فَإِن تَوَلَّوا فَقَد أَبلَغتُكُم ما أُرسِلتُ بِهِ إِلَيكُم ۚ وَيَستَخلِفُ رَبّي قَومًا غَيرَكُم وَلا تَضُرّونَهُ شَيئًا ۚ إِنَّ رَبّي عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَيءٍ حَفيظٌ
If you turn away, I have conveyed to you the message I was sent with. My Lord will replace you with other people, and you won’t harm Him at all. My Lord is the Guardian over all things.”
وَلَمّا جاءَ أَمرُنا نَجَّينا هودًا وَالَّذينَ آمَنوا مَعَهُ بِرَحمَةٍ مِنّا وَنَجَّيناهُم مِن عَذابٍ غَليظٍ
And when Our decree was issued, We delivered Hud and those who had faith with him, by Our mercy, and We saved them from a harsh punishment.
وَتِلكَ عادٌ ۖ جَحَدوا بِآياتِ رَبِّهِم وَعَصَوا رُسُلَهُ وَاتَّبَعوا أَمرَ كُلِّ جَبّارٍ عَنيدٍ
And that was Aad, who denied their Lord’s signs, disobeyed His messengers, and followed the command of every stubborn tyrant.
وَأُتبِعوا في هـٰذِهِ الدُّنيا لَعنَةً وَيَومَ القِيامَةِ ۗ أَلا إِنَّ عادًا كَفَروا رَبَّهُم ۗ أَلا بُعدًا لِعادٍ قَومِ هودٍ
They were followed by a curse in this world and on Resurrection Day. Unquestionably, Aad rejected their Lord. So, away with Aad, the people of Hud.
وَإِلىٰ ثَمودَ أَخاهُم صالِحًا ۚ قالَ يا قَومِ اعبُدُوا اللَّهَ ما لَكُم مِن إِلـٰهٍ غَيرُهُ ۖ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِنَ الأَرضِ وَاستَعمَرَكُم فيها فَاستَغفِروهُ ثُمَّ توبوا إِلَيهِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبّي قَريبٌ مُجيبٌ
To Thamud, their brother Saleh implored, “O my people, worship God; you have no deity other than Him. He initiated you from the earth and established you upon it. Seek His forgiveness, and repent to Him. My Lord is Near and Responsive.”
قالوا يا صالِحُ قَد كُنتَ فينا مَرجُوًّا قَبلَ هـٰذا ۖ أَتَنهانا أَن نَعبُدَ ما يَعبُدُ آباؤُنا وَإِنَّنا لَفي شَكٍّ مِمّا تَدعونا إِلَيهِ مُريبٍ
They responded, “O Saleh, we had high hopes in you before this. Are you prohibiting us from worshiping what our ancestors worshiped? We are deeply uncertain about what you are inviting us to.”
قالَ يا قَومِ أَرَأَيتُم إِن كُنتُ عَلىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِن رَبّي وَآتاني مِنهُ رَحمَةً فَمَن يَنصُرُني مِنَ اللَّهِ إِن عَصَيتُهُ ۖ فَما تَزيدونَني غَيرَ تَخسيرٍ
He replied, “O my people, do you see that I have clear evidence from my Lord, and that He bestowed His mercy upon me? Who could help me against God if I were to disobey Him? You would only cause me greater loss.”
وَيا قَومِ هـٰذِهِ ناقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُم آيَةً فَذَروها تَأكُل في أَرضِ اللَّهِ وَلا تَمَسّوها بِسوءٍ فَيَأخُذَكُم عَذابٌ قَريبٌ
“O my people, this is God’s she-camel for you as a symbol. Let her graze on God’s earth and don’t harm her, lest a swift punishment overtakes you.”
فَعَقَروها فَقالَ تَمَتَّعوا في دارِكُم ثَلاثَةَ أَيّامٍ ۖ ذٰلِكَ وَعدٌ غَيرُ مَكذوبٍ
Yet, they hamstrung her. He then declared, “Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is an irrevocable prophecy.”
فَلَمّا جاءَ أَمرُنا نَجَّينا صالِحًا وَالَّذينَ آمَنوا مَعَهُ بِرَحمَةٍ مِنّا وَمِن خِزيِ يَومِئِذٍ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ القَوِيُّ العَزيزُ
When Our decree came to pass, We saved Saleh and those who believed with him, by Our mercy, from the disgrace of that day. Your Lord is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
وَأَخَذَ الَّذينَ ظَلَمُوا الصَّيحَةُ فَأَصبَحوا في دِيارِهِم جاثِمينَ
And a loud scream seized the wrongdoers; and they became corpses in their homes.