﴿They denied﴾ meaning: it is the habit of those who preceded, as if they advised each other with it. ﴿The people of Lut, the messengers﴾ because whoever denies a messenger - as has been mentioned - has denied all, due to the equivalence of the miracles in indicating the truth. And this verse has explicitly stated their disbelief through denial, and it has clarified their hastening in misguidance by His saying.