Madyan was a trading hub with a business model built on cheating: rigged scales, shaved measures, ambushed trade routes, and currency games. Allah sent them Shuayb, called “the orator of the prophets” for his eloquence, with a message that fused worship and economics into one package: worship Allah alone, and give full measure and weight (Quran 7:85).
Their reply is preserved with its sarcasm intact: “O Shuaib, does your prayer command you that we abandon what our ancestors worshiped, or doing with our wealth what we want? You are the one who is intelligent and wise.” (11:87). It did command exactly that. They mocked, threatened him with stoning, and warned him that only his clan's standing kept him safe. The blast took them at dawn, and the town that cheated the whole region lay “As though they never flourished therein.” (11:95).