Meccan, [except for verse 48 which is Medinan] and its verses are 50 [revealed after Al-Hamzah]. 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

He swears, glorified is He, by groups of angels whom He sent with His commands. They rushed forth in their course as the winds rush, hastening to obey His command. And by groups of them who spread their wings in the sky when they descend with revelation. Or they spread the laws on the earth. Or they revived the dead souls with disbelief and ignorance of what We revealed, distinguishing between truth and falsehood. They conveyed a reminder to the prophets as an excuse for the righteous or as a warning for the wrongdoers. Or He swore by the winds of punishment which He sent forth. They rushed, and by the winds of mercy which spread the clouds in the sky, distinguishing between them, as His saying: 'And He makes it into fragments' or by the clouds which revived the barren land, distinguishing between those who thank Allah, the Exalted, and those who disbelieve. As His saying: 'We would have given them abundant water to test them in it.' They conveyed a reminder either as an excuse for those who seek forgiveness from Allah with their repentance when they see Allah's blessing in the rain and thank Him for it, or as a warning for those who neglect to thank Allah and attribute it to the stars. They became the means of the reminder because they are the reason for its occurrence when the blessing is thanked in them or disbelieved.

If you say: What is the meaning of 'urf? I say: It means successive like the mane of a horse. [The phrase 'like the mane of a horse' in the dictionaries refers to the mane of a horse. And His saying: 'By those sent in succession' is said to be borrowed from the mane of a horse, meaning they come in succession like the mane of a horse. In it, 'ta'allabu' means they gathered.] It is said: They came in one group, and they are upon it like the mane of a hyena: when they gather upon it. It can also mean the 'urf' which is the opposite of 'nukr', and its position is as a purpose, meaning: they were sent for goodness and kindness, and the first is in the state. And it was read: 'urf' in a heavier form, like 'nukr' in 'nukr.'

If you say: I have interpreted the 'sent ones' as angels of punishment, how can their sending be known? I say: If it is not known to the disbelievers, it is known to the prophets and the believers for whom Allah took revenge upon them.

If you say: What are 'excuse' and 'warning,' and how are they positioned? I say: They are two sources from 'a'adhara' if he erased the wrongdoing, and from 'anzara' if he warned against an action, like disbelief and gratitude. It is also possible that they are plural forms of 'a'zir,' meaning excuse, and plural of 'nadhir,' meaning warning.

Or they mean the one who excuses and the one who warns. As for their positioning, it is as a substitute for 'dhikra' in the first two ways. Or as a purpose. And as for the third way, it is in the state meaning excusing or warning. And it was read: 'mukhafifin' and 'muthaqilin.'