فَقَضَاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ ﴿۱۲﴾ فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنْذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ ﴿۱۳﴾ إِذْ جَاءَتْهُمُ الرُّسُلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ قَالُوا لَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّنَا لَأَنْزَلَ مَلَائِكَةً فَإِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ ﴿۱۴﴾ فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ ﴿۱۵﴾

﴾12﴿ Faqadaahunna sab'a samaawaatin fee yawmaini wa awhaa fee kulli samaaa'in amarahaa; wa zaiyannassa maaa'ad dunyaa bimasaabeeha wa hifzaa; zaalika taqdeerul 'Azeezil 'Aleem
﴾13﴿ Fa-in a'radoo faqul anzartukum saa'iqatam misla saa'iqati 'Aadinw wa Samood
﴾14﴿ Iz jaaa'at humur Rusulu mim baini aydeehim wa min khalfihim allaa ta'budooo illal laaha qaaloo law shaaa'a Rabunaa la anzala malaaa 'ikatan fa innaa bimaaa ursiltum bihee kaafiroon
﴾15﴿ Fa ammaa 'Aadun fastak baroo fil ardi bighairul haqqi wa qaaloo man ashaddu minnaa quwwatan awalam yaraw annal laahal lazee khalaqahum Huwa ashaddu minhum quwwatanw wa kaanoo bi Aayaatinaa yajhadoon

﴾12﴿ Then He completed them as seven heavens in two days and inspired in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and safeguarded it. This is the decree of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knowing
﴾13﴿ So if they turn away, then say to them, I warn you of a punishment like the punishment of ‘Ad and Thamud
﴾14﴿ When their messengers came to them, before them and after them, saying, "Do not worship anyone except Allah, they said, "If our Lord had willed, He would surely have sent down angels. So indeed, we deny what you have been sent with
﴾15﴿ As for the people of ‘Ad, they acted arrogantly in the land without right and said, Who is stronger than us in power?" Did they not see that Allah, who created them, is stronger than them in power, Yet they continued to deny Our signs

[12] This too is a rational proof, containing four manifestations of divine control.
(وَأَوْحَى فِي كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ أَمْرَهَا) – The meaning is that in every heaven there are angels, and Allah sent to them the commands suited to each one's nature.
Or, awḥā here may mean anfadha (He enforced or implemented), meaning: “We set in motion within each heaven the order appropriate to it.”
[13] After the rational proofs, there is a worldly warning for those who turn away, by mentioning two examples from past nations—ʿĀd and Thamūd.
(فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا) – the meaning of aʿraḍū here is continuous turning away, i.e., if they persist in turning away and do not repent.
The mention of ʿĀd and Thamūd indicates that neither physical strength nor skilled craftsmanship can save anyone from the punishment of Allah the Exalted.
(صَاعِقَةً) – means a severe punishment from which loud cries emerge, causing people to fall unconscious or die.
[14] This mentions the reason for the punishment upon both of these nations.
(أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ) – it becomes clear that all the messengers were united on the message of Tawheed in worship.
(قَالُوا) – this highlights their denial, and that itself was the cause of punishment.
The essence of their denial was: “We do not accept a human as a messenger; if angels had been sent as messengers, we would have accepted them.”
(بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ) – indicates that the core of their rejection was the message of Tawheed, with which the messengers had been sent.
[15] After mentioning their common denial, the path of disbelief and punishment for each nation is described separately.
The disease of the ʿĀd people was arrogance, and the cause of their arrogance was their large physical stature.
Thus, the meaning of their arrogance is that they would not listen to the words of Hūd (peace be upon him) and paid no attention to him.