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
As for [the people of] ‘Ad, they acted arrogantly in the earth unduly, and they said, ‘Who is more powerful than us?’ Did they not see that Allah, who created them, is more powerful than them? They used to impugn Our signs;
Agha Ali Puya Commentary
Commentary on Quran 41:15
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 41:15] Refer to Araf: 65 to 72 for the people of Ad, and Araf: 73 to 79 for the people of Thamud. It is reported by Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari that in a meeting called by Abu Jahl the tribal chiefs of the Quraysh decided to send a man well versed in poetry and know-how of sorcery and soothsaying to the Holy Prophet for a dialogue. Utbah bin Rabi-a was selected. He came to the Holy Prophet and said: "Are you better than your ancestors? Abdullah, Abdul Muttalib and Hashim did not condemn our gods. If you are aspiring for power we will make you our supreme chief, put our most beautiful women at your disposal, and amass mountains of gold and silver in your courtyard." The Holy Prophet, in reply, recited the first 18 verses of this surah. When the fate of the people of Ad and Thamud was mentioned, Utbah requested the Holy Prophet to stop. He stood up and left his presence. He went directly to his home. The Quraysh chiefs thought that Utbah had also fallen under the spell of the son of Abdullah. They went to him and began to cast aspersion on his integrity. In plain words he told them: "What Muhammad told me was neither poetry nor soothsaying. He simply recited something from the Quran. I am afraid that if we oppose him a painful torment may also seize us."