Quran Universe
15:81

وَءَاتَيۡنَٰهُمۡ ءَايَٰتِنَا فَكَانُواْ عَنۡهَا مُعۡرِضِينَ

Waataynahum ayatina fakanoo AAanha muAArideena

And We gave them Our signs, but from them they were turning away.

Word by word
  1. وَءَاتَيۡنَٰهُمۡAnd We gave them
  2. ءَايَٰتِنَاOur Signs
  3. فَكَانُواْbut they were
  4. عَنۡهَاfrom them
  5. مُعۡرِضِينَturning away
Al-Hijr · 15:81Makkah

They saw the signs and turned their faces away.

The she-camel from the rock

What they were shown
Our signsthe she-camel from rock
met with
turning awaypreferring blindness
What was missing
proofnot enough evidence
willingnessthey did not want to see

Ibn Kathir says Salih brought signs, like the she-camel Allah created for them out of solid rock, which shared their water on alternate days. They killed it. He cites 41:17: they preferred blindness to guidance.

Your doctor has shown you the scan three times. Your friend has shown you the bank statements. You still change the subject. It is not a lack of proof. It is the turning away.

If I had better proof, I would change.

Often the proof is already there; what is missing is my willingness to look at it.

Try this

Look honestly today at one piece of evidence you keep looking away from.

Related41:1711:65
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 15:80)

And verily, the Dwellers of Al-Hijr denied the Messengers (80)And We gave them Our signs, but they were averse to them (81)And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains, (feeling) secure (82)But the Sayhah (torment - awful cry) overtook them in the early morning (83)And all that they used to earn availed them not (84)

The Destruction of the Dwellers of Al-Hijr, Who are the People called Thamud

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,

تَمَتَّعُوا فِي دَارِكُمْ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ

("Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise which will not be belied.")[11:65] Allah said:

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّوا الْعَمَىٰ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ

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

وَكَانُوا يَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا آمِنِينَ

(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 ﷺ passed on his way to Tabuk. He covered his head and urged his camel to go faster, saying to his Companions:

لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ الْقَوْمِ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونُوا بَاكِينَ، فَإِنَّ لَمْ تَبْكُوا فَتَبَاكُوا خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مَا أَصَابَهُم

(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.)

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُصْبِحِينَ

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

فَمَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

(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.