And it was recited: 'That you worship,' with a dhamma on the 'n' following the 'b,' two groups: a group of believers and a group of disbelievers.

And it was said that the two groups refer to Salih, peace be upon him, and his people before any of them believed. They dispute, each group saying: 'The truth is with me.' The evil deed is the punishment, and the good deed is repentance. If you say: What is the meaning of their hastening to the evil before the good? This would only be the case if both were expected, one before the other? I say: They would say, out of their ignorance: 'If the punishment that Salih, peace be upon him, threatens occurs, we will repent then and seek forgiveness'—assuming that repentance is accepted at that time. 'And if it does not occur, we will remain as we are.' So Salih, peace be upon him, addressed them according to their words and beliefs, then said to them: 'Why do you not seek forgiveness from Allah before the punishment descends? Perhaps you will be shown mercy,' as a reminder to them of their error in what they said and a clarification of their belief.