease' [Al-Anbiya: 15]; and from it is the saying of the poet:

'And if my foot slips, I call upon you for healing ∗∗∗ with your call from humiliation, and it becomes easy.'

And the second is the claim; and Al-Tabari said: it is in this position meaning: 'the call'.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: it is also directed that it could mean 'the claim'; because whoever has encountered something unpleasant or has been afflicted by an incident; it is in their nature to call; as the interpreters have gone to regarding the actions of those mentioned in this verse; and it is also in their nature to claim excuses; and things that improve their situation; and establish their argument in their claim; so it is directed that these are in the state of one who claims excuses; and the like; so Allah, the Exalted, informed about them that they did not have a calling; then He excluded from the first; as if He said: 'There was no call - or claim - except acknowledgment and confession'; meaning: this was in place of the call; or the claim.

And the verse may imply: 'So what did their calling lead to which was in the state of their disbelief except acknowledgment'; and similar to the verse is the saying of the poet:

'And Qais has witnessed, so what was her victory ∗∗∗ except that it bit her with the thumbs.'

And their acknowledgment and their saying: 'Indeed, we were wrongdoers'; is in the period between the appearance of the punishment; until it comes upon themselves; and in that is a respite; according to the type of punishment; which is sufficient for this statement; and others; and Ibn Mas'ud narrated from the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - that he said: 'A people do not perish until they excuse themselves'; and Abd al-Malik ibn Maysarah interpreted this hadith with this verse; and 'their calling' is the news of 'kan'; and its subject is 'except that they said'; and it is said in the opposite.

And His saying, the Exalted, 'So We will surely ask those to whom messengers were sent'; the verse; it is a warning from Allah - glorified and exalted is He - to all of the worlds; He informed that He will ask the nations altogether about what was conveyed to them from Him; and about all of their deeds; and He will ask the prophets - peace be upon them - about what they conveyed.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The question has been negated in verses; and that is the question of true inquiry; and it has been affirmed in verses like this verse; and this is the question of confirmation; for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has encompassed knowledge of all that before the question. As for the prophets - peace be upon them - and the believers; their response will be followed by mercy and honor; and as for the disbelievers; and those upon whom the warning has been executed from the sinners; their response will be followed by punishment and reproach; so whoever among them denies, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, narrates to him with knowledge; and Ibn Mas'ud recited: "So We will surely ask those to whom We sent Our messengers before you, and We will surely ask the messengers."

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "So We will surely relate"; means: "So We will surely recount to them their deeds; story by story"; and "with knowledge"; means: with truth and certainty; Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - said: The book will be placed on the Day of Resurrection; and it will speak of what they used to do.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: It seems that the speech here is metaphorical; since everything in it is constrained.

"And We were not absent"; means: "We were not among those who do not know all their actions"; like one who is absent from something; who does not know its condition.