Allah the Exalted says, “So We let loose upon them a furious, piercing wind on days of ill-omen, that We might make them taste the punishment of disgrace in this worldly life; yet the punishment of the Hereafter is even more humiliating, and they will not be helped” (Fussilat 41:16)—and we seek Allah’s protection.

As for Thamud—those who carved the rocks in the valley (al-Fajr 89:9)—they too were obstinate and tyrannical, defying their prophet until they said to him, “You were, among us, someone we held in high regard before this” (Hūd 11:62). In other words, “We used to think well of you and judge you sensible, but now we consider you foolish.” Indeed, every messenger ever sent was met by his people with the cry, “A sorcerer or a madman,” just as Allah says: “Likewise, no messenger came to those before them but they said, ‘A sorcerer or a madman’” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:52).

Their prophet therefore granted them a respite of three days: “He said, ‘Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days; that is a promise that will not be denied’” (Hūd 11:65). When the three days were over—Allah’s refuge is sought—the earth convulsed beneath them and a mighty blast overtook them, leaving them like the dried twigs of a corral: palm-leaf stalks that, after long exposure to sun and wind, crumble like scorched chaff. Thus they became as brittle straw, and every last one of them perished.

And Pharaoh—what will make you comprehend Pharaoh?—that overbearing, arrogant tyrant who transgressed all bounds and denied Allah. He said to Moses, “What is the Lord of the worlds?” and he said to his people, “I know of no god you have other than me”—we seek refuge in Allah. He even said to Hāmān, his minister: “Build me a tower—an elevated structure—so that I may reach the means, the pathways of the heavens, and look upon the God of Moses; for indeed, I think he is a liar,” he said in mockery—Allah’s protection is sought (Ghāfir 40:36-37).