فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُشْرِقِينَ ﴿۷۳﴾ فَجَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ ﴿۷۴﴾ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ ﴿۷۵﴾ وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُقِيمٍ ﴿۷۶﴾ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿۷۷﴾

﴾73﴿ Fa akhazat humus saihatu mushriqeen
﴾74﴿ Faja'alnaa 'aaliyahaa saafilahaa wa amtarnaa 'alaihim hijaaratam min sijjeel
﴾75﴿ Inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil lilmutawassimeen
﴾76﴿ Wa innahaa labi sabeelim muqeem
﴾77﴿ Inna fee zaalika la Aayatal lilmu'mineen

﴾73﴿ So the awful cry seized them at the time of sunrise
﴾74﴿ So We turned their cities upside down and rained upon them stones of baked clay
﴾75﴿ Indeed, in this event, there are many lessons for those who reflect
﴾76﴿ And indeed, those cities are situated on a straight path
﴾77﴿ Indeed, in this are great signs for the believers

[73,74] In this verse, three punishments upon that nation are mentioned.
Question: In Surah Hud, it is mentioned that their punishment occurred in the morning—so how is that reconciled here?
Answer: The beginning of the punishment took place at dawn, and by the time the sun rose, their destruction was complete.
(وَأَمْطَرْنَا) – The “wāw” here does not indicate sequence (order), meaning the raining of stones may have occurred before the overturning of the towns, or after.
It is also not far from Allah’s power that stones were rained down even upon the already overturned towns.
[75] (لِلْمُتَوَسِّمِينَ) – Mutawassimīn are those people who look at things attentively, observing their signs and indications, and reflect deeply upon them.
Since visible signs remained after the punishment, those who reflect (mutawassimīn) are mentioned—because through contemplation, many lessons and warnings are drawn.
For this reason, the word “āyāt” (signs) is mentioned in plural form, as abundant reflections and lessons can be derived from them.
[76] From (لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُقِيمٍ), what is meant is the well-traveled path that runs from Hijaz toward the Dead Sea, leading to Sham (Syria).
This route is mentioned as well in verse 137 of Surah al-Ṣāffāt.
[77] For the believers, even one sign is sufficient—therefore, it is mentioned here in the singular form (آيَة).