{And My warnings}
My warning to them of the punishment before it descended, or the warning that came regarding their torment for those who would come after them.
{On a day of misfortune}
On a day of ill omen. It is also recited as *nuḥusin* (a day of misfortune), as in His saying: "in days of misfortune" (Fussilat: 16).
{Continuous}
It continued upon them and persisted until it destroyed them. Or, it persisted upon all of them—the old and the young—until not a soul remained among them. It occurred on a Wednesday at the end of the month, which does not recur. It is also permissible that "continuous" means intensely bitter and hideous.
{Plucking people out}
It uprooted them from their places. They used to stand in rows, holding each other’s hands, entering into mountain passes and digging pits to hide in, but the wind would pluck them out, overturn them, and break their necks.
{As if they were trunks of uprooted palm trees}
This means they were falling to the ground dead, as long, bony corpses, like the trunks of palm trees—which are their bases without branches. *Munqa‘ir* means uprooted from their planting sites. It is also said they were likened to palm trunks because the wind would sever their heads, leaving them as bodies without heads. The adjective *nakhl* (palm trees) is masculine in accordance with the word's form; if it had been based on the meaning, it would have been feminine, as He said: "hollow palm trunks" (Al-Haqqah: 7).
{They will know tomorrow who is the great liar. Indeed, We are sending the she-camel as a trial for them, so watch them and be patient. And inform them that the water is to be shared between them; each drink is attended. But they called their companion, and he dared and hamstrung her. So how were My punishment and My warnings? Indeed, We sent upon them one blast, and they became like the dry twigs of a pen-builder. And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?}
