The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 414
CH. 15 AL-HIJR 76. "Surely, in this are Signs for those who can read signs. 1779 77. And bit lies on a road that still exists. 1780 PT. 14 اِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَتِ لِلْمُتَوَشِمِينَ وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمِ Commentary: to their "29:36; 51:38. 37:138. The houses of Lot's people were turned upside down. This punishment corresponded unnatural offence. The punishment apparently took the form of a severe earthquake which raised portions of the stony soil and buried them under; or the houses had walls of stones and rubble laid in clay and these were violently shattered and the debris thrown all around. 1779. Important Words: وسم Cow (those who can read signs) is derived from (twassama) which again is derived from which means, he stamped or marked or branded a thing. means, he deliberated over the thing and considered it or examined it or did so repeatedly to know it or obtain a clear knowledge of it; he recognized the thing by an external sign. means, I perceived goodness in him or I read signs of goodness in him (Aqrab). Commentary: here is The use of the word significant. It was intended to draw the attention of the Meccans to the fact that there was living among them one who was like Lot and to whom they had meted out the same treatment as was meted out to Lot by his people, and therefore, they could easily imagine what kind of treatment 1622 they should expect from God. The verse purports to say that if the people of the Holy Prophet did not repent, God would punish them as He had punished the persecutors of Lot. The verse invites them to ponder over the fate of the people of Lot and read the signs of the time and take a lesson from them. As a matter of fact, the fate of the disbelieving Meccans was somewhat similar to that of the people of Lot. In the Battle of Badr a strong gale which miraculously arose drove into the faces of the Meccans stone particles which blinded them and proved the immediate cause of their ignominious defeat. Again, in a metaphorical sense, the struggle of the Meccans against the Holy Prophet led to the complete overthrow of their social order. Disbelievers who held a high position in Meccan society in pre- Islamic days went down in the social scale and those poor Muslims who enjoyed no great position in public esteem and who accepted the Holy Prophet in the early years of his mission came to occupy positions of trust and eminence in the new social order. This was indeed a great earthquake which turned things upside down, as the preceding verse puts it. 1780. Important Words: (that still exists) is derived from