وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَٱسْتَحَبُّوا۟ ٱلْعَمَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ صَـٰعِقَةُ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ 17
Translations
And as for Thamūd, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn.
Transliteration
Wa-amma thamudu fahadaynāhum fastahabbū al-'amā 'alā al-hudā fa-akhadhathum sā'iqatu al-'adhābi al-hūni bimā kānū yaksibūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how Allah guided the people of Thamud with clear signs and proofs, yet they deliberately chose blindness and misguidance over the truth. As a result, they were seized by a devastating punishment—a thunderbolt or blast of humiliation—which was the direct consequence of their sinful deeds. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that their destruction came not from Allah's injustice, but from their own conscious rejection of divine guidance, making them responsible for their fate.
Revelation Context
Surah Fussilat is a Meccan surah revealed during the early Islamic period to warn the Quraysh and all humanity. This ayah appears within a passage comparing the fates of different nations who rejected their messengers. The context illustrates a recurring pattern in Islamic history: those who possess clear knowledge of truth yet choose arrogance and denial inevitably face divine punishment. This serves as a warning to the Meccan polytheists of the same fate.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned the destruction of Thamud in several contexts. In Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet warned against following their example of arrogance. Additionally, in Sunan Ibn Majah, there are narrations about the Prophet's warnings regarding the fate of nations that rejected their messengers, directly paralleling Thamud's destruction.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that mere access to guidance is insufficient—we must actively choose to follow it, as choosing blindness over clear truth carries grave spiritual and temporal consequences. For modern readers, it serves as a reminder that sincere acceptance of divine guidance requires humility and surrender, not selective adherence based on personal desires.
Related Ayahs
۞ وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُوا۟ لَهُم مَّا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَوْلُ فِىٓ أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ خَـٰسِرِينَ
And We appointed for them companions who made attractive to them what was before them and what was behind them [of sin], and the word [i.e., decree] has come into effect upon them among nations which had passed on before them of jinn and men. Indeed, they [all] were losers.
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allāh and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims."
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ هَـٰذَا لِى وَمَآ أَظُنُّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَآئِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّجِعْتُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّىٓ إِنَّ لِى عِندَهُۥ لَلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ فَلَنُنَبِّئَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ
And if We let him taste mercy from Us after an adversity which has touched him, he will surely say, "This is [due] to me, and I do not think the Hour will occur; and [even] if I should be returned to my Lord, indeed, for me there will be with Him the best." But We will surely inform those who disbelieved about what they did, and We will surely make them taste a massive punishment.
مَّا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِن قَبْلِكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
Nothing is said to you, [O Muḥammad], except what was already said to the messengers before you. Indeed, your Lord is a possessor of forgiveness and a possessor of painful penalty.