Al-Hijr (The Rock)

72. “By your life (O’ Prophet), verily they were wandering on in their intoxication.”

73. “So the (violent) blast overtook them at the sunrise.”

The Arabic words /‘umr/ and /‘amr/ both have got an identical meaning, but, at the time of swearing, the term /‘amr/ is employed.¹

The Qur’anic term /ya‘mahūn/ is derived from /‘amaha/ which signifies ‘astonishment’; and the Arabic word /mušriqin/ means ‘entering into the illumination and the light which appears at dawn or sunrise.’

Nevertheless, woe unto those who are intoxicated by their passions, deviations, arrogance, and obstinacy.

If there were the slightest of human ethical values or human emotions embedded in them, it would be adequate to make them feel ashamed for having such a logic to return from the Lot’s house at least and feel shameful. But, they were not only unaffected by that, but they became also more rude and tried to violate and rape Lot’s guests as well.

It is why Allah, addressing the Prophet of Islam (S), says:

“By your life (O’ Prophet), verily they were wandering on in their intoxication.”

Finally, we find the Divine words and speech, concerning this nation, reaches its climax. Allah states in two concise, compact and short following verses the evil destiny of those people in a decisive and pounding form here which is also instructive as well.

The Qur’an says:

“So the (violent) blast overtook them at the sunrise.”

Such a blast might have been caused by a huge thunderbolt or by a terrible earthquake.