وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْحِجْرِ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ 80
Translations
And certainly did the companions of al-Ḥijr [i.e., the Thamūd] deny the messengers.
Transliteration
Wa-laqad kadhdhaba ashabu al-hijri al-mursalin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the people of Al-Hijr (the region of Thamud), who rejected and denied the messengers sent to them. According to classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this is specifically about the Thamud people who rejected the Prophet Salih (peace be upon him), earning Allah's severe punishment. The verse emphasizes the grave consequence of rejecting divine guidance and the messengers who bring it.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Hijr, a Meccan chapter that discusses various nations and their rejection of prophets as a warning to the Quraysh. The context here directly follows the discussion of other nations who denied their messengers, establishing a pattern of how rejection of messengers leads to destruction. This served as a stark reminder to the Meccan disbelievers of the fate that befell previous peoples.
Related Hadiths
The incident of the Thamud and Prophet Salih is mentioned extensively in hadith collections. Sahih Bukhari includes narrations about how the Thamud hamstrung the She-camel and were destroyed by a terrible blast. Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned the destruction of Thamud as a warning (Sahih Bukhari 3156).
Themes
Key Lesson
The denial of messengers and divine guidance inevitably leads to destruction and ruin, regardless of the power or resources a nation possesses. For believers, this serves as a cautionary reminder to accept truth when it comes and to reflect upon the fate of those who stubbornly reject Allah's guidance.