(43–45) “And in Thamūd, when they were told, ‘Enjoy yourselves for a time.’ * But they defied their Lord’s command, so the thunderbolt seized them while they looked on. * They were unable to rise, nor could they defend themselves.”

That is, in Thamūd was [a great sign]. Allah sent Salih, peace be upon him, to them, but they denied him and stubbornly opposed him. Allah sent him the she-camel as a manifest sign, yet this only increased them in insolence and aversion.

They were told, “Enjoy yourselves for a time.” But they defied their Lord’s command, “so the thunderbolt seized them”—that is, the mighty, devastating blast—“while they looked on” at their punishment with their own eyes.

“They were unable to rise” and thereby escape the punishment, “nor could they defend themselves.”