17. And as for Thamûd, We showed and made clear to them the Path of Truth (Islâmic Monotheism) through Our Messenger, (i.e. showed them the way of success), but they preferred blindness to guidance; so the Sâ‘iqah (a destructive awful cry, torment, hit, a thunderbolt) of disgracing torment seized them because of what they used to earn.