﴿ كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍۢ وَعَادٌۭ وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو ٱلْأَوْتَادِ ﴾

“To the truth gave the lie aforetime Noah’s people, and [the tribe of] Ad, and Pharaoh of the [many] tent-poles,”

Those who rejected the Prophet used to say, ‘Bring upon us God’s punishment with which you are threatening us.’ The non-believers were so audacious because they believed that they were not going to face God’s punishment. The previous communities had also considered themselves safe and behaved insolently with their prophets, but all of them were destroyed.