level with the rest of their faces, leaving no opening visible. This is the view of most commentators.
Al-Dahhak said: Allah obliterated their sight, so they could no longer see the messengers. They said, “We saw them when they entered the house, so where have they gone?” But they did not see them, and so they returned.
“Taste My punishment and My warnings!” That is, the punishment concerning which Lot had warned them (1).
“And at early morning an abiding punishment came upon them. (38) So taste My punishment and My warnings! (39) And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance; so is there anyone who will take heed? (40) And warnings certainly came to the people of Pharaoh. (41) They denied all Our signs, so We seized them with the seizure of the Mighty, the All-Powerful. (42) Are your disbelievers better than those, or do you have immunity in the Scriptures? (43) Or do they say, ‘We are a united force, bound to prevail’? (44) The gathering will be defeated, and they will turn their backs. (45)”
“And at early morning an abiding punishment came upon them”: that is, a lasting punishment came upon them at daybreak; it remained with them until it led them to the punishment of the Hereafter. It was also said that it means a certain punishment.
The words, “So taste My punishment and My warnings! And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance; so is there anyone who will take heed? And warnings certainly came to the people of Pharaoh,” refer to Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them. It was also said that they refer to the signs by which Moses warned them.
“They denied all Our signs”—namely, the nine signs—“so We seized them” with punishment, “with the seizure of the Mighty,” who is irresistible in His retribution, “the All-Powerful,” who is fully able to destroy them and whom nothing He wills can frustrate. Then He warned the people of Mecca, saying:
“Are your disbelievers better than those”—that is, stronger and more powerful than those upon whom I brought My vengeance: the people of Noah, ‘Ad, Thamud, the people of Lot, and the people of Pharaoh? This is a rhetorical question expressing denial; that is, they are not stronger than them. “Or do you have immunity from punishment in the Scriptures”—in the Books—that you will not be afflicted by what afflicted the former nations?
“Or do they say”—that is, the disbelievers of Mecca—“We are a united force, bound to prevail”? Al-Kalbi said: “All of us stand united and victorious over our enemies.” The meaning is: We are united against whoever opposes us, victorious over whoever is hostile to us. The singular form, “victorious,” was used rather than the plural in conformity with the verse-endings.
Allah, Exalted is He, says: “The gathering will be defeated.” Ya‘qub recited it, “We shall defeat the gathering,” using the first-person plural form, with “the gathering” in the accusative. The others recited it, “The gathering will be defeated,” using the passive form, with “the gathering” in the nominative and without naming the agent. This refers to the disbelievers of Mecca: “and they will turn their backs.”