Tafseer of The Poets · Ash-Shu'araa · 26:189
And they denied him, so the punishment of the day of the black cloud seized them. Indeed, it was the punishment of a terrible day.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
( So they denied him ) He says: his people denied him. ( Then the punishment (ʿadhāb) of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them ) By "the Shadow-cloud" is meant: a cloud that overshadowed them. And when they had fully gathered beneath it, it blazed up over them into a fire and burned them. And concerning this the traditions (āthār) have come.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Zayd ibn Muʿāwiya, concerning His statement: ( Then the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them ) he said: A heat struck them that disturbed them in their houses. Then there arose for them a cloud in the form of a shadow-cloud, and they hastened toward it. And when they had fully gathered beneath it, the earthquake (rajfa) seized them.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, concerning His statement: ( the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud ) he said: They dug underground passages (asrāb) to cool themselves in them, but when they entered them, they found them even hotter than the outside air. And the shadow-cloud was a cloud.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim related to me that he heard Qatāda say: Shuʿayb was sent to two communities: to his people, the inhabitants of Madyan, and to the People of the Thicket (aṣḥāb al-Ayka). And the Thicket consisted of densely grown trees. When Allah willed to punish them, Allah sent over them a fierce heat, and He raised up for them the punishment as though it were a cloud. And when it drew near them, they went out toward it hoping for its coolness. And when they were beneath it, it rained fire down upon them. He said: That is His statement: ( Then the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them ).
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Zayd, the brother of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, related to me, saying: Ḥātim ibn Abī Ṣaghīra related to us, saying: Yazīd al-Bāhilī related to me, saying: I asked ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās about this verse: ( Then the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them; truly, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day ). Then ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās said: Allah sent over them [a hot wind] and a fierce heat, which took away their breath. So they entered the houses, but the interior of the houses pressed upon them and took away their breath. Then they fled out of the houses, fleeing to the open plain. So Allah sent over them a cloud, which overshadowed them against the sun, and they found in it coolness and pleasure. Then they called one another, until they had gathered beneath it, and Allah sent it down upon them as fire. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās said: That is the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud, ( truly, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day ).
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: "the Day of the Shadow-cloud" he said: The overshadowing of the punishment over them.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud ) he said: The punishment overshadowed the people of Shuʿayb.
Ibn Jurayj said: When Allah sent down upon them the beginning of the punishment, a fierce heat seized them from it. Then Allah raised up for them a cloud, and a group of them went out toward it to take shade in it. So coolness, refreshment, and a pleasant wind reached them from it. Then Allah poured down upon them, from above them, out of that cloud a punishment. That is His statement: ( the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud ).
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar ibn Rāshid, he said: A man of our companions related to me, on the authority of one of the scholars, he said: They had neglected a prescribed punishment (ḥadd), and Allah expanded their provision; then they neglected a prescribed punishment, and Allah expanded their provision; then they neglected a prescribed punishment, and Allah expanded their provision. Thus it came to pass that whenever they neglected a prescribed punishment, Allah expanded their provision, until, when He willed to destroy them, He unleashed upon them a heat in which they could find no rest, and against which neither shade nor water availed them, until one of them went off and took shade beneath a shadow-cloud, and he found coolness. Then he called out to his companions: Come hither to the coolness! And they went hastily toward him, until, when they had gathered, they were [beneath it], and Allah caused it to blaze up over them into a fire. That is the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: Whoever of the scholars tells you what the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud was, deny him.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: ( Then the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them ) — the people of Shuʿayb: Allah withheld the shade and the wind from them, and a fierce heat struck them; then Allah sent them a cloud in which was the punishment. And when they saw the cloud, they went toward it, supposing that they were seeking shade, but it blazed up over them into a fire and destroyed them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: ( Then the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud seized them; truly, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day ) he said: Allah sent them a shadow-cloud of clouds, and He sent to the sun, which burned everything that was on the face of the earth. Then they all went to that shadow-cloud, until, when they had all gathered, Allah removed the shadow-cloud from them and made the sun glow over them, and they burned as the locusts burn in the frying pan. And His statement: ( truly, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day ) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: truly, the punishment of the Day of the Shadow-cloud was, for the people of Shuʿayb, the punishment of a tremendous Day.
