Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:38

"And 'Ad and Thamud and the companions of the Rass..."

• 'Ad is conjoined to the pronoun "them" in ja'alnahum (We made them), or to "the wrongdoers," as the meaning is: "And We promised the wrongdoers."
• Thamud is read in the genitive case (Thamudin) based on the interpretation of it being a tribe. As for the declinable reading (Thamudan), it is based on the interpretation of it being a clan, or because it is the name of the great forefather.

Regarding the "Companions of the Rass":

• It is said: They were idolaters who possessed wells and livestock. God sent Shu'ayb to them, but they persisted in their tyranny and in harming him. While they were gathered around the Rass—which is an unlined well—it collapsed upon them, causing them and their dwellings to be swallowed by the earth (as narrated by Abu 'Ubaydah).
• It is said: The Rass is a village in Falaj al-Yamamah; they killed their prophet and perished, and they were the remnants of the people of Salih (Thamud).
• It is said: They were the companions of the Prophet Hanzalah ibn Safwan. They were afflicted by the 'Anqa'—the largest of birds, named for the length of its neck. It lived on their mountain, Fath, and would swoop down to snatch their children when prey was scarce. Hanzalah prayed against it, and it was struck by lightning. Later, they killed Hanzalah, and were subsequently destroyed.
• It is said: They are the companions of the Trench (al-Ukhdud), and the Rass is the trench itself.
• It is said: The Rass is in Antioch, where they killed Habib al-Najjar.
• It is said: They belied their prophet and rassuhu (buried/pushed him) into a well—meaning they shoved him into it.

"Between that..."

• Meaning: Between those things mentioned. A speaker may mention various things and then refer to them as "that." Similarly, one may calculate numerous figures and then say, "That is such and such," meaning: "That which was calculated or counted."

"We set forth for him the examples..."

• We clarified for him the wondrous stories of the ancients, and we described to them what they were led to by their rejection of the prophets, and what befell them of God’s punishment and destruction (tatbir).
• Tatbir means breaking into pieces or shattering. From this comes tibr (gold dust/filings), which refers to the fragments of gold, silver, or glass.

"And each..."

• The first "each" (kullan) is in the accusative case, governed by what is implied in "We set forth for him the examples," which is: "We warned them" or "We cautioned them."
• The second "each" is governed by "We destroyed" (tabbarna), as that verb is transitive and requires an object.

"And they have already come upon the town which was rained upon with a rain of evil. So have they not been seeing it? But they were not expecting resurrection."