Tafsir of Al-Haqqah 69:6

As for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a Sarsar (excessively cold and loud) wind. The clarification of this is that the verse contains both a combination and a differentiation. If it were said that these were destroyed by [their] Taghyan (transgression)—considering this a causative factor—and those by the wind—considering it an instrumental factor—there would be no Tabaq (correspondence or symmetry), since it is possible that the former were also destroyed on account of transgression. This is the meaning of what Al-Zamakhshari said in weakening the second [interpretation] due to the lack of symmetry between it and "by a wind," not that the reason is that one is a substance and the other an event; the state of the support mentioned for that is not hidden. Likewise, the first [interpretation] is preferred according to the statement of Mujahid and Ibn Zayd: that is, [they were destroyed] because of the Taghiyah (transgressive) act they committed, which was the hampering of the she-camel. According to the view that Taghiyah refers to the one who hampered the she-camel—with the Ta being for intensification, as in the expression rajulun rawiyah (a narrator of much poetry)—they were all destroyed on account of his act because of their consent to it. [This is also preferred] according to what was said regarding it being [due to] the transgressive faction. The mode of preference is known from what has been mentioned. The discussion on Sarsar has passed, so remember it; it is an adjective for the wind.

Likewise is His saying, the Exalted, 'Atiyah (fierce); that is, intense in blowing, or it "rebelled" ('atat) against ‘Ad, such that they were unable to repel it or escape from it by any stratagem, whether by taking shelter in a building, seeking refuge in a mountain, or hiding in a pit, for it would tear them from their hiding places and destroy them. The rebellion against them is a metaphor, its root meaning being the exceeding of limits, which may be relative to another or not. From this, the difference between the two aspects is known.

Ibn Jarir extracted from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib—may Allah the Exalted honor his countenance—that he said: "Not a single drop of rain ever descended except by measure, in the hands of an angel, except on the day of Nuh (Noah), for permission was granted to the water [to exceed] the reservoir, so the water overwhelmed the reservoir and burst forth; that is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: 'When the water exceeded the limits' (tagha al-ma'). And no wind ever descended except by measure, in the hands of an angel, except on the day of ‘Ad, for permission was granted to it [to exceed] the reservoir, so it burst forth; that is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: 'By a Sarsar wind, fierce' ('atiyah), meaning it rebelled against the reservoir."

In the Sahihs of Al-Bukhari and Muslim and others, there is what supports this; thus, it is a transmitted (mathur) interpretation. Al-Zamakhshari related this in Al-Kashshaf and then said: "Perhaps it is an expression for intensity and excessiveness." In Al-Kashf, he explained this as a representative metaphor (isti’arah tamthiliyyah). He then said: "If a parable becomes such that the intended meaning is understood without regard to the origin of the story, it is permissible to say that it is a metonymy (kinayah) for it, as in the case before us." He also allowed that there might be an eloquent simile involved in the "rebellion" ('utu), which is the exiting from obedience.