And when he began with these, because their matter was more astonishing, and their story is more pure and strange, he mentioned the closest of the nations to them in time and most similar to them in condition. This is because they were indulged in what they were granted of gardens, springs, crops, and date palms whose fruits are tender. So they made the place that required them to be grateful, ingratitude. They preferred blindness over guidance, with what is in their sign, which is the she-camel, being a great indication of the power. He said: ﴿And Thamud, who carved﴾ meaning they penetrated and cut truly as if it were obligatory for them ﴿the rock in the valley﴾ meaning [the valley] of stone or the valley of villages. They made houses carved in the mountains, like one who seeks to outwit time and annihilate it. Abu Hayyan said: It is said that the first to carve the mountains, rocks, and marble was Thamud, and they built one thousand and seven hundred cities, all of them from stone.