12310 - Al-Suddi said: The one who argued with Abraham concerning his Lord gave orders regarding Abraham, so he was expelled from his city. He met Lot at the gate of the city, and he was the son of his brother, so he invited him, and he believed in him and said: "I am an emigrant to my Lord." Nimrod swore that he would seek the god of Abraham, so he took four eaglets from the eagle chicks, and he raised them on bread and meat until they grew, thickened, and became strong. He yoked them to a chest and sat in that chest, then he raised a piece of meat for them on a rod. They flew, and when he was high in the sky, he looked down and saw the earth and the mountains moving like the crawling of ants. Then he raised the meat for them, and he looked and saw the earth surrounded by the sea as if it were a spindle in water. Then he raised it high for a long time until he fell into darkness; he could not see what was above him, nor could he see what was below him. He threw the meat down, and they followed it, diving down. When the mountains saw them approaching in a dive and heard the rustling of their wings, the mountains were terrified and were almost moved from their places, but they did not. That is the meaning of His saying: "They have indeed plotted their plots, but with Allah is their plot, even though their plot was such that the mountains could have been moved by it." In the reading of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, it is: "And their plot had almost moved the mountains." Their birds took him from Jerusalem, and they landed in the Mountains of Smoke (Jibal al-Dukhan). When he saw that he could not achieve anything, he began to build the tower. He built it until he supported it against the sky, and he climbed to its top to look, as he claimed, for the god of Abraham. He then performed a bodily function, which he had not done before, and Allah seized the building from its foundations, and "the roof fell upon them from above them, and the punishment came to them from whence they perceived not"—meaning, from their place of security. He seized them from the foundations of the tower, and it collapsed upon them and fell. The languages of the people were confounded on that day due to the terror, and they spoke seventy-three languages; for that reason, it was named Babylon, whereas before that it was Syriac (1).

His saying: "Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Owner of Retribution."

12311 - From Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding His saying: "Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Owner of Retribution," he said: He is exalted, by Allah, in His command; He grants respite, and His plan is firm. Then, when He takes retribution, He takes it with His power (2).

His saying: "The Day the earth will be replaced by another earth and the heavens."

12312 - Ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us, Sa'id ibn Luban al-Kila'i narrated to us, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who said: A Jewish rabbi came to the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "What do you say when Allah says in His Book: 'The Day the earth will be replaced by another earth and the heavens.' Where will the people be at that time?" He replied: "They will be the guests of Allah; what is with Him will not be too difficult for them" (3).