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Powerless-those among Who believed: "Know ye Indeed that ~iilil]. is A messenger from his Lord?" They said: "We do indeed Believe in the revelation lO46 Which hath been sent Through him." 76. The arrogant party said: "For our part, we reject What ye believe in." 77. Then they ham-strung The she-camel, and insolently Defied the order of their Lord, Saying: "0 ~iili~! bring about Thy threats, if thou art A messenger (of Allah)!"
So the earthquake took them 1047 Unawares, and they lay Prostrate in their homes In the morning! 79. So Siilih left them;048
1045. As usually happens in such cases. the Believers were the lowly and the humble, and the oppressors were the arrogant, who in selfishly keeping back nature's gifts (which are Allah's gifts) from the people, were deaf to the dictates of justice and kindness. ~iili4 took the side of the unprivileged, and was therefore himself attacked. 1046. Notice the relation between the question and the answer. The godless chiefs wanted to discredit ~iili~, and put a personal question. as much as to say. "Is he not a liar?" The Believers took back the issue to the higher plane, as much as to say. "We know he is a man of Allah, but look at the justice for which he is making a stand: to resist it is to resist Allah". The answer of the godless was to reject Allah in words, and in action to commit a further act of cruelty and injustice in ham-stringing and killing the she-camel, at the same time hurling defiance at ~ali~ and his God. 1047. The retribution was not long delayed. A terrible earthquake came and buried the people and destroyed their boasted civilisation. The calamity must have been fairly extensive in area and intense in the terror it inspired, for it is described (Iiv. 31) as a "single mighty blast" (fai~atan wii~idatan). the sort of terror-inspiring noise which accompanies all big earthquakes. 1048. ~iili~ was saved by Allah's mercy as a just and righteous man. His speech here may be either a parting warning, or it may be a soliloquy lamenting the destruction of his people for their sin and folly. </
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