(So the Sayhah overtook them) This is the piercing sound that came to them when the sun rose, which was accompanied by the city being flipped upside down, and stones of baked clay (As-Sijjil) raining down upon them. The discussion of As-Sijjil in Surah Hud is a sufficient explanation. Allah said:
إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ
(Surely, in this are signs for those who see.) meaning that the traces of the destruction of that city are easily visible to any one who ponder about it, whether they look at it with physical eyesight or mental and spiritual insight, as Mujahid said concerning the phrase,
About the word of Allah: لَعَمرُکَ (la'amruk : By your life), the majority of commentators, as reported in Ruh al-Ma’ ani, have said that the addressee of 'la'amruka' is the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It is his life that Allah Ta’ ala has sworn by. Al-Baihaqi in Dala'ilun-Nubuwwah, and Abu Nu'aym, Ibn Marduwayh and others have reported from Sayyidna ` Ab-dullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that Allah Ta’ ala has not bestowed on anyone in the whole creation an honour and rank higher than that of Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mutafa ﷺ . This is the reason why Allah Ta’ ala has never sworn by the life of any prophet or angel, while in this verse, He has sworn by the age and life of the Holy Prophet ﷺ - which is the highest conceivable honour and deference accorded to him.
This means that ‘here are the young girls of the city for you to marry’. When Lot saw that, in spite of his opposition, the rogues were rushing upon his guests, he said, ‘For God’s sake! Please don’t dishonour me in the eyes of my guests. If at all you want to do something, here are the daughters of the community. You can marry any of them you like.’
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
![Surah Al-Hijr 15:74 in Arabic with its translation: “And We made the highest part [of the city] its lowest and rained upon them stones of hard clay.”](/surah/al-hijr/74/image.jpg)