Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:17

[17:16] It is recited: (Āmarnā) from amara (to command), meaning someone else commanded them.

It is also recited: (Ammarnā), meaning "We commanded them."

It is also recited: (Ammarnā) from imārah (leadership/authority), meaning "Allah made them leaders/rulers and gave them authority."

{Kam} (How many) is the object of {ahlaknā} (We destroyed).

{Min al-qurūn} (of the generations) is an explanation and a specification for kam, just as a number is specified by its category. It means: ‘Ad, Thamud, and many generations between them.

By His saying: {And sufficient is your Lord, concerning the sins of His servants, as All-Aware and All-Seeing}, He alerts [us] that sins are the causes of destruction and nothing else, and that He is knowledgeable of them and will punish for them.

[17:18-19] {Whoever desires the immediate - We hasten for him therein what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished. But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah].}