Tafsir of Hud 11:65

{فَعَقَرُوهَا} That is, they disobeyed her and violated what they were commanded to do, so they hamstrung her. "Al-'Aqr" (hamstringing) is said to be the severing of a limb that affects the soul. Al-Raghib said: "It is said, 'I hamstrung ('aqartu) the camel' when you slaughter it," and it also comes in the meaning of wounding, as in the *Qamus*. The act of hamstringing is attributed to them collectively, even though the doer was one of them—Qudar, like "Hammām" in the saying [of the poet]—and he is called "The Red One of Thamud," by whom the proverb for ill-omenedness is struck, because they were pleased with his action. It has been reported that they all shared in eating her meat.

{فَقَالَ تَمَتَّعُوا} Salih (peace be upon him) said to them, "Live,"

{فِي دَارِكُمْ} That is, in your land. Lands are called *Diyar* (abodes) because one moves about (*yudar*) in them; that is, one acts within them. One says, "The abode of Bakr" for their lands. The Arabs around Makkah say, "We are from the Arabs of the *Dar*," meaning the Arabs of the land. Al-Zamakhshari favored this view. Ibn 'Atiyyah said: "It is the plural of *Darrah*, like *Sahah* (courtyard) and *Sah* and *Suh*." From this is the saying of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt, praising 'Abdullah ibn Jud'an: "He has a caller in Makkah, energetic / And another above his *Darrah* (his abode/territory) calling out." It is possible for every dwelling place of a tribe to be called a *Dar*, and the word *Dar* is also applied to the worldly life; some have interpreted it as such here. Al-Tabarsi interpreted "enjoyment" as taking pleasure; that is, take pleasure in whatever you desire.

{ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ} Then the punishment shall seize you. It is said that when they hamstrung the she-camel, her young one climbed the mountain and let out three cries. Salih (peace be upon him) said, "For every cry, there is a term of one day." The beginning of these days, according to some narrations, was Wednesday. It is reported that he (peace be upon him) said to them: "Tomorrow, your faces will become yellow; the day after tomorrow, they will become red; and on the third day, they will become black, and the punishment will overtake you." And it was just as he said.

{ذَلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ} This is an indication of what the command to "enjoy for three days" implies—the descent of the punishment immediately following it—and the usage of the distant demonstrative [that/that] is for glorification. "Not falsified" means that it is not a promise in which one is lied to. The preposition has been omitted, and the noun governed by it has become the object [of the participle] by way of expansion (*tawassu'*), because it is not permissible for the pronoun to be in the accusative case as an adverb, and the preposition does not operate after it is omitted. They call this omission and connection (*al-hadhf wa al-isāl*), and it is frequent in their speech. It occurs with the noun, as in [the expression] "a partner," and with the verb, as in the saying: "And a day we witnessed, safe and flourishing / with few, save the thrusting of the spear, extra deeds." Or, it may be "non-falsified" (*ghayru makdhūbin*) as a metaphor, as if the one who promised said to him: "I will fulfill it for you," and if he fulfills it, he has spoken the truth, and if not, he has lied. Thus, there is a metaphorical, imaginative trope here. It is also said to be a loose metaphor (*majaz mursal*), by making "falsified" mean false or fabricated; or [it is read as] "a promise that is not a lie" (*wa'dun ghayru kadhibin*), assuming *makdhūb* is a verbal noun on the pattern of *maf'ūl*, like *majlūd* (flogging) and *ma'qūl* (reasoning), meaning *'aql* (reason) and *jald* (flogging), as that has been heard from them, though it is rare. It is not hidden that in calling this a "promise" lies an exaggeration in mockery.