قَالُوا إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
They said, ‘Indeed we take you for a bad omen. If you do not desist we will stone you, and surely a painful punishment will visit you from us.’
Agha Ali Puya Commentary
Commentary on Quran 36:18
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 36:18] Tayr means a bird. Like Romans, the Arabs also derived omens from birds. The Egyptians thought that their bad luck was due to Musa (Araf: 131). The people of Thamud thought that their ill luck was due to the preachings of Salih (Naml: 47). The messengers from Isa were warned by people that if they did not give up their preachings, they would be stoned and tortured. The messengers replied that any calamity which would come to the people will be the result of their own rebellious conduct.