وَما أَنزَلنا عَلىٰ قَومِهِ مِن بَعدِهِ مِن جُندٍ مِنَ السَّماءِ وَما كُنّا مُنزِلينَ

After him We did not send down on his people a host from the sky, nor We would have sent down.

EXEGESIS

Mā kunnā munzilīn (nor we would have sent down) is a past continuous tense signifying a habit and a routine practice. It probably indicates that what happened was a uniform pattern employed universally.

Jund (host) means an army, a military force, a legion, a body of troops or soldiers, a collective body of men prepared for war, or auxiliaries. It is also said that the meaning of jund in this context is the angel of revelation, that after they killed the three messengers, God did not descend any other message to them from the heavens.^{‎[1]Tabrisi, 8/659.}

Samāʾ (sky) is a word of well-known meaning, indicating the sky, heaven, or the canopy of the earth. It could be used for any canopy or overhead covering of a person, hence the ceiling, roof of a house, a chamber, a tent, or anything such as a cloud because of its height, and rain because it comes forth from the sky or clouds.^{‎[2]Lane, p. 1434.} It can also refer to higher realms above the physical realm of existence.

EXPOSITION

This verse is a preface for the next verse indicating that the retribution of the people and their destruction by God would not require an army of angels. He destroyed them only with one fatal, heavenly blast.^{‎[3]Mizan, 17/80.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Verily, those who were destroyed before you were only destroyed because they became engrossed in sins, and the priests and clergies did not prohibit them.’^{‎[4]Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 4/3463.}
2. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Verily, those who were destroyed before you were only destroyed because they prevented the people from the truth, so they purchased it and followed them for falsehood.’^{‎[5]Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 4/3463.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Rāzī mentions that God attributed the destruction of the people of the town to Himself by using a subject pronoun because the destruction happens out of His awe, greatness, and might. On the other hand, a passive form was used without any subject indicating who told the believer to Enter paradise because of the possibility of such words being uttered from His angels, honouring and welcoming the believer in paradise. Such passive expressions have been repeated in similar cases in the Quran.

The expression nor We would have sent down may seem to be contradicting the fact that God sent down an army of angels in the Battle of Badr and other battles as indicated in 9:26. The response is when God sent an army of angels in some of the battles to aid the Holy Prophet, it was to show the greatness of the Holy Prophet.^{‎[6]Razi, 26/269.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge … The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts … Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent, but folly brings punishment to fools. A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips, it is like a scorching fire.^{‎[7]Proverbs 16:4-5, 18, 22, 27.}
2. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality. It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us, descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”^{‎[8]Romans 9:8, 19, 25-26, 28-29.}

[1] Tabrisi, 8/659.
[2] Lane, p. 1434.
[3] Mizan, 17/80.
[4] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 4/3463.
[5] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 4/3463.
[6] Razi, 26/269.
[7] Proverbs 16:4-5, 18, 22, 27.
[8] Romans 9:8, 19, 25-26, 28-29.