Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:13
But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] 'Aad and Thamud.
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.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنْذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ (13) ("So if they turn away, then say: 'I warn you of a destroying blast (ṣāʿiqa) like the destroying blast of ʿĀd and Thamūd'") (13).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and if these polytheists (mushrikīn) turn away from this proof which I have set forth for them, O Muḥammad, and to which I have directed them, and they do not believe in it and do not acknowledge that the performer thereof is Allah, besides whom there is no god, then say to them: I warn you, O people, of a destroying blast that will annihilate you, like the destroying blast of ʿĀd and Thamūd.
And we have already explained earlier that the meaning of the destroying blast (ṣāʿiqa) is: everything that corrupts a thing and changes it from its form. And it has been said in this place that what is meant by it is: a destructive striking from Allah and a punishment (ʿadhāb).
* The mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: صَاعِقَةً مِثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ ("a destroying blast like the destroying blast of ʿĀd and Thamūd"), he said: He says: I warn you of the destructive striking of ʿĀd and Thamūd; he said: a punishment like the punishment of ʿĀd and Thamūd.
