Surah Al-Ahqaf — Ayah 24 (46:24)

English translation (Saheeh International)

And when they saw it as a cloud approaching their valleys, they said, "This is a cloud bringing us rain!" Rather, it is that for which you were impatient:¹ a wind, within it a painful punishment,

1. - When you challenged your prophet. See verse 22 of this sūrah.

Brief commentary

Then when the punishment they hastened for came to them, and they saw a cloud appearing in one direction of the sky, heading towards their valleys, they said: “This is a cloud which will bring us rain”. Hud said to them: “The matter is not as you think, i.e., that it is a cloud which will rain upon you, but rather it is the punishment you hastened for. It is a wind which contains a painful punishment”.