[2541] As a sign of the imminent coming of the promised punishment (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Wasīṭ).
[2542] The result of the relationship between male and female is the basic nucleus of life; without it, life would not be sustainable and, hence, such a Divine command for a life that was to be established anew after the deluge.
[2543] Those among Noah’s family who did not Believe with him and whom God decreed that they should thus be destroyed (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).