77فَعَقَرُوا النّاقَةَ وَعَتَوا عَن أَمرِ رَبِّهِم وَقالوا يا صالِحُ ائتِنا بِما تَعِدُنا إِن كُنتَ مِنَ المُرسَلينَMuhammad AsadAnd then they cruelly slaughtered the she-camel1 and turned with disdain from their Sustainer's commandment, and said: "O Salih! Bring about that [punishment] with which thou hast threatened us, if thou art truly one of God's message-bearers!"The verb 'aqara primarily denotes "he hamstrung [an animal]"- i.e., before slaughtering it, so that it might not run away. This barbarous custom was widely practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia, so that 'agr ("hamstringing") gradually became synonymous with slaughtering in a cruel manner (Razi; see also Lane V, 2107 f.).