78فَأَخَذَتهُمُ الرَّجفَةُ فَأَصبَحوا في دارِهِم جاثِمينَMuhammad AsadThereupon an earthquake overtook them: and then they lay lifeless, in their very homes, on the ground.1Lit., "they became, in their homes, prostrate on the ground". The term rajfah which occurs at the beginning of this sentence signifies any violent commotion or trembling, and is often, though not always, applied to an earthquake (rajfat al-ard). It is possible that the earthquake mentioned here was accompanied by the volcanic eruption which at some time overtook the historical dwelling-places of the Thamud tribe, and to which the extensive black lava-fields (harrah) of northern Hijaz, and particularly near Mada'in Salih (see note 59 above), bear eloquent witness to this day.