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Surah 29. Al-Ankabut
Ayah 38 - 39
٣٨. وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَا۟ وَقَد تَّبَيَّنَ لَكُم مِّن مَّسَـٰكِنِهِمْ ۖ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَكَانُوا۟ مُسْتَبْصِرِينَ
٣٩. وَقَـٰرُونَ وَفِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ سَـٰبِقِينَ
[38-39] And We destroyed `Ad and Thamud. You have seen the places where they lived.65 Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and misled them from the right path, although they were sensible people.66 And We destroyed Korah and Pharaoh and Haman. Moses came to them with clear Signs, but they assumed arrogance in the land, whereas hey could not outstrip67 Us.
65Every Arab was acquainted with the lands where these two nations had lived. The whole of southern Arabia now known as Ahqaf, Yaman and Hadramaut, was the land of 'Ad in the ancient times, and the Arabs knew it. The whole area in the north of the Hijaz, from Rabigh to 'Aqabah and from Madinah and Khaiber to Taima' and Tabuk. still abounds with Thamudic monuments, which must have been more prominent than they are today in the time when the Qur'an was being revealed.
66That is, "They were not ignorant and foolish people, but were the most civilized people of their own times. They performed and carried out their worldly duties and chores very carefully and intelligently. Therefore, it cannot be said that Satan deluded them and pulled them on to his way by artifice and deception. Nay, they adopted the way shown by Satan with open eyes and with full understanding because it promised great pleasures and advantages; and they abandoned the way presented by the Prophets because it appeared to be colorless, tasteless and troublesome due to moral restrictions."
67That is, "They could not have got away and escaped Allah's grasp: they had no power to frustrate and defeat Allah's plans and schemes."