This is a warning to the people of Mecca about the bad outcome of a people who were in a similar situation to theirs, enjoying the blessings of Allah by resting in the shade of security and a comfortable life. They belittled the blessing and responded to it with arrogance and ingratitude. Allah destroyed them and ruined their homes. The phrase 'their livelihood was established' can be understood either by omitting the preposition and connecting the verb, as in His saying, 'And Musa chose his people,' or as an adverb in itself, as in your saying: 'Zaid is, in my opinion, staying.' Alternatively, it can be understood by the implied omission of the added time, its origin being: 'They were ungrateful during the days of their livelihood,' like the rising of the star and the arrival of the pilgrims. It can also mean that 'they were ungrateful' in the sense of being ungrateful and belittling. It is said that ingratitude is the inability to bear wealth, which means not preserving the rights of Allah in it except for a little from residing. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Only travelers and passersby stayed there for a day or an hour.' It is possible that the evil consequences of the sins of the destroyed remained in their homes, so anyone who resided there from their descendants remained only a little, and we were the inheritors of those abodes from their inhabitants, meaning: we left them in a state that no one could inhabit, or we destroyed them and leveled them to the ground. The traces are left behind by their owners for a while, and then decay catches up with them, so they follow. Where are the pyramids from their construction? What of their people, what of their time, what of their place of death? The traces are left behind by their owners for a while, and then decay catches up with them, so they follow. This is attributed to Abu al-Tayyib when he entered Egypt and saw the pyramids built by King Surend. It is said that they were built by Sinan ibn Mushalshal. It is also said that they were built by Idris, peace be upon him. The pyramids are the dual form of 'pyramid' - like 'cause' - and he meant by them those near Egypt. 'His time' refers to the time of his kingship, and it is possible that it refers to the day of his death, just as 'the place of death' refers to the place of dying. The questioning about this follows the questioning about his people to bring to mind the two images and the difference between the two situations. Then he said: 'The traces are left behind,' meaning: the traces of buildings, trees, and others are delayed for a long time after their owners. Then decay catches up with them and follows their owners, even if the time of their delay is long. It is also possible that the meaning is: for a little while, so the tanween indicates abundance or scarcity.