Surah 51. Az-Zariyat

40The commentators have disputed as to which respite it implies. Hadrat Qatadah says that it alludes to that verse of Surah Hud in which it has been stated that when the Thamud killed the she camel of the Prophet Salih, they were warned by Allah that they had three more days to enjoy lift after which they would be overtaken by the torment. Contrary to this, Hadrat Hasan Basri has expressed the opinion that this thing had been said by the Prophet Salih to his people in the beginning of his mission and by this he meant that if they would not adopt the way of repentance and faith, they would be granted a respite to enjoy lift in the world only till an appointed tint, and then they would be overtaken by the torment. The second of these two commentaries seems to be more correct, for the following verse ("But in spite of this they defied the command of their Lord") indicates that the respite being mentioned here had been given before the defiance and they committed it after the warning. On the contrary, the three days' respite mentioned in Surah Hud had been given after the wicked people had committed the final defiance which became decisive in their cast and sealed their doom for ever afterwards

41Different words have been used for this torment at different places in the Qur'an. Somewhere it has been called rajfah (a frightful and shocking calamity), somewhere saihah (a crashing and thundering disaster), somewhere taghiyah (a most severe affliction) and here it has been described as sa'iqah (a calamity that strikes like a thunderbolt). Probably this torment had occurred as an earthquake which was also accompanied by a terrible noise.

42Intisar from which the word muntasirun in the original is derived means to save oneself from an attack by somebody as well as to avenge oneself on the attacker.