Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

90. “And the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said: ‘If you follow Shu‘ayb, you will indeed be losers’.”

91. “Then the earthquake seized them, so they became motionless bodies in their dwellings.”

In this verse, the term /rajfah/ (earthquake) has been used for the punishment of those people, while in Surah Hūd,No. 11 ,verse 94 the word /sayhah/ (rumbling) has been applied, and in Surah Ash-Shu‘arā,No. 26 , verse189 the phrase “…the punishment of the day of cloud…”, which is a covering produced by an annihilating cloud, is mentioned as their torment.

This shows that the earthquake of their chastisement had been accompanied with rumbling and an annihilating dark cloud.

The Arabic term /jāθm/is derived from /jaθm/ which means: to sit upon the knee and to stay in one place. As if, the punishment seized them at night when they were asleep. They woke up, but they had neither enough time to save themselves nor any ability to escape. So, they were destroyed while they were in the state of half-raised.

Most of the opponents of divine prophets were from the kind of rich notables.

“And the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said…”

One of the methods of disbelievers is threat by means of economical siege.

“…’If you follow Shu‘ayb, you will indeed be losers’.”

When they became like that, they increased their own aberration by persisting on leading others astray. There was no hope that they might believe. Therefore, basing on the decree of the law of effacing the effects of corruption, the divine punishment fell upon them. The verse says:

“Then the earthquake seized them, so they became motionless bodies in their dwellings.”