"The companions of the Ayykah (the Wood) denied the messengers" [Qur'an 26:176]. The Ayykah is the thicket (or wood).
Muhammad said: The reading of the people of Medina in this Surah—and it is Surah Sad—is without an alif. I have already mentioned what Abu Ubayd stated regarding the distinction between Laykah and al-Ayykah in
﴿كذب أَصْحَاب ليكة الْمُرْسلين﴾ وَالْأَيْكَةُ: الْغَيْضَةُ.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: قَرَاءَةُ أَهْلِ الْمَدْيِنَةِ فِي هَذِهِ السُّورَةِ، وَهِي سُورَةِ " ص " بِغَيْرِ أَلِفٍ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرْتُ مَا قَالَهُ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ فِي الْفَرْقِ، بَيْنَ لَيْكَةِ وَالْأَيْكَةِ فِي
