The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 419
PT. 14 AL-HIJR CH. 15 وَكَانُوا يَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا And they used to her out. 83 houses in the mountains, in security, 1786 84. "But the punishment seized them in the morning, 1787 امِنينَ فَاَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُصْبِحِيْنَ فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ And all that they had earned. 85 availed them not. 1788 وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَوتِ وَالْاَرْضَ وَمَا And We have not created. 86 the heavens and the earth and all 7:75; 26:150. b7:79; 11:68. 3:192; 16:4; 38:28. 1786. Important Words: نحت. they used to hew out) كانوا ينحتون means, he cut or hewed; or he formed or fashioned by cutting or paring or clipping. The Arabs say (in the passive voice) i. e. he was fashioned after the model of generosity, viz. he was generous by nature (Lane). بيت (houses) is the plural of which is derived from i. e. he passed the night. means, a chamber; a house or dwelling; a tent. It also means, a verse (Lane). Commentary: بيت This verse shows that the tribe of Thamud were a civilized, powerful and rich people. They had separate summer and winter resorts and led secure and comfortable lives. Even when they went to the hills in summer for recreation and change of climate, and left their winter habitations, they felt free from attacks from any quarter. The words, they used to hew out houses in the mountains, are also intended to hint at the highly developed state of their architecture. 1787. Commentary: It appears from 7:79 that the calamity referred to in this verse was an earthquake. 1788. Commentary: The verse means to say that though the people of Ṣāliḥ built big houses and huge buildings and felt themselves secure, yet actually these very buildings proved the means of their destruction, for the Divine punishment came upon them in the form of an earthquake, and so the hugeness of their buildings added to the severity of their calamity. The verse thus implies a strong warning for the enemies of the Holy Prophet to the effect that they should not rely on their wealth and possessions as a means of protection against the wrath of God, because when Divine punishment comes, material means and resources, instead of being a protection, actually prove the ruin of those who possess them. 1627