But, finally, the Divine punishment came over them and, like...

But, finally, the Divine punishment came over them and, like a dry farm, it reaped them. The people of Noah were destroyed by means of Storm and heavy rains; the people of ‘Ad by a strong wind; Pharaoh and his people by the waves of Nile; the people of Thamud by heavenly Blast (and great Thunderbolts); the people of Lot by a horrible earthquake accompanied with the rain of heavenly pebbles; and the people of Shu‘ayb were also destroyed by an annihilating thunderbolt which came down over them from a piece of cloud, and thus, the water, wind, dust, and fire which form the means of life for man were ordered to destroy them, and they vanished them so violently that there remained no trace of them.

These polytheists of Mecca should think that, comparing these parties, they were not more than a small group, why did they not awake from the sleep of negligence? The attribution of /ŏul’autad/ (the lord of stakes) for Pharaoh which is mentioned clearly in these verses and also in Surah Al-Fajr, No. 87, verse 10 is ironically used to show firmness.

It is said, for example, the nails of so and so are firm; or the nails of this job have been fastened; or it has been fastened with four nails, because for firmness of a building or the tents the nails are always used. Some commentators have considered it as a hint to the great troops of Pharaoh, because an army usually uses tents and for holding tents nails are used.

Some other commentators say that it refers to the horrible tortures of the Pharaohs unto their enemies that so to speak, they crucified them and fastened each of their hands and feet with nail to the ground, to a gallows-tree, or to a wall and left them to die.

And, at last, some commentators have said that probably the Arabic word /’autad/ is the same as /’ahram/ (pyramids) in Egypt which are fixed into the ground like a nail, and since pyramids are from the specialties of the Pharaohs, this quality in the Qur’an is used inclusively about them. In the meanwhile, these probabilities are not contradictory with each other and they may gather in the concept of this word.

The Arabic word /’aykah/ means ‘tree’ and the Qur’anic phrase /’ashab-ul-’aykah/ are the very people of Hadrat Shu‘ayb who used to live in a land with abundant water and trees located between the lands of Syria and Mecca and Medina. In the commentary of Surah Al-Hijr, No. 15, verse 78 we have talked enough in this regard.