Hūd: (82-83) And when Our Command came...

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Command" (الأمر)

There are two main views regarding the meaning of "Our Command" (أمرنا):

View 1: The Command is the opposite of Prohibition. This is supported by several points:

1. The literal meaning of the word Amr (Command) is this sense (opposite of prohibition), and using it metaphorically for other meanings leads to ambiguity.
2. The Command cannot be interpreted as the punishment itself here. This is because the verse states: "And when Our Command came, We made its high parts its low parts." This making is the punishment, indicating that the Command is the condition and the punishment is the result (the Jazā’). The condition is not the result, so this Command is distinct from the punishment. Those who hold this view maintain that the Command is the opposite of prohibition.
3. The preceding verse states: "And indeed, We sent to the people of Lot messengers" (Hūd: 70). This implies that they (the angels) were commanded by God Almighty to go to the people of Lot and deliver this punishment.

Based on this, we say: God Almighty commanded a group of angels to destroy those cities at a specific time. When that time arrived, they carried out that action. Thus, the phrase "And when Our Command came" refers to that divine decree/commissioning.

• Objection: If this is the case, it should have been said: "And when Our Command came, they made its high parts its low parts," because the action originated from those commanded.
• Response: This is not necessary according to our school of thought (Ash'arī/Māturīdī), because the action of the servant is, in reality, the action of God Almighty for us. Furthermore, what they did occurred by God's command and power. Therefore, attributing it to God Almighty is appropriate, just as it is appropriate to attribute the action to the direct agent, it is also appropriate to attribute it to the ultimate cause.

View 2: The Command refers to God's creative decree. This means the Command is what is stated in: "Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is only that We say to it, 'Be,' and it is" (An-Nahl: 40). The interpretation of this Command has already been discussed.

View 3: The Command refers to the punishment. If this is the case, it requires an implied word (iḍmār). The meaning would be: "And when the time of Our punishment came, We made its high parts its low parts."

Issue 2: Description of the Punishment

Know that God Almighty described this punishment in this verse with two types of description:

First Description: "We made its high parts its low parts" (جعلنا عاليها سافلها). It is narrated that Gabriel (عليه السلام) took one of his wings, placed it under the cities of Lot's people, uprooted them, and ascended with them until the inhabitants of the heavens heard the braying of donkeys, the barking of dogs, and the crowing of roosters. Yet, not a single jar was overturned, nor a vessel spilled for them. Then, he instantly inverted them and struck them upon the earth.

This act was an overwhelming miracle in two respects:

1. Uprooting the earth and raising it close to the sky is an act that violates customary norms.
2. Striking them down from such a great distance onto the earth, such that the surrounding villages were not affected at all, and the affliction did not reach Lot (عليه السلام) and his family despite their proximity to that location, is also an overwhelming miracle.

Second Description: "And We rained upon them stones of Sijjīl" (وأمطرنا عليها حجارة من سجيل). They differed regarding the meaning of Sijjīl in several ways:

1. It is an Arabized Persian word, originally sangkil, meaning something compounded of stone and clay, characterized by extreme hardness. Al-Azhari said that when Arabs Arabized it, it became an Arabic word, just as many letters like dībāj (brocade), dīwān (register), and istabraq (silk) were Arabized.
2. Sijjīl means like a Sijill, which is a large bucket/vat.
3. Sijjīl means intensely hard stones.
4. It comes from أسجلته (I sent it forth), meaning it was sent down upon them. It is the fa'īl form of that root.
5. From أسجلته (I gave it), implying abundance, similar to the abundance of a gift. It is also said that the names of the punished were written upon them.
6. From Sijill (the book/record), meaning it was written down in eternity—that God decreed they would be punished with them. Sijjīl is derived from Sijill (the large bucket) because it encompasses many rulings. It is also said to be derived from Musājalah (boasting/rivalry).
7. From Sijjīl, meaning from Hellfire, where the Nūn (ن) was substituted with a Lām (ل).
8. From the lowest heaven, which is called Sajīl according to Abu Zayd.
9. Sijjīl means clay, based on the verse: "stones of clay" (Adh-Dhāriyāt: 33). This is the view of 'Ikrimah and Qatādah. Al-Hasan said the original stone was clay, but it hardened over time.
10. Sijjīl is the place of the stones, referring to specific mountains, like the verse: "mountains containing hail" (An-Nūr: 43).

Know that God Almighty described these stones with attributes:

First Attribute: Being made of Sijjīl, which has already been discussed.

Second Attribute: "Piled up" or "Layered" (منضود). Al-Wāḥidī said this is the passive participle from Naḍd, which means placing one thing upon another. There are several interpretations:

1. These stones were descending one on top of the other, and this phrasing is used for exaggeration.
2. Every stone, its constituent parts were layered and stuck together.
3. God had created them in their mineral deposits, layered one upon another, preparing them for the destruction of the wrongdoers.

Know that منضود is an adjective for Sijjīl.

Third Attribute: "Marked" or "Designated" (مسومة). This adjective describes the stones. It means "marked" or "branded." We have already discussed this when interpreting "the well-bred horses (المسومة)" (Āl 'Imrān: 14). They differed on how this mark appeared:

1. Al-Ḥasan and As-Suddī said they had marks resembling seals.
2. Ibn Ṣāliḥ said he saw stones belonging to Umm Hāni’ that had red lines on them, resembling the grain of wood.
3. Ibn Jurayj said they had a mark distinct from the stones of the earth, indicating that God created them specifically for punishment.
4. Ar-Rabī‘ said that the name of the person to whom the stone was thrown was written on each stone.

Then God Almighty said: "At your Lord" (عند ربك), meaning in His treasuries, over which no one has authority except Him.

Then He said: "And they are not far from the wrongdoers" (وما هى من الظالمين ببعيد). This refers to the disbelievers of Mecca, meaning God will throw them with these stones. Anas narrated that the Messenger of God (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked Gabriel (عليه السلام) about this, and he replied: "It means the wrongdoers of your Ummah; there is no wrongdoer among them except that he is exposed to a stone falling upon him at any moment."

Another interpretation is that the pronoun in وما هى refers to the cities. Meaning, those cities where this event occurred are not far from the disbelievers of Mecca, because those cities were in Syria, which is relatively close to Mecca.

[Verse 84-87]