َ وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ ﴿۹﴾ وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ ﴿۱۰﴾ الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلَادِ ﴿۱۱﴾ فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ ﴿۱۲﴾ فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ ﴿۱۳﴾ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ ﴿۱۴﴾ فَأَمَّا الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ ﴿۱۵﴾ وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ ﴿۱۶﴾

﴾9﴿ Wa samoodal lazeena jaabus sakhra bil waad
﴾10﴿ Wa fir'awna zil awtaad
﴾11﴿ Allazeena taghaw fil bilaad
﴾12﴿ Fa aksaroo feehal fasaad
﴾13﴿ Fasabba 'alaihim Rabbuka sawta 'azaab
﴾14﴿ Inna Rabbaka labil mirsaad
﴾15﴿ Fa ammal insaanu izaa mab talaahu Rabbuhoo fa akramahoo wa na' 'amahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee akraman
﴾16﴿ Wa ammaaa izaa mabtalaahu faqadara 'alaihi rizqahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee ahaanan

﴾9﴿ And the Thamud who carved the rocks in the valley
﴾10﴿ And Pharaoh, the owner of the stakes
﴾11﴿ Those who were defiant in the cities
﴾12﴿ So they had spread much corruption therein
﴾13﴿ Then your Lord cast upon them the whip of punishment
﴾14﴿ Indeed, your Lord is in ambush
﴾15﴿ So as for man, when his Lord tests him and then honors him and blesses him, he says, My Lord has honored me
﴾16﴿ But when He tests him and restricts his provision, he says, My Lord has humiliated me

[9] This is the second example. Those who carved the rocks—this refers to their craftsmanship, meaning they used to carve stones and build structures, various forms, and decorations from them.
In the valley—this specifically refers to Wadi al-Qura, or it can have a general meaning, referring to the mountain slopes where they lived.
[10] This is the third example, referring to the Pharaoh’s people, who showed arrogance due to the power of their kingdom.
Possessor of stakes—this is a metaphor for a large army, police force, and soldiers through which he had secured his rule, or it means that when he inflicted severe punishment on someone, he would drive nails through their hands and feet, as he did with Asiyah (may Allah be pleased with her).
[11,12] In this, the diseases of those who denied the truth are mentioned. Transgression and corruption—the first is the cause of the second.
They transgressed—transgression means going beyond the limits set by Allah in belief and action.
Corruption—includes killing, disbelief, and all sins. Ash-Sharbini said that whoever acts contrary to what Allah has commanded and judges among the servants with injustice is a corrupter. This is a common disease among the deniers.
[13,14] This is the consequence of punishment based on their causes.
Indeed, your Lord—this phrase emphasizes the certainty of punishment.
Is in ambush—mirṣād refers to a place where one can lie in wait to catch an enemy; it also means an ambush. This is a metaphor indicating that Allah sees the deeds of His servants and hears their words—nothing is hidden from Him.
[15,16] In this verse is a rebuke to those deniers who consider worldly abundance as a sign of honor and poverty and hardship as humiliation. What is meant here is love of the world, which is the cause of this spiritual disease.
So He honored him—this refers to worldly honor, where people show respect to someone because of wealth and worldly status.
He honored me—(Question): Allah uses the word “honored,” so why is this person being rebuked for saying “He honored me”?
(Answer 1): The point is that he does not say this out of gratitude to Allah, but rather he believes he is deserving of it—like the statement of Qarun in Surah al-Qasas (28:78).
He humiliated me—he considers poverty a form of humiliation. Because of this, the people of ‘Ad, Thamud, and Pharaoh during their times considered the believing poor to be insignificant and lowly, as mentioned in their stories throughout various surahs.
Poverty is not humiliation. That is why the provision of most righteous servants is limited, even though they are honored in the sight of Allah.