Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 24

(Ayah 24) ➊ The pronoun in {فَلَمَّا رَاَوْهُ عَارِضًا … : ’’ رَاَوْهُ ‘‘} refers back to the punishment which they kept demanding. {’’عَرَضَ يَعْرِضُ‘‘} means to come forth. {’’ عَارِضٌ‘‘} refers to a great cloud that appeared on the horizon like mountains. The long story between the denial of the people of Hud (peace be upon him) and the punishment upon them has been summarized here with the result. In this verse, their words {’’ هٰذَا عَارِضٌ مُّمْطِرُنَا ‘‘} (“This is a cloud that will bring us rain”) show that before this punishment, rain had been withheld for a long time. Hud (peace be upon him) also gave them glad tidings of rain upon repentance from disbelief and polytheism and seeking forgiveness from Allah. Thus it is said: « وَ يٰقَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُوْا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوْبُوْۤا اِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ السَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّدْرَارًا وَّ يَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً اِلٰى قُوَّتِكُمْ وَ لَا تَتَوَلَّوْا مُجْرِمِيْنَ » [ ھود : ۵۲ ] “And O my people! Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then turn to Him, He will send upon you clouds pouring down abundant rain, and He will add strength to your strength, and do not turn away as criminals.” This shows that they were in dire need of rain, but even so, they persisted in their disbelief and kept demanding the punishment, saying that if you are truthful, then bring the punishment, meaning if you do not bring the punishment immediately, then you are liars. The answer of Hud (peace be upon him) has already passed. Finally, the time of punishment arrived and it began to advance towards their valleys in the form of a cloud. When they saw this punishment coming towards their valleys in the form of a cloud, they became very happy, thinking that this cloud would bring them rain.

➋ { بَلْ هُوَ مَا اسْتَعْجَلْتُمْ بِهٖ:} It is possible that this answer was given to them by Hud (peace be upon him), or the situation itself was proclaiming it to them.

➌ In {رِيْحٌ فِيْهَا عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌ: ’’ رِيْحٌ ‘‘}, the tanween is for inspiring dread, rather, this is what you were hastening for, this is a terrifying wind in which there is a painful punishment. Its description has been given in detail in Surah Qamar (19, 20) and Surah Haqqah (6 to 8). The people of ‘Ad kept thinking that the wind-bearing clouds would bring rain, whereas it was the punishment coming upon them. That is why the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when clouds would rise or the wind would blow strongly, would become anxious. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ مَا رَأَيْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ ضَاحِكًا حَتّٰی أَرٰی مِنْهُ لَهَوَاتِهِ، إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَتَبَسَّمُ، قَالَتْ وَكَانَ إِذَا رَأٰی غَيْمًا أَوْ رِيْحًا عُرِفَ فِيْ وَجْهِهِ، قَالَتْ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! إِنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا رَأَوُا الْغَيْمَ فَرِحُوْا، رَجَاءَ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ فِيْهِ الْمَطَرُ، وَ أَرَاكَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُ عُرِفَ فِيْ وَجْهِكَ الْكَرَاهِيَةُ، فَقَالَ يَا عَائِشَةُ! مَا يُؤْمِنِّيْ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ فِيْهِ عَذَابٌ، عُذِّبَ قَوْمٌ بِالرِّيْحِ، وَقَدْ رَأٰی قَوْمٌ الْعَذَابَ فَقَالُوْا : «هٰذَا عَارِضٌ مُّمْطِرُنَا » ] [بخاري، التفسیر، تفسیر سورۃ الأحقاف : ۴۸۲۸، ۴۸۲۹ ] “I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laugh in such a way that I could see the flesh hanging from his palate; he would only smile.” She says: “And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a cloud or wind, it would be recognized on his face.” She said: “O Messenger of Allah! When people see clouds, they become happy, hoping that it will bring rain, but I see that when you see it, displeasure is recognized on your face?” So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O Aisha! What can make me feel secure that there is no punishment in it? A people were punished with a wind, and a people saw the punishment and said: ‘This is a cloud that will bring us rain.’” Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also narrates: [ كَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الرِّيْحِ وَالْغَيْمِ عُرِفَ ذٰلِكَ فِيْ وَجْهِهِ وَأَقْبَلَ وَأَدْبَرَ، فَإِذَا مَطَرَتْ سُرَّ بِهِ وَذَهَبَ عَنْهُ ذٰلِكَ، قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ فَسَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ إِنِّيْ خَشِيْتُ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ عَذَابًا سُلِّطَ عَلٰی أُمَّتِيْ، وَيَقُوْلُ إِذَا رَأَی الْمَطَرَ، رَحْمَةً ] [ مسلم، صلاۃ الاستسقاء، باب التعوذ عند رؤیۃ الریح… : ۸۹۹ ] “When it was a windy and cloudy day, it would be recognized on the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would go in and out (restlessly), and when it rained, he would become happy and that state would leave him.” Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, I asked him about this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I fear lest it be a punishment that has been imposed upon my ummah.” And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw rain, he would say: “(O Allah! Make it) a mercy.”

24. 1. For a long time, there had been no rain among them. When they saw the swelling clouds, they became happy thinking that now it would rain. The cloud is called "عارض" because the cloud appears across the sky. 24. 1. This is what Hud (علیہ السلام) told them, that this is not just a cloud as you think. Rather, this is the punishment which you were demanding to be hastened. 24. 3. That is, the wind by which this nation was destroyed arose and emerged from these very clouds, and by Allah's will, destroyed them and everything they had. That is why it is mentioned in the hadith: Aisha (رضی اللہ عنہا) asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that people become happy when they see clouds, thinking that it will rain, but on your ﷺ face, contrary to this, signs of concern are visible. You ﷺ said, "Aisha (رضی اللہ عنہا), what guarantee is there that there is no punishment in this cloud, when a nation was destroyed by the punishment of wind? That nation also said upon seeing the cloud, 'This is a cloud that will rain upon us.'" (Al-Bukhari). In another narration, when a strong wind would blow, you ﷺ would recite this supplication: "اللھم انی اسالک خیرھا وخیر ما فیھا وخیر ما ارسلت بہ واغوذبک من شرھا وشر ما ارسلت بہ" and when the clouds would become dense in the sky, your ﷺ color would change and a state of fear would come over you ﷺ, after which you ﷺ would breathe a sigh of relief (Sahih Muslim).

24. Then when they saw it (the punishment) as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, "This is a cloud that will bring us rain." Rather, it is what you sought to hasten—a wind in which is a painful punishment. [37]

[37]
The Punishment Upon the People of ‘Ad Appeared in the Form of a Cloud:

These people had been longing for rain for a long time. There was a period of drought everywhere. When they saw a dark cloud rising and advancing towards their region, they rejoiced with happiness, and many kinds of hopes began to stir within them. They started to expect abundance and prosperity after the rain. Little did they know whether this cloud was a cloud of mercy or whether it was the punishment of Allah, coming upon them in the form of a dark cloud and a storm to destroy them. This storm was extremely swift and intensely cold, which continued to blow upon them for eight days and seven nights without interruption. The lesson we learn from this incident is that one should not rely solely on the outward appearance of things. Rather, one should fear Allah in every situation. Accordingly, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that whenever the Prophet ﷺ saw a cloud or a storm, concern would be visible on his face. I asked: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when people see clouds, they become happy, thinking that now it will rain. But I notice that when clouds appear, displeasure is visible on your face? The Prophet ﷺ replied: “Aisha! I fear that there might be punishment in it. A people (the ‘Ad) were punished with a storm. When they saw the cloud, they said: This is a cloud that will bring us rain.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]