Tafsir of Hud 11:60

{ وَأُتْبِعُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا لَعْنَةً } Meaning: They were distanced from mercy and from every good. The curse was made inseparable from them, and it was expressed as "following" (*al-itba’*) for the sake of hyperbole, as if it never parts from them wherever they go, circling with them wherever they turn. Or, it is expressed this way due to its occurrence in the company of their followers. It has been said that the speech is a metaphorical representation, making the curse like a person following another to push them into a pit before them. The plural pronoun refers to 'Ad generally, as is the manifest meaning. It is also permitted that it refers to those who followed the tyrants among them. What is the state of a people who have the tyrants of the Fire before them and the curse and destruction behind them? From the cursing of these, the cursing of those who were followed—according to what is said—is understood *a fortiori*.

{ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ } Meaning: They were also followed on the Day of Resurrection by a curse, which is the eternal torment of the Fire. This was omitted (the second mention of the word 'curse') because the first occurrence signifies it, and to signal that each of the two curses is a distinct category, not joined in a single coupling. Thus, it was not said: "And they were followed in this world and the Day of Resurrection by a curse." The parallel for this is the saying of the Almighty: "And ordain for us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter." The term "Day of Resurrection" was used here instead of "the Hereafter" to convey the sense of horror demanded by the context.

{ أَلَا إِنَّ عَادًا كَفَرُوا رَبَّهُمْ } Meaning: They disbelieved in their Lord, or they disbelieved His favor and did not show gratitude for it through faith, or they denied Him.

{ أَلَا بُعْدًا لِعَادٍ } This is an invocation against them for destruction, even though they were already destined for destruction. It serves as an affirmation of their worthiness and desert for it. It is said in an invocation for longevity and worthiness of it: "May so-and-so not be distanced (*la yab’ad*)." This is frequent in the speech of the Arabs, such as the verse: "May my people not be distanced, they who are the poison for the enemies and the bane of the slaughterers." It is also permitted that it is an invocation for the curse; according to *al-Qamus*, *al-bu’d* and *al-bi’ad* mean the curse, and the 'lam' is for specification, as in their saying: "A watering (*suqya*) for you." Others say it is for worthiness, but that is weak. The repetition of the particle of attention (*ala*) and the reiteration of the name 'Ad are for the sake of extreme magnification of their abominable state and to urge reflection upon their story.

{ قَوْمِ هُودٍ } This is an explanatory apposition (*‘atf bayan*) to 'Ad. Its benefit is to signal that 'Ad were two groups: the first 'Ad and the second 'Ad, which is 'Ad of Iram according to one view. Al-Zamakhshari mentioned in *al-Fajr* that the descendants of 'Ad ibn ‘Aws ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh were called 'Ad, just as the descendants of Hashim are called "Hashim." Then it was said of the first of them: "the first 'Ad" and "Iram" (naming them after their forefather), and for those who came after them: "the last 'Ad." He cited the poet Ibn al-Ruqayyat: "An ancient glory built by its first, he overtook 'Ad and before it, Iram." This is perhaps most consistent with the narration, while signaling that their worthiness of being distanced was because of what transpired between them and Hud, peace be upon him; for they were his people. This is not to remove ambiguity, for there is no ambiguity that this 'Ad is none other than the people of Hud, peace be upon him, due to the explicit mention of his name and its repetition in the story. It is also said it was mentioned to provide further emphasis by specifying them, alongside the correspondence of the verse endings.