“Or do they possess the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them? Then let them ascend by the means. A defeated host there, from among the factions. Before them, the people of Noah, ‘Ad, and Pharaoh—he of the stakes—also denied.” (10–12)

“Or do they possess the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them?” That is, they do not possess this. “Then let them ascend by the means”: if they lay claim to any part of this, then let them ascend by the means that lead them to heaven, and bring down from there revelation to whomever they choose. Mujahid and Qatadah said: By “the means,” He meant the gates of heaven and its pathways from one heaven to another. Everything that leads one to something, whether a gate or a road, is a means to it. This is a command of rebuke and challenge.

“A defeated host there”: that is, those who make this statement are a host there; the word mā is supplementary. “Defeated” means vanquished; “from among the factions,” that is, from among the forces—meaning Quraysh.

Qatadah said: Allah, Most High, informed His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was in Mecca, that He would defeat the army of the polytheists. Thus He said: “The multitude will be defeated and will turn their backs in flight” (al-Qamar 54:45). Its fulfilment came on the Day of Badr (1). “There” refers to Badr and the places where they fell. “From among the factions” means from among the factions: they are like the past generations who formed factions and gathered together against the prophets in denial, and were then overcome and destroyed.

Then, consoling His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, He said: “Before them, the people of Noah, ‘Ad, and Pharaoh—he of the stakes—also denied.” Ibn ‘Abbas and Muhammad ibn Ka‘b said: this means one possessed of firmly constructed buildings. It was also said that it means one possessed of a powerful, firmly established kingdom.

Al-Qutaybi said: The Arabs say, “They live in a might whose stakes stand firm,” meaning that it is enduring and powerful.

Al-Aswad ibn Ya‘fur said:

“They lived there in the finest ease of life,
Beneath the shade of a kingdom whose stakes stood firm.” (2)

The origin of this expression is that their houses were secured with stakes.

Al-Dahhak said: it means one possessed of strength and might. ‘Atiyyah said: one possessed of numerous armies and multitudes; that is, they strengthened his authority and upheld his kingdom, just as a stake strengthens a thing. Armies were called stakes because of the many tents they pitched and secured with stakes during their travels. This is also ‘Atiyyah’s report from Ibn ‘Abbas.