Tafsir of Ya seen 36:29

Surah Ya-Sin (36): Verse 29

{إِن كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُونَ} (It was but a single Blast, and behold, they became extinguished.)

Allah, the Exalted, then clarified what the matter was by His saying: {إِن كَانَتْ} (It was but).

The event (الواقعة) was nothing but: {إِلَّا صَيْحَةً} (but a single Blast).

Al-Zamakhshari said: The original structure was In kāna shay’un illā ṣayḥatan (There was nothing but a Blast), and it should have mentioned a masculine noun. However, Allah made the predicate feminine (صيحة) because of what follows it, which is the ṣayḥah (Blast) itself.

And His saying, the Exalted: {وَاحِدَةً} (a single one) is an emphasis confirming that the matter was easy for Allah.

And His saying, the Exalted: {فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُونَ} (and behold, they became extinguished) indicates the swiftness of their destruction. Their extinction occurred immediately from the Blast and at the very moment of it; there was no delay.

Describing them as khāmidūn (extinguished/quenched) is exquisitely apt. This is because living beings possess intense heat (vitality). The more abundant the heat, the more complete are the wrathful and lustful powers. They were indeed like this:

1. Regarding Wrath: They killed a believer who was advising them.
2. Regarding Lust: They endured eternal punishment because they fully indulged in immediate pleasures.

Thus, they were like an ignited fire. Furthermore, they were tyrants, arrogant, like fire, and created from it (as implied by the nature of their arrogance). Therefore, He said: {فَإِذَا هُمْ خَامِدُونَ}.

There is another perspective: Some of the four elements exit the nature in which Allah created them and transform into another element by Allah's will. Stones become water, and water becomes stone. Similarly, water becomes air upon boiling and heating, and air becomes water due to cold. However, this usually happens over time. But air becomes fire, and fire becomes air through ignition and extinction in the quickest possible time. Therefore, He described them as khāmidūn (extinguished) because the extinction of fire happens as quickly as extinguishing a lamp or a flame.

Surah Ya-Sin (36): Verse 30

{يَا حَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ} (Oh, what a regret for the servants! No messenger came to them except that they used to mock him.)