It is narrated from Burayr al-Bahili (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: I asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the destruction of the people of Shu'ayb and about the saying of Allah Almighty: 'So the punishment of the Day of the Canopy seized them. Indeed, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day.' [Surah al-Shu'ara: 189] Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Allah Almighty set upon them a stifling closeness and intense heat which choked their breath. They went inside their houses (to escape it), but the heat overcame them inside the houses as well and began to choke their breath. Then they fled from the houses and went out into the open country, so Allah Almighty sent a cloud which gave them shade from the sun. They felt coolness and relief in that shade, so they began calling one another, until when they had all gathered beneath that cloud, Allah Almighty rained fire upon them." Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) further said: "So this is 'the punishment of the Day of the Canopy; indeed, it was the punishment of a tremendous Day.'"