⦗80–84⦘ “The people of al-Hijr certainly denied the messengers. We gave them Our signs, but they turned away from them. They carved homes into the mountains, feeling secure. Then the Blast seized them in the morning, and all they had earned was of no avail to them.”

Allah Most High relates that the people of al-Hijr—the people of Sālih, who inhabited the well-known region of al-Hijr in the land of the Hijāz—denied the messengers. That is, they denied Sālih; for whoever denies one messenger has denied all the messengers, since their message is one. They did not deny any of them because of his person, but because of the truth he brought—the same truth that all the messengers brought.

“We gave them Our signs,” which demonstrated the truth of what Sālih had brought them. Among these was the she-camel, one of Allah’s mighty signs.

“But they turned away from them,” out of pride and insolence toward Allah. Because of the abundance of Allah’s blessings upon them, “they carved homes into the mountains, feeling secure”—safe from danger and at ease in their dwellings. Had they shown gratitude for the blessing and believed their prophet Sālih, peace be upon him, Allah would have lavished provision upon them and honored them with various forms of reward, both immediate and deferred. But when they denied him, hamstrung the she-camel, insolently defied their Lord’s command, and said, “O Sālih! Bring us what you threaten us with, if you are one of the truthful,”

“the Blast seized them in the morning.” Their hearts were torn apart within their bodies, and by morning they lay dead in their dwellings, fallen prone. Added to this were the disgrace and the unceasing curse that followed them. “All they had earned was of no avail to them,” for when Allah’s command comes, it cannot be repelled by great numbers of troops, powerful supporters, or abundant wealth.