۞ And mention, [O Muhammad], the brother of 'Aad, when he warned his people in the [region of] al-Ahqaf - and warners had already passed on before him and after him - [saying], "Do not worship except Allah. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a terrible day." 21 They said, 'What, hast thou come to pervert us from our gods? Then bring us that thou promisest us, if indeed thou speakest truly.' 22 He said: The knowledge is only with Allah, and I deliver to you the message with which I am sent, but I see you are a people who are ignorant. 23 And when they saw it as a sudden cloud heading for their valley they said: 'This is a cloud that will bring us rain' 'Rather' (he replied): 'it is that which you have sought to hasten, a wind in which there is a painful punishment. 24 "Everything will it destroy by the command of its Lord!" Then by the morning they - nothing was to be seen but (the ruins of) their houses! thus do We recompense those given to sin! 25 We had established them more firmly in the land than you are. We had given them ears, eyes, and hearts but none of their ears, eyes, and hearts proved to be of any benefit to them; they rejected the revelations of God and the torment which they mocked brought upon them utter destruction. 26