التفسير التبليغي
(And the Dwellers of the Wood, and the people of Tubba‘ – all denied the Messengers, so My threat was realized.) (Qaf 50:14)
﴿أَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ﴾ (The Dwellers of the Wood), meaning: the trees. Allah Almighty sent Shu'ayb to them, and he called them to Allah and reminded them of Him, and warned them against short-changing in measure and weight. However, they – and we seek refuge in Allah – persisted in their disbelief and obstinacy. ﴿فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ﴾ (So the punishment of the Day of the Shade seized them.) (Ash-Shu'ara 26:189). This punishment is said to be that Allah Almighty sent intense heat upon them, and they found no escape from it, except that He sent a vast, cool cloud. So they rushed to its shade to seek shelter under it, then Allah sent fire upon them and burned them. And concerning this, Allah Almighty says: ﴿فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمِ الظُّلَّةِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾ (But they denied him, so the punishment of the Day of the Shade seized them. Indeed, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day.) (Ash-Shu'ara 26:189).
We are commanded to hasten when we pass by the dwellings of the perished nations, because the trace (of their punishment) is still present. And likewise, the opposite is true: if we pass by places of the sacrifices of the Companions and the prophets before them, then the trace is also still present.
﴿وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ﴾ (And the people of Tubba‘ – all denied the Messengers, so My threat was realized.) The Messengers came to them, inviting them to faith and warning them of punishment, but they denied them, so the punishment came upon them.
﴿وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ﴾ (And the people of Tubba‘) He was a king in Yemen from the kings of the Arabs of Himyar. He embraced Islam and called his people to Islam, but they denied him. He was named Tubba‘ due to the large number of people who followed him.
﴿وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ﴾ (And the people of Tubba‘) al-Himyarī. He was a believer, but his people were disbelievers. For this reason, he was not condemned, but his people were condemned.
Source: التفسير التبليغي