It was said that 'Aad is the son of 'Awz, son of Iram, son of Sam, son of Noah. This is similar to how the descendants of Hashim are referred to as Hashim. Then the first ones among them were called 'Aad the First and Iram, naming them after their ancestor, while those after them were called 'Aad the Last. Ibn al-Ruqayyat said:

"A glorious legacy built by the first of them... he reached 'Aad and before it Iram." [This is by Ibn al-Ruqayyat, describing a man as having a glorious legacy, meaning: ancient. He likens him to a fortress built on the path of kinship, and built it in imagination, meaning he established and renewed it. The first of them, meaning: his forefathers, reached this glory from the ancestors of the praised, 'Aad and Iram before him, meaning: before 'Aad, for he is 'Aad, son of 'Awz, son of Iram, son of Sam, son of Noah. Thus, the descendants of 'Aad are 'Aad the First, and after them: 'Aad the Second.]

So, Iram in the saying بِعادٍ إِرَمَ is an apposition to 'Aad, indicating that they are the ancient 'Aad the First. It was said that Iram is their town and land in which they were, and this is supported by the reading of Ibn al-Zubayr: bi 'Aad Iram, in the genitive. Its meaning is: by the people of Iram, similar to the saying وَسْئَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ, which does not decline whether it is a tribe or land due to the definite article and femininity.

Al-Hasan read: bi 'Aad Aram, with both letters open. It was also read: bi 'Aad Iram, with the ra' being silent for ease, as it was read: bi 'Awraqikum. And it was recited: bi 'Aad Iram, the one of the pillars, by adding Iram to the one of the pillars, and Iram means the sign, meaning: by the people of the signs of the one of the pillars. And the one of the pillars is the name of the city. It was also read: bi 'Aad Iram, the one of the pillars, meaning Allah made the one of the pillars a ruin instead of the act of your Lord. If the one of the pillars is an attribute of the tribe, the meaning is that they were Bedouins, people of pillars, or tall in stature, likening their bodies to pillars. Hence, they say: a tall man and pillars: if he is tall. It was said: the one of the high construction, and if it is an attribute of the town, the meaning is that it has columns.

It was narrated that 'Aad had two sons: Shaddad and Shadid, and they ruled and conquered. Then Shadid died, and the matter was settled for Shaddad, so he ruled the world and its kings submitted to him. He heard of the mention of Paradise and said:

He built something like it, so he built Iram in some deserts of Aden in three hundred years. His age was nine hundred years. It is a great city, its palaces are made of gold and silver, and its pillars are made of emerald and ruby. In it are various types of trees and flowing rivers. When its construction was completed, he set out to it with the people of his kingdom. When he was a day and a night away from it, Allah sent upon them a cry from the sky, and they perished. And from Abdullah ibn Qalabah: he went out in search of camels of his that had strayed, and he found them. He carried what he could from them, and news of him reached Muawiyah, so he summoned him. He narrated to him, and he sent to Ka'b and asked him. He said: It is Iram, the city of the pillars. [This was narrated by Al-Thalabi through the route of Uthman Al-Darimi from Abdullah ibn Abi Salih from Abu Lahi'a from Khalid ibn Abi Imran from Wahb ibn Munabbih from Abdullah ibn Qalabah, who went out in search of his camels that had strayed, and he mentioned it at length. I say: The signs of fabrication are apparent upon it.] And a man from the Muslims will enter it in your time, red-haired, fair-skinned, short, with a mole on his eyebrow and a mole on his heel. He will go out in search of camels of his. Then he turned and saw Ibn Qalabah and said: By Allah, this is that man. There has not been created its like, like 'Aad in the land, great in stature and strength. The height of one of them was four hundred cubits. He would come to the great rock and carry it and throw it upon the tribe, and they would perish. Has not a city like Shaddad been created in all the lands of the world? Ibn Al-Zubair read: 'There has not been created its like,' meaning: Allah has not created its like. They carved the rock, cutting through the rocks of the mountains and made houses in them, as His saying: 'And you carve out of the mountains houses.' It is said: The first to carve the mountains, rocks, and marble were Thamud, and they built one thousand seven hundred cities, all made of stone. It was said to him: The Lord of the stakes, due to the multitude of his soldiers and the tents they would set up when they descended, or due to his torment with the stakes, as he did with the hairdresser of his daughter and with Asiya, those who transgressed. It is better for it to be in the accusative case as a form of blame. It may also be in the nominative case as: They are the ones who transgressed. Or in the genitive case as a description of those mentioned: 'Aad, Thamud, and Pharaoh. It is said: The whip was struck upon him, and he was covered and subdued. The mention of the whip indicates that what He inflicted upon them in this world of great punishment, in comparison to what He has prepared for them in the Hereafter, is like the whip when compared to other forms of punishment. And from Umar ibn Ubaid: Al-Hasan used to say when he came across this verse: Indeed, there are many whips with Allah, and He struck them with one of them. Al-Marsad: the place where the watch is arranged, 'Maf'al' from 'Rasada,' like 'Al-Miqat' from 'Waqt.' This is an example of His watching over the sinners with punishment and that they will not escape Him. And from some Arabs, it was said to him: Where is your Lord? He said: At Al-Marsad. And from Amr ibn Ubaid, may Allah have mercy on him, he recited this surah in front of some tyrants until he reached this verse and said: Indeed, your Lord is at Al-Marsad, O so-and-so. He hinted to him in this call that he is among those who have been threatened with that from the tyrants. So may Allah bless him, what a lion of insight he was between his two garments, crushing the tyrants with his denial, and silencing the people of desires and innovations with his arguments.