to another place; rather, it is like someone saying, “He came at me insulting me,” meaning, “He began to insult me.” That is, she began to wail, as He says: “She said, ‘Woe to me!’” (Hud 11:72).

“Then she struck her face.” Ibn Abbas said: She slapped her face. Others said: She drew her fingers together and struck her forehead in astonishment, as women commonly do when they find something unbelievable. The root meaning of ṣakk is striking something with a broad object.

“And she said, ‘An old barren woman!’” Its implied meaning is: “Can an old barren woman give birth?” Sarah had not borne children before that.

“They said, ‘Thus has your Lord decreed. Indeed, He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.’” (30)