The Statement of the Exalted: "And that continued to be their cry."

13613 - From Mujahid regarding His statement: "And that continued to be their cry," he said: They were people of fortresses; they had killed their Prophet, so Allah sent Nebuchadnezzar against them, and he killed them. And regarding His statement: "Until We made them as a mown field, extinguished," he said: With the sword, the angels struck their faces until they returned to their dwellings.

13614 - From Wahb who said: A man from the narrators related to me, saying: There were two villages in Yemen; one was called Hudur, and the other was such-and-such. They became insolent and were given luxury, to the point that they would lock their doors. When they were given luxury, Allah sent a Prophet to them, and he called them, but they killed him. So Allah cast into the heart of Nebuchadnezzar to invade them. He prepared an army against them, and they fought them and defeated his army. Then they [the army] returned defeated to him, and he prepared another army for them that was denser than the first, and they defeated them as well. When Nebuchadnezzar saw that, he invaded them himself, and they fought him, and he defeated them until they fled from it, running. They heard a herald saying: "Do not flee, and return to where you were given luxury and your dwellings." So they returned, and they heard a herald saying: "O for the vengeance of the Prophet!" And they were killed by the sword. That is what Allah said: "And how many a city have We shattered," up to His statement, "extinguished."

The Statement of the Exalted: "And We did not create the heaven and the earth and whatever is between them in play."

13615 - From Qatadah regarding His statement: "And We did not create the heaven and the earth and whatever is between them in play," he says: We did not create them in vain nor in falsehood.

The Statement of the Exalted: "If We had intended to take a diversion..."

13616 - From Ikrimah regarding His statement: "If We had intended to take a diversion," he said: Diversion (lahw) is a child.

13617 - From al-Suddi regarding His statement: "If We had intended to take a diversion," the verse. He says: If I had intended to take a child, I would have taken it from the angels.

13618 - From al-Hasan, he said: Diversion (lahw) in the language of Yemen is a woman.