Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL HIJR [80]

80. And verily, the Dwellers of Al-Hijr denied the Messengers. 81. And We gave them Our signs, but they were averse to them. 82. And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains, (feeling) secure. 83. But the Sayhah (torment - awful cry) overtook them in the early morning. 84. And all that they used to earn availed them not. The Dwellers of the Al Hijr were the people of Thamud who rejected their Prophet, Salih. Whoever denies even one Messenger, then he has disbelieved in all of the Messengers, thus they are described as rejecting ”the Messengers''. Allah tells us that he (Salih) brought them signs to prove that what he was telling them was true, such as the she-camel which Allah created for them out of a solid rock in response to the supplication of Salih. This she-camel was grazing on their lands, and the people and the camel took water on alternate days that were well-known. When they rebelled and killed it, he said to them,

(”Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise which will not be belied.'') ﴿11:65﴾ Allah said:

(And as for Thamud, We showed them and made the path of truth clear but they preferred blindness to guidance.) ï´¿41:17ï´¾ Allah tells us that,

(And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains, (feeling) secure. ) meaning, they were without fear and they had no real need for those houses; it was merely a form of extravagance and work without a purpose. This could be seen from their work in the houses in the Al-Hijr through which the Messenger of Allah passed on his way to Tabuk. He covered his head and urged his camel to go faster, saying to his Companions:

(Do not enter the dwellings of those who were punished unless you are weeping, and if you do not weep then make yourself weep out of fear that perhaps what struck them may also strike you.)

(But the Sayhah (torment - awful cry) overtook them in the early morning.) meaning in the morning of the fourth day.

(And all that they used to earn availed them not.) meaning all of the benefits that they used to gain from their crops and fruits, and the water which they did not want to share with the she-camel that they killed so that it would not reduce their share of the water - all of that wealth would not protect them or help them when the command of their Lord came to pass.