The Quran

Preface

أَلَم يَأتِهِم نَبَأُ الَّذينَ مِن قَبلِهِم قَومِ نوحٍ وَعادٍ وَثَمودَ وَقَومِ إِبراهيمَ وَأَصحابِ مَديَنَ وَالمُؤتَفِكاتِ ۚ أَتَتهُم رُسُلُهُم بِالبَيِّناتِ ۖ فَما كانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظلِمَهُم وَلٰكِن كانوا أَنفُسَهُم يَظلِمونَ

Yusuf Ali

Hath not the story reached them of those before them?- the People of Noah, and ‘Ād,¹ and Thamūd; the People of Abraham, the men² of Midian, and the cities overthrown.³ To them came their messengers with clear signs. It is not God Who wrongs them, but they wrong their own souls.

The story of Noah is told in 7:59-64; of ‘Ād in 7:65-72; and of Thamūd in 7:73-79; of Abraham in numerous places, but see specially 6:74-82; of Midianites in 7:85-93; and of Lot and the Cities of the Plain overthrown for their wickedness, in 7:80-84.
In the case of Noah and Abraham, the word I have translated as “people of...” is qawm; these prophets were messengers each to his own people or nation, as was also Hud to the ‘Ād people and Ṣālih to the Thamūd people. The word used for the Midianites is Ashabi Madyan, which I have translated “men of Midian” for want of a better word. The Midianites were for the greater part of their history nomads, with pasture grounds but no settled territory or town. The town of Madyan on the Gulf of 'Aqabah refers to much later times when the Midianites as a people had ceased to count. See n. 1053 to 7:85.
The Cities of Plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, to whom Lot preached in vain to desist from their abominations: 7:80-84.