Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:25

"Destroying everything"—that is, annihilating every thing—from among their souls and wealth, or from among what it was commanded to destroy, "by the command of its Lord." It is possible that this is a new sentence. Zayd ibn Ali read it as tudammiru (with a fatha on the ta, a sukun on the dal, and a damma on the mim). It was also read with the ya (prefix), and kullu (everything) being in the nominative case as the subject of the verb yudammiru (destroys), derived from dammara damaran, meaning "it perished." In this reading, the sentence acts as an adjective, with an elided pronoun referring back, meaning "by it" (the wind), or the pronoun belongs to rabbiha (its Lord). It is also permissible for it to be a new sentence, as in the reading of the majority. The intent of the clarification is that every existing thing has a time fixed by the command of its Creator, which neither advances nor delays. The pronoun in rabbiha belongs to "everything," as "everything" (kullu shay') carries the meaning of "all things." In the mention of the "command," the "Lord," and the genitive attribution to the "wind," there is an indication of the greatness of His status—Exalted be He—that is self-evident.

The fa in His saying, "And they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings," is fasiha (eloquent), meaning: The wind came upon them suddenly and destroyed them, so they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings. Some consider it the fa of consequence, based on the assumption of an elided statement attributed to Allah—though they claimed there was no literal speech, but rather an expression of the swiftness of their eradication and the onset of their destruction without delay.

The majority read la tura (with a ta), addressing the audience, and masakinahum (their dwellings) in the accusative case. The address is directed at everyone who is capable of seeing, as a notification that their state was such that had anyone arrived at their lands, they would have seen nothing but their dwellings—or it refers to the Master of those addressed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Abu Raja, Malik ibn Dinar (with a disagreement from them), al-Jahdari, al-A'mash, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and al-Sulami read it as la tura (with a ta from above, with a damma) and maskunuhum (their dwelling) in the nominative. The majority of grammarians maintain that the feminine verb is not permitted when separated by illa except in poetry, such as the saying of Dhu al-Rummah: "It was as if it were a sturdy camel, and nothing remained except the frame, the planks, and the tendons," and the saying of another (which Ibn Jinni also attributes to Dhu al-Rummah): "The exhaustion and the desert sands wore down what was in their ribs, and nothing remained except the prominent ribs." Some permit it absolutely; the full discussion on this is in its proper place. Isa al-Hamadani read la yura (with a damma on the ya) and maskunuhum (in the singular, nominative). This was also narrated from al-A'mash and Nasr ibn 'Asim. Another reading is la tura (with an open ta from above) and masakinahum as a singular noun in the accusative—meaning the one (dwelling) which is intended to represent the collective, or it is a verbal noun where the genitive adjunct has been elided, meaning "the traces of their habitation."

"Thus do We recompense the criminal people." That is: like that terrible recompense.

Ibn Abi al-Dunya, in his book al-Sahab, and Abu al-Shaykh, in al-'Azamah, recorded from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—that he said regarding His saying: "And when they saw it..." (the verse): The first time they realized it was a punishment was when they saw what was issuing from their tents and livestock, flying between the heaven and the earth like feathers. So they entered their houses and locked their doors. The wind came, blew open their doors, and piled sand upon them. They remained under the sand for seven nights and eight days, and one could hear their groaning. Then Allah commanded the wind, and it cleared the sand from them and cast them into the sea. This is the meaning of His saying: "And they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings."

It is narrated that the first one to perceive the punishment was a woman among them, who saw a wind containing sparks like fire. It is also narrated that Hud—peace be upon him—when he sensed the wind, drew a line around himself and the believers, next to a spring that was flowing. From Ibn Abbas: He and those with him were secluded in an enclosure, and nothing of the wind touched them except what softened the skin and brought pleasure to the soul. It would pass by the people of 'Ad, carrying them between the heaven and the earth and smashing their heads with stones. As Ibn Abi Shaybah and Ibn Jarir recorded from 'Amr ibn Maymun, it would bring the absent man (from afar). What pertains to them has already been mentioned in Surah al-A'raf, so return to it if you desire.

When they were struck by what they were struck by from the wind, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would supplicate whenever the wind blew. Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and 'Abd ibn Humayd recorded from 'A'ishah—may Allah be pleased with her—who said: "Whenever the wind would blow, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would say: 'O Allah, I ask You for its good, the good of what is in it, and the good of what it was sent with, and I seek refuge in You from its evil, the evil of what is in it, and the evil of what it was sent with.' And when the sky became cloudy, his color would change—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and he would go out and come in, and pace forward and backward. When it rained, he would be relieved. I asked him, and he—peace and blessings be upon him—said: 'I do not know, perhaps it is as the people of 'Ad said: This is a cloud that will give us rain.'"