كَذَّبَت عادٌ فَكَيفَ كانَ عَذابي وَنُذُرِ

[The people of] ʿĀd impugned [their apostle]. So how were My punishment and My warnings?

EXEGESIS

Nudhur (warnings) here could be referring to the warning given to the people of ʿĀd before meeting their punishment, or it could be the warnings given to the people who came after them. The latter warning would be reminding people of what happened to the people of ʿĀd.[1]

The phrase So how were My punishment and My warnings? is mentioned to prepare the heart of the listener for the description of the severe punishment that will be mentioned in the forthcoming verses.[2] The phrase is repeated again in verse 21, after another description of chastisement. The difference in signification would be that here it is meant to prepare the mind of the listener, and in verse 21 it is to show how grave the chastisement was.[3] Furthermore, perhaps the reason for repetition is due to the strange nature of their destruction by means of winds as well as the fact that no other nation was destroyed in a similar manner.[4]

EXPOSITION

After mentioning the people of Prophet Noah (a), the next set of verses reminds us of the people of Prophet Hūd (a). This is another story that contains admonition for those who want to take admonition. It is interesting to note that this story is not connected to the previous story with any conjunctives, and neither do the rest of the stories in the chapter begin with a conjunctive. It could be that this is to indicate that each story on its own, independently, is enough to restrain man from sins and to take heed.[5]

[1] Daqaiq, 12/540.
[2] Mizan, 19/70.
[3] Razi, 29/302.
[4] Muhit, 10/41.
[5] Mizan, 19/70.