Section 3

[Ahqaf 46:21] And remember the fellowman of the tribe of A’ad; when he warned his nation in the Ahqaf * - and indeed Heralds of warning passed away before and after him - that, “Do not worship anyone except Allah; indeed I fear the punishment of a Great Day upon you. (* A country among sand dunes.)

[Ahqaf 46:22] They said, “Have you come to us in order to turn us away from our Gods? Therefore bring upon us what you promise us, if you are truthful.”

[Ahqaf 46:23] He said, “Its knowledge is only with Allah; and I convey to you the messages of my Lord, but I perceive that you are an ignorant nation.”

[Ahqaf 46:24] So when they saw the punishment coming towards their valleys, spread like a cloud on the horizon, they said, “That is a cloud which will shower rain upon us”; said Hud “In fact this is what you were being impatient for; a windstorm carrying a painful punishment.”

[Ahqaf 46:25] “That destroys all things by the command of its Lord” - so at morning none could be seen except their empty houses; this is the sort of punishment We mete out to the guilty.

[Ahqaf 46:26] And We had indeed given them the means which We have not given you, and made ears and eyes and hearts for them; so their ears and eyes and hearts did not benefit them at all because they used to deny the signs of Allah, and the punishment they used to mock at encompassed them.

Section 4

[Ahqaf 46:27] And We indeed destroyed townships surrounding you, and brought several signs so that they may desist.

[Ahqaf 46:28] So why did they - the ones whom they had chosen as Gods as a means of attaining Allah’s proximity - not help them? In fact the disbelievers lost them; and this is just their slander and fabrication.