Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:24

{Then, when they saw it as a cloud...} There are two possibilities regarding the pronoun [in "saw it"]:

1. That it refers back to "what you promised us."
2. That it is indefinite, its nature clarified by His saying: {...a cloud approaching our valleys}. This is either a tamyiz (specification) or a hal (state). This interpretation is more grammatically refined and eloquent.

Al-‘arid (the cloud) is the cloud that appears on the horizon of the sky. Similar terms are al-habiyy and al-‘inan, derived from haba and ‘anna when something appears. The genitive construction of "future" and "rain-bringer" [in the variant reading] is metaphorical and unconventional, evidenced by the fact that they occur while being genitive to two definite nouns, acting as descriptions for an indefinite noun.

{...Nay, it is that which you were seeking to hasten...} There is an implied speech before this. The speaker is Hud (peace be upon him). The evidence for this is the recitation of those who read: (Hud said: "Nay, it is..."). It is also recited: (Say: "Nay, what you sought to hasten is a wind..."), meaning: God Almighty said: "Say..."

{...destroying everything...} It annihilates the souls of ‘Ad and their vast wealth; the "totality" is used to express a great multitude. It is also recited yudammir (it destroys) from dammara damaran (to perish).

{...so that nothing is seen...} The address is to the viewer, whoever they may be. It is also recited la yura (nothing is seen), in the passive voice, with both ya and ta. The interpretation of the reading with ta—which is attributed to al-Hasan (may God be pleased with him)—is: "You will not see any remains or any trace of them, except for their dwellings." From this is the verse of Dhu al-Rumma: "And nothing remained but the protruding ribs," though it is not a strong [proof]. It is also recited: (Nothing is seen except their dwellings).

It is narrated that the wind would lift a tent and a woman in a litter, raising them into the atmosphere until they appeared like locusts. It is said the first to see the torment was a woman among them who said: "I see a wind in which there are sparks like fire." It is narrated that the first sign they recognized as torment was seeing their baggage and livestock from the desert being carried by the wind between the sky and the earth. They entered their homes and locked their doors, but the wind tore the doors off and struck them down. As for the Ahqaf (sand dunes) that God brought upon them, they remained beneath them for seven nights and eight days, groaning, until the wind uncovered them, lifted them, and cast them into the sea.

It is narrated that when Hud sensed the wind, he drew a line around himself and the believers, next to a flowing spring. According to Ibn ‘Abbas (may God be pleased with them both), Hud and those with him withdrew into an enclosure; the wind did not touch them except for a breeze that was soft on the skin and pleasant to the soul. Yet, it would pass over ‘Ad, carrying their litters between the sky and earth and crushing them with stones.

It is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that when he saw the wind, he would be alarmed and say: "O God, I ask You for its good and the good of what it was sent with, and I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil of what it was sent with." When he saw a cloud formation, he would stand and sit, pace back and forth, and his color would change. It was said to him: "O Messenger of God, what do you fear?" He would say: "I fear it might be like the people of ‘Ad, when they said: 'This is a cloud bringing us rain.'"

If you ask: "What is the benefit of attributing the wind to the Lord [in the verse 'a wind in which is a painful punishment']?" I say: It is to indicate that the wind and the directing of its reins are among the things that testify to His immense power, for it is one of the wonders of His creation and one of His greatest soldiers. Mentioning the command and that it is ordered by His side (Exalted and Majestic is He) supports and strengthens this.

{And We had established them in that which We have not established you, and We gave them hearing, sight, and hearts; but their hearing, sight, and hearts availed them nothing at all, since they used to reject the signs of God, and they were enveloped by what they used to mock.}