Al-Haqqah: (6) And as for 'Ad, they were destroyed...

As for al-'ātiyah (the rebellious/violent), there are several interpretations:

1. The First View: Al-Kalbi said: On that day, it rebelled against its keepers, so they could not keep count of how much of it was released, nor was anything released before or after it except in a known measure. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The water overwhelmed its keepers on the day of Noah, and the wind rebelled against its keepers on the day of 'Ad, and they had no control over it." Based on this view, it means the wind was rebellious against its keepers.
2. The Second View: 'Ata' narrated from Ibn 'Abbas: It means the wind rebelled against 'Ad, and they were unable to repel it by any stratagem, such as sheltering behind a building or leaning against a mountain, because it snatched them from their hiding places and destroyed them.
3. The Third View: This is not the rebellion ('utuww) that signifies disobedience. Rather, it means reaching the utmost limit or end of something. From this is their saying: 'atā an-nabt (the vegetation has matured/dried up), meaning it reached its limit. Allah the Exalted said: {And have I reached extreme old age?} (Maryam: 8). Thus, 'ātiyah means reaching the utmost limit in strength and severity.

7 < { He imposed it upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen down as if they were the hollow trunks of date-palms. } > 7 !

Regarding His saying, the Exalted: {He imposed it upon them for seven nights and eight days ḥusūmā}:

• Muqatil said: He made it dominate them.
• Al-Zajjaj said: He sent it down upon them.
• Others said: He sent it against them.

These are the expressions transmitted from the exegetes. My view is that there is a subtlety here. Some people claim that those winds intensified due to an astronomical conjunction of stars necessitating it. Therefore, the saying {He imposed it} (sakhkharahu) indicates a refutation of that doctrine, clarifying that this occurred only by the decree and power of Allah. If this subtle point were absent, there would be no warning or admonition regarding punishment.

And His saying: {for seven nights and eight days ḥusūmā}: The benefit here is that if Allah had not mentioned this, the duration of this punishment would not have been known. When He said: {seven nights and eight days}, the measure of this time became known. Then, because one might assume that this punishment was intermittent during this period, He removed that assumption by saying: {ḥusūmā}, meaning continuously and successively.

There are differing views on the meaning of ḥusūmā:

1. The Majority View: Ḥusūmā means successive. These days followed one another with the destructive wind without any slackening or interruption. In this view, ḥusūm is the plural of ḥāsim (cutting/decisive), like shuhūd (witnesses) and qu'ūd (sitters). The meaning of ḥasm in the language is to cut off completely, leading to annihilation. A sword is called ḥusām because it cuts the enemy off from achieving their hostile aims. Since those winds followed each other without ceasing for an hour until they destroyed them, their succession resembled the successive application of cauterization until the ailment is completely removed.
2. Second View: The winds ḥasamat (annihilated) all good and uprooted all blessings, so they were ḥusūmā. Or, they annihilated them (ḥasamūhum), leaving no one behind. In these two views, ḥusūm is the plural of ḥāsim.
3. Third View: Ḥusūm is a verbal noun (masdar), like shukūr (thankfulness) and kufūr (ingratitude). In this case, it can either be in the accusative case due to an implied verb (e.g., yaḥsimu ḥusūmā, meaning He annihilated them with complete annihilation), or it is an adjective (like saying dhāt ḥusūm, possessing annihilation), or it is the object of purpose (He imposed it upon them for annihilation).

Al-Saddi recited it as {ḥusūman} (with fatḥa on the ḥā), meaning as a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl) describing the wind: He imposed it upon them while it was annihilating.

It is also said that these are the Days of the Old Woman (Ayyām al-'Ajūz), named so because an old woman of 'Ad hid in a burrow, and the wind snatched her out on the eighth day, destroying her. Another opinion is that they are the Days of Incapacity (Ayyām al-'Ajz), which are the last days of winter.

Regarding His saying: {so you would see the people therein fallen down}: Meaning, in the places where they were struck. Others said: Meaning, during those nights and days: {fallen down} (ṣar'ā), the plural of ṣarī' (fallen/stricken). Muqatil said: Meaning, dead. They were struck by their death, meaning they were subjected to the final stroke of death.