(17–18) “As for Thamūd, We showed them the way, but they preferred blindness to guidance. So the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment overtook them for what they used to earn. * And We saved those who believed and were mindful of Allah.”

As for Thamūd, they were the well-known tribe who inhabited al-Hijr and its surrounding region. Allah sent Salih (peace be upon him) to call them to affirm the oneness of their Lord and forbid them from associating partners with Him. Allah gave them the she-camel as a tremendous sign. She had her allotted day to drink, and they had theirs; they would drink her milk one day and drink from the water the next. They incurred no expense in maintaining her, for she grazed upon Allah’s land. Hence Allah says here: “As for Thamūd, We showed them the way”—that is, ⦗747⦘ through clear explanation. They are specifically mentioned even though the proof had been established and the truth made clear to every nation that was destroyed, because the sign given to Thamūd was an astounding one, witnessed by young and old, male and female alike. It was a plainly visible sign, and so they were singled out as having received an even greater degree of clarification and guidance.

Yet, because of their wrongdoing and wickedness, they preferred blindness—which is disbelief and misguidance—to guidance, which is knowledge and faith. “So the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment overtook them for what they used to earn”—not because of any injustice on Allah’s part toward them.

“And We saved those who believed and were mindful of Allah”—that is, Allah saved Salih (peace be upon him) and those who followed him among the believers who guarded themselves against idolatry and sins.