"wa haramun 'ala qaryatin ahlaknaha" (And it is forbidden [i.e., binding/obligatory] upon a town which We have destroyed), meaning: it is obligatory upon them. "annahum la yarji'un" (that they shall not return). Al-Hasan said: [The meaning is] that they shall not repent, nor shall they return from their disbelief.
It is also recited as "wa hurrima 'ala qaryatin" (And it has been forbidden upon a town).
Muhammad said: "hirum" and "haram" are, according to the scholars of language, the same in meaning; that is: obligatory. The poet said:
﴿وَحرَام على قَرْيَة أهلكناها﴾ أَيْ: وَاجِبٌ عَلَيْهَا ﴿أَنَّهُمْ لَا يرجعُونَ﴾ قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: [الْمَعْنَى] أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَتُوبُونَ، وَلَا يَرْجِعُونَ عَنْ كُفْرِهِمْ.
وتقرأ أَيْضا ﴿وَحرم عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ﴾.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: حِرُمَ وَحَرَامٌ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ اللُّغَةِ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ؛ أَيْ: وَاجِبٌ. قَالَ الشَّاعِرُ:
