َ فَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِالطَّاغِيَةِ ﴿۵﴾ وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ ﴿۶﴾ سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ ﴿۷﴾ فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُمْ مِنْ بَاقِيَةٍ ﴿۸﴾ وَجَاءَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَنْ قَبْلَهُ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتُ بِالْخَاطِئَةِ ﴿۹﴾ فَعَصَوْا رَسُولَ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَهُمْ أَخْذَةً رَابِيَةً ﴿۱۰﴾

﴾5﴿ Fa-ammaa Samoodu fa uhlikoo bittaaghiyah
﴾6﴿ Wa ammaa 'Aadun fa uhlikoo bi reehin sarsarin 'aatiyah
﴾7﴿ Sakkhara haa 'alaihim sab'a la yaalinw wa samaaniyata ayyaamin husooman fataral qawma feehaa sar'aa ka annahum a'jaazu nakhlin khaawiyah
﴾8﴿ Fahal taraa lahum min baaqiyah
﴾9﴿ Wa jaaa'a Firawnu wa man qablahoo wal mu'tafikaatu bil khaati'ah
﴾10﴿ Fa 'asaw Rasoola Rabbihim fa akhazahum akhzatar raabiyah

﴾5﴿ As for Thamud, they were destroyed by a severe blast (shriek)
﴾6﴿ And as for 'Ad, they were destroyed by a violent, furious wind
﴾7﴿ He unleashed it upon them for seven nights and eight consecutive days, so you would see the people fallen upon the ground, as if they were hollow trunks of uprooted palm trees
﴾8﴿ So do you see any remnant of them
﴾9﴿ And Pharaoh, and those before him, and the overturned towns came with great sin
﴾10﴿ So they disobeyed the messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a severe grip

[5] (بِالطَّاغِيَةِ) – Refers either to a sound that exceeded all limits, as mentioned in Surah Al-Qamar (54:31), or to deeds that went beyond all bounds, such as their disbelief, shirk, the killing of the she-camel (nāqah), denial of the Resurrection, and rejection of their Prophet, Ṣāliḥ (peace be upon him).
So the bā’ here is causal (bā’ as-sababiyyah)—indicating that their destruction was because of their extreme wrongdoing.
[6,7,8] This verse describes the punishment of the people of ‘Ād, and it mentions eight characteristics of their torment.

In the first verse, three conditions are highlighted: 1. They were destroyed by a wind (rīḥ), 2. It was ṣarṣar – a fierce, icy, roaring wind, 3. And ‘ātiyah – overpowering, beyond control, possibly even beyond the control of the angels assigned to manage winds.

(سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ) – According to al-Biqā‘ī, this wind blew for seven nights, in the last eight days of the month of Shawwāl, starting on a Wednesday and stopping on the following Wednesday evening.

(حُسُومًا) – There are many interpretations: Continuously, one after another, Hair-ripping (pulling up from the roots), Severing and cutting everything, Constant and ongoing, An ill omen, containing no goodness.

(أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ) – A‘jāz is the plural of ‘ajz, meaning the lower trunk or base of a palm tree. This means their bodies were large and thick, resembling fallen palm trunks.

(خَاوِيَةٍ) – May refer to trunks hollowed out by worms, or simply collapsed and lying flat on the ground.
[9] In this verse, two more examples of worldly punishment are mentioned: the people of Pharaoh and the people of Lūṭ (peace be upon him).
(وَمَنْ قَبْلَهُ) – Refers either to past deniers in general, whose knowledge rests with Allah the Exalted, or specifically to the people of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him).
(وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتُ) – Refers to the towns that were overturned at the time of punishment. As mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’an: “We turned their highest into their lowest.” These were the five towns of the people of Lūṭ (peace be upon him).
(بِالْخَاطِئَةِ) – Refers to their many evil deeds, including disbelief, shirk, sodomy, and other vile acts— deeds which every person of reason recognizes as wrong and corrupt.
[10] This verse refers to all the deniers, including ‘Ād, Thamūd, Pharaoh, and the people of Lūṭ—or, according to some, it refers specifically to Pharaoh and the people of Lūṭ only.
(رَسُولَ) – Refers to the category (genus) of messengers, meaning many messengers, not just one.
(رَابِيَةً) – Means intense, exceeding, or overwhelming. The punishment upon them was greater than others because their crimes were more severe compared to other nations.