al-Qamar

تَنزِعُ النَّاسَ كَأنَّهُمْ أعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ مُّنقَعِرٍ

فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

20. A harsh gale plucking out men as if they were eradicated stems of date-palms.

21. Then, how are My Torment and My Warning?

22. And indeed We made the Holy Qur’an facile to comprehend and remember. Then is there anyone who will receive admonition?

Depicting the aforesaid gale, the Holy Qur’an is saying that it plucked down people like the uprooted trunks of palm-trees and scatters them hither and thither. The Arabic word munqa‘ir deriving from q-‘-r designates the lowest point of anything though it is employed in the sense of 'eradicate.' The expression may allude that the people of ‘Ad were strong and robust and as some exegetes say they had built underground shelters in order to preserve themselves from gales, but the gale blew so harshly that day that it eradicated them from their shelters and scattered them around. It is also said that the gale struck them unto the earth head down that their heads were severed.

The Arabic word a‘jaz is the plural form of ‘ijz denoting the lower or rear part of something and their similitude to the lower parts of palm-tree trunks is owing to the point that the gale was so harsh that their limbs were severed and scattered into the air and then their bodies were uprooted from the earth and were scattered hither and thither. It may also connote that the harshly blowing gale pounded them onto the earth head down and broke their necks and severed their heads.

The blessed Verse 21 is warning that people may see how Divine torment and warnings were. God Almighty thus chastised other peoples who trod the path of denial, arrogance, vanity, sinfulness, and rebellion. What do you think that you proceed on their path? The blessed Verse 22 is saying that God Almighty made the Holy Qur’an facile to comprehend and derive admonitions thereof. Is there anyone who remembers God Almighty and receives admonition? Is there anyone listening to the Divine Call and Warnings?

It is worthy of note that the clause;

"Then how was My Torment and Warnings?"

is reiterated as to the people of ‘Ad – once in the beginning of the account and once at the close of it. The difference might lie in the fact that their torment was more severe and more horrible, though all Divine torments are severe.