So Allah seized them in a manner similar to what they proposed of the punishment of the shade, if they intended by the sky the clouds. If they intended the shade, then He deviated them from their proposal. It is narrated that the wind was withheld from them for seven days, and He unleashed upon them the heat of the night. It took their breath away, and neither shade nor water nor shelter was of any benefit to them. They were compelled to go out into the wilderness, and a cloud overshadowed them, in which they found coolness and a breeze. They gathered under it, and it rained fire upon them, and they were burned. It is narrated that Shu'ayb was sent to two nations: the people of Midian and the people of the Thicket. Midian was destroyed by the shout of Jibril, and the people of the Thicket by the punishment of the Day of the Shade. If you say: Why has it been repeated in this surah at the beginning of each story and at its end? I say: Each story is like a revelation in itself, and it contains lessons similar to those in others. Each one is rightly opened as its companion was opened and rightly concluded as its companion was concluded. Furthermore, in the repetition is a reinforcement of the meanings in the souls and a stabilization of them in the hearts. Do you not see that there is no way to preserve knowledge except by repeating what one intends to memorize? The more it is repeated, the easier it becomes in the heart, more firmly established in understanding, more solid for remembrance, and further from forgetfulness. These stories have struck ears that are deaf to listening to the truth and hearts that are sealed from contemplating it. They have been reinforced by admonition and reminder, and revisited by repetition and reiteration, so that perhaps this will open an ear, or awaken a mind, or refine an intellect that has long been dulled, or clarify an understanding that has been covered by the accumulation of rust.