Yā-Sīn (36): Verse 28

This indicates their swift destruction in the easiest manner, as it did not require sending an army to annihilate them. There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: Divine Address (Self vs. Passive Voice)

Here, it is stated: {And We did not send down} (وما أنزلنا), attributing the action to the Self (God). However, concerning the believer's state, it says: {It was said, "Enter Paradise"} (قيل ادخل الجنة) (Yā-Sīn: 26), attributing the saying to an unspecified source (passive voice).

The explanation: Punishment belongs to the realm of awe and majesty, so the active voice referring to the Self (تعظيم - glorification) is used. As for {Enter Paradise}, the passive voice ({It was said}) is used so that the believer is congratulated by the angels. Every angel and righteous person who sees him will say, "Enter Paradise, remaining therein eternally."

Frequently in the Qur'an, the phrase {And it was said, "Enter"} (وقيل أدخلوا) is used, indicating that entering is an entry of honor, similar to how a groom enters a decorated house while everyone congratulates him.

Issue 2: Attribution of "His People" (قومه)

Why is the destruction attributed to "his people" (قومه) when the Messenger is more deserving of having all people as his qawm (since he was sent to all creation)?

The answer has two aspects:

1. To highlight the difference between two individuals from the same tribe: one was honored to the utmost degree due to faith, and the other was humiliated to the utmost degree due to disbelief. This occurred within the context of their kinship.
2. The punishment was specifically targeted at his relatives because others among the people of the Messengers had believed in them and were thus spared the affliction.

Issue 3: Specificity of "After Him" (من بعده)

The verse specifies that the sending down did not occur after him. Yet, God had not sent down an army upon them before his arrival either. What is the purpose of this specification?

The answer: Their deservingness of punishment was established after the Messenger's arrival, due to their persistence and arrogance. Thus, the description of the destruction clarifies that it did not come via an army.

Issue 4: Specification of "From the Heaven" (من السماء)

It states: {from the heaven}. God did not send down an army upon them from the earth either. What is the purpose of this restriction?

The answer has two aspects:

1. It could mean that God did not send down an army by command from heaven, thus implying generality (i.e., no army was sent by any means).
2. The punishment itself descended upon them from heaven. This clarifies that what descended was not an army of beings, but rather a sound/cry that extinguished their fire and ruined their dwellings.

Issue 5: The Phrase {Nor Did We Need to Send} (وما كنا منزلين)

What is the benefit of this phrase when {And We did not send down} (وما أنزلنا) already implies that they were not among those sent down?

The answer: {And We did not} (وما أنزلنا) means We did not send down because the matter was accomplished without it. We did not send down, nor were We in need of sending down.

Alternatively, {And We did not send down and We were not [ones who would] send down} (وما أنزلنا * وما كنا منزلين) means that in the context of that specific incident, We did not send down an army, though God has sent down armies in other instances (e.g., at Badr, where He said: {And He sent down soldiers whom you did not see} [At-Tawbah: 26]).

If one asks: How can this be reconciled with the sending down of armies in other events? The answer: Those other instances were to glorify the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Otherwise, moving a single feather from an angel's wing would have been sufficient to annihilate them, and the Messengers of Jesus (peace be upon him) were not on the same level as Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Verse 29