55وَإِذ قُلتُم يا موسىٰ لَن نُؤمِنَ لَكَ حَتّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهرَةً فَأَخَذَتكُمُ الصّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُم تَنظُرونَMuhammad AsadAnd [remember] when you said, "O Moses indeed we shall not believe thee unto we see God face to face!" - whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment1 overtook you before your very eyes.The Qur'an does not state what form this "thunderbolt of punishment" (as-sa'iqah) took. The lexicographers give various interpretations to this word, but all agree on the element of vehemence and suddenness inherent in it (see Lane IV, 1690).