Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:29
It was not but one shout, and immediately they were extinguished.
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.
And His statement ( It was nothing but a single cry, and behold, they were extinguished ) — it means: their destruction was nothing but a single cry that Allah sent down upon them from the heaven.
The reciters differed concerning the recitation of it. The majority of the reciters of the regions read it ( It was nothing but a single cry — ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan ) in the accusative (naṣb) according to the explanation I have mentioned, and because in "kānat" (it was) an implicit subject is contained. And it has been transmitted from Abū Jaʿfar al-Madanī that he read it ( illā ṣayḥatun wāḥidatun ) in the nominative (rafʿ), on the grounds that it stands in the nominative by way of "kāna," and that in "kāna" no implicit subject is contained.
And the correct view regarding the recitation in this is, according to me, the accusative, because of the consensus of the authoritative proof upon it, and because in "kānat" an implicit subject is contained.
And His statement ( and behold, they were extinguished ) means: and behold, they had perished.
