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ʾinnā ʾarsalnā ʿalayhim ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan fa-kānū ka-hashīmi l-muḥtaẓiri
We sent against them a single Cry, and they became like the dry sticks of a corral builder.
— Ali Quli Qarai
54Al-QamarالقمرVerse 31 of 55
The Moon54. Al-Qamarالقمر
al-Qamar
The Moon
MeccanVerse 31 of 55
Surah al-Qamar - Verses 31-32
31. Indeed, as the Recompense of their crime, We sent against them an awful cry and the lightning and they became like the stalks scattered in a pen by cattle owners.
32. And verily, We have made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember. Then is there anyone who will receive admonition?
The blessed Verse 31 is saying that God Almighty sent a horrible cry upon them; as a consequence of which, they turned into dried up and mashed plants gathered as fodder for cattle by their owners. The Arabic word sayha ad hoc denotes a loud cry from the heaven and it may connote the awe-inspiring lightning flashing above their city. The word hashim denotes fragile things like stalks. The word is employed ad hoc in the sense of such stalks flailed and prepared as fodder by cattle owners. It is also applied to the stalks scattered beneath them. The Arabic word muhtadir is applied to one who gathers dried plants to feed his cattle.
The metaphorical expression employed in the blessed Verse in question regarding the torment of the people of Thamud is quite wondrous and meaningful, since God Almighty did not send hosts from the heaven and the earth to cause the perdition of the disobedient people, but smashed everything within a wide expanse solely through a loud cry heard from the heaven, an awe-inspiring lightning, an enormous explosion. Their prosperous palaces and mansions turned into cattle fodder and their corpses became like flailed plants scattered beneath cattle. Comprehension of such meaning was rather hard for former peoples, but it is not thus today owing to awareness as to the aftermath of explosions shattering everything within their scopes.
It is however worthy of note that the Lightning of Divine Torment is not to be compared to such explosions and thus it becomes evident that such awe-inspiring lightning inflicted what a massive disaster upon such disobedient people. The second blessed Verse in question asks whether such admonitory and excruciating fate is not sufficient to awaken mankind. Is there anyone who receives admonition out of the Holy Qur’an and its vivid and crystal clear expressions, accounts, and warnings?