If they turn away after what you recite to them of these proofs of His oneness and power, then warn them that a thunderbolt may strike them: that is, a severe punishment that is as if it were a thunderbolt. It is read: a thunderclap like the thunderclap of 'Aad and Thamud. It is the act of being struck down or stunned. It is said: the thunderbolt struck him down, and he fell down stunned, and it is from the same category as: I did it, so he did it. From before them and from behind them means they came at them from every side, and they exerted themselves against them and employed every trick against them, but they saw from them nothing but arrogance and turning away, as Allah the Exalted mentioned about Satan: 'I will surely come to them from before them and from behind them,' meaning I will come to them from every direction, and I will employ every trick against them. You say: I turned to so-and-so from every side, but I had no way with him. Al-Hasan said: Warn them of the events of Allah that befell the nations before them and the punishment of the Hereafter, for if they are warned of that, they have been given admonition from the perspective of the past and what has happened to the disbelievers, and from the perspective of the future and what will happen to them. It is said: it means when the messengers came to them from before them and after them. If you say: how are the messengers from before them and after them described as having come to them, and how do they address them with the saying: 'Indeed, we are disbelievers in what you have been sent with'? I say: Hud and Salih came to them calling them to believe in them and in all the messengers who came from before them, meaning from before them and those who will come from after them, meaning from after them, so all the messengers had indeed come to them. Their saying: 'Indeed, we are disbelievers in what you have been sent with' is addressed to Hud and Salih and to the other prophets who called them to believe in them. The phrase 'that you should not worship' means that it is either an interrogative, or it is a softened form of the heavy, its origin being: that you do not worship, meaning that the matter and the discussion is our saying to you: do not worship, and the object of the verb 'willed' is omitted, meaning: if our Lord had willed to send messengers, He would have sent angels. So, indeed, we are disbelievers in what you have been sent with means: since you are human and not angels, we do not believe in you and in what you have brought. Their saying: 'you have been sent with' is not an acknowledgment of the sending, but rather it is in the words of the messengers, and it contains mockery, as Pharaoh said: 'Indeed, your messenger who has been sent to you is surely insane.' It is narrated that Abu Jahl said in a gathering of Quraysh: 'The matter of Muhammad has become confused to us, so if you could find a man knowledgeable in poetry, divination, and magic, speak to him, then come to us with a clarification about his matter.' Then 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah said: 'By Allah, I have heard poetry, divination, and magic, and I know about it, and nothing is hidden from me.' So he went to him and said: 'O Muhammad, are you better or Hashim? Are you better or Abdul Muttalib? Are you better or Abdullah? Why do you insult our gods and lead us astray? If you want leadership, we will give you the banner, and you will be our leader. If you desire wealth, we will gather for you from our wealth what will suffice you. If it is marriage, we will marry you to ten women of your choice from among the daughters of Quraysh.' And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, remained silent. When he finished, he said: 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Ha... until the saying...' A thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of 'Aad and Thamud.' So 'Utbah covered his mouth and implored him by the ties of kinship, and he returned to his people and did not go out to Quraysh. When he delayed from them, they said: 'We do not see 'Utbah except that he has converted.' So they went to him and said: 'O 'Utbah, what has kept you from us except that you have converted?' He became angry and swore that he would never speak to Muhammad again. Then he said: 'By Allah, I spoke to him, and he answered me with something that is neither poetry nor divination nor magic. When I reached the thunderbolt of 'Aad and Thamud, I covered my mouth and implored him by the ties of kinship to stop, and you all know that Muhammad, when he says something, does not lie, so I feared that punishment would descend upon you.