كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِالنُّذُرِ
“Thamud denied the warnings (or considered the warnings a lie)”
A concise statement carrying lessons already established earlier in the Surah.
Third mention in the Surah
Thamud are the third nation mentioned
From the nation of Nuh (as), to ‘Aad, to Thamud — the introduction becomes briefer.
Brevity with purpose
Why briefer here?
An explanation for this brevity is that Allah has already provided two lessons in respect to the nation of Nuh (as) and ‘Aad, and consequently there is no need to repeat what had already been said.
What the concise statement makes us assume
We will automatically assume that they called their Messenger a liar.
We ask: “How was Allah’s punishment for them?” — even without being told that.
A mirror held to Quraish
These conclusions can be reached about Thamud by Quraish when they are listening to this Ayah, but the question is why are they not able to reach the same conclusion for themselves and realise that they are the current Thamud?!
Key lessons distilled
Thamud are presented after Nuh (as) and ‘Aad.
The language becomes progressively briefer from Nuh (as), to ‘Aad, to Thamud.
Two lessons were already provided through Nuh (as) and ‘Aad, so repetition is unnecessary.
From “Thamud denied the warnings,” we infer they denied their Messenger and are prompted to ask about Allah’s punishment.
Quraish can draw these conclusions about Thamud — so why not about themselves?