وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَٰلِحًا قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ هَٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ ءَايَةً فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِىٓ أَرْضِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
<p>Commentary</p><p>These verses tell us about Sayyidna Salih and his people, the Thamud. The account of the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) has appeared earlier. Similar introductions of past prophets and their peoples, highlighting the call of truth given by prophets and the disbelief and denial of their peoples, and the terrible consequences that overtook them continue to be the main subject as far as the end of Surah al-A` raf.</p><p>In the first of the four verses cited above (73), it was said: وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا (And to Thamud, [ We sent ] their brother, Salih). Earlier, in the account given about the people of ` Ad, it was stated that ` Ad and Thamud is the name of two persons who are among the progeny of the same grandfather. The children of these two also came to be known by their name and their two groups became two separate peoples. One of them was called the people of ` Ad and the other, the people of Thamud. They lived in the north-western part of Arabia. Their main city was called Hijr which is now known as Madain Salih. Like the people of ` Ad, the people of Thamud were also wealthy, powerful, brave and artistically inclined. They were skilled in sculpture and architecture. Besides making palaces on open grounds, they were known to hew out mountains and create living spaces and structures on and inside them. In his book, ` Ard al-Qur'an, Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi has said that their architectural momentous still exist. They have Iramic and Thamudic inscriptions carved on them.</p><p>It generally happens that worldly wealth and high living would estrange people away from the remembrance of their Creator and the ultimate encounter with Him in the Hereafter and push them on to the ways of error - as was the case with the people of Thamud.</p><p>Not forgotten by the world of the time, though, was the punishment of Flood that came upon the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . Then, for them, the destruction of their brethren, the people of ` Ad was current history. But, wealth and power have a pull of their own. No sooner does one affluent structure collapse on its foundation, there comes another person, another group who would raise a higher structure on the same foundation totally ignoring what had happened before. When the people of ` Ad were destroyed, the people of Thamud inherited their mansions and lands and it was at the same places they erected their venues of luxury, places where their own brethren had faced destruction. And as if this was not enough, they started indulging in the same deeds as were done by the people of ` Ad. They too became heedless of their Creator and unmindful of the Hereafter only to stoop to the level of worshiping idols and associating others in the Divinity of Allah. Then, Allah Ta` ala - in accordance with His constant practice - sent Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) as His messenger so that he would guide them on to the straight path. Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) in terms of his lineage and country, was one of the people of Thamud as he too came from the progeny of Sam. Therefore, the Qur'an has called him a brother of the people of Thamud - as in: اَخَاھُم صٰلِحاً (their brother,</p><p>Salih - 73). The call given by Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) to his people is no different from the call messengers from Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of them have been giving all along - as mentioned in the Qur'an: وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّ‌سُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ (We have sent to every community a messenger so that he tells them to worship Allah and shun idols - 16:36). This is what Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) said to his people, just as it was done by past prophets: يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُ‌هُ	(0 my people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him).</p><p>Then, along with it, he also said قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّكُمْ that is, now there has come to you from your Lord a very clear sign. This ` sign' refers to the unusual she-camel which finds a brief mention in the present verse while details appear in different Surahs of the Qur'an. The background of this event concerning the she-camel goes back to the time when Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) started preaching as a young man. He kept doing his duty until marks of old age started showing on him. He still did not seem to give up. His people became impatient with his repeated efforts to make them believe in one God. So they decided to come up with a demand which it would be impossible for him to fulfill and, as a result, they would prevail as winners of the confrontation. The demand that they made was: If you are really a messenger of Allah, make a she-camel come out from Katibah, this hill of ours, and it has to be in its tenth month of pregnancy while being strong and healthy.</p><p>The first thing Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) did was to take a pledge from them. He asked them if he fulfilled this demand of theirs, would they all believe in him and in his Da'wah. When all of them made a compact, Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) made two raka'at of Salah and made a Du` a' before Allah Ta` ala: For You nothing is difficult. Let their demand be fulfilled. Soon after the Du` a', there was a rumble in the hill, a big rock blasted out, and out came a she-camel as demanded.</p><p>Seeing this mind-boggling miracle of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) ، some from among those people became believers instantly. As for the rest of them, they too decided to enter the fold of faith they have been rejecting upto that time. But, some of their chiefs who were the real promoters of idol-worship, talked them out of it. When Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) saw that his people had broken the pledge, he was concerned for them. The danger was that they might be subjected to punishment for having done that. Thus, feeling for them, he advised them not to harm the she-camel in any way, and keep protecting it, in which case, they may stay safe against the danger of punishment, otherwise, they might be seized in punishment immediately. This is the subject matter of what has been said in the following sentences of verse 73: هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّـهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً ۖ فَذَرُ‌وهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْ‌ضِ اللَّـهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ۔ (This is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So, leave her to eat on the earth of Allah and do not touch her with mischief, lest a painful punishment should seize you). This she-camel has been called ` the she-camel of Allah' because it was a proof of the perfect power of Allah and had appeared in an extra-ordinary manner as a miracle of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) . The expression: تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْ‌ضِ اللَّـهِ (to eat on the earth of Allah) indicates that the she-camel should be left free to eat and drink because what she would eat and drink was not owned by them. The earth belonged to Allah and He was the creator of the produce it yielded. So, she was to be left free to eat from the natural grazing grounds of the earth of Allah.</p><p>The well from which the people of Thamud got their water was the one from which this she-camel got her share of water to drink. But, when this she-camel, an extra ordinary creation of Allah, drank her share of water, she would drink up all the water in the well. Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) had, following the Divine will, given the verdict that the she-camel would drink water from the well one day and the next day the rest of Thamud people will have water from the well for themselves. It so happened that the day the she-camel drank water from the well, others would get milk from the she-camel, in lieu of water, in such quantity that they would fill out their water containers with it. This distribution of water has been referred to elsewhere in the Qur'an in the following words addressed to Sayyidria Salih (علیہ السلام) وَنَبِّئْهُمْ أَنَّ الْمَاءَ قِسْمَةٌ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ كُلُّ شِرْ‌بٍ مُّحْتَضَرٌ‌ ﴿28﴾ (54:28) that is, the water of the well is to be divided between them, one day for the she-camel and the other for his people, and this distribution will be watched by angels lest anyone does against it.' In another verse (26:155), it was said: قَالَ هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْ‌بٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْ‌بُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ ﴿155﴾ that is, ` this is a she-camel of Allah; water for one day is her right and water for the other day is fixed for you'.</p>
CommentaryThese verses tell us about Sayyidna Salih and his people, the Thamud. The account of the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) and Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) has appeared earlier. Similar introductions of past prophets and their peoples, highlighting the call of truth given by prophets and the disbelief and denial of their peoples, and the terrible consequences that overtook them continue to be the main subject as far as the end of Surah al-A` raf.In the first of the four verses cited above (73), it was said: وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا (And to Thamud, [ We sent ] their brother, Salih). Earlier, in the account given about the people of ` Ad, it was stated that ` Ad and Thamud is the name of two persons who are among the progeny of the same grandfather. The children of these two also came to be known by their name and their two groups became two separate peoples. One of them was called the people of ` Ad and the other, the people of Thamud. They lived in the north-western part of Arabia. Their main city was called Hijr which is now known as Madain Salih. Like the people of ` Ad, the people of Thamud were also wealthy, powerful, brave and artistically inclined. They were skilled in sculpture and architecture. Besides making palaces on open grounds, they were known to hew out mountains and create living spaces and structures on and inside them. In his book, ` Ard al-Qur'an, Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi has said that their architectural momentous still exist. They have Iramic and Thamudic inscriptions carved on them.It generally happens that worldly wealth and high living would estrange people away from the remembrance of their Creator and the ultimate encounter with Him in the Hereafter and push them on to the ways of error - as was the case with the people of Thamud.Not forgotten by the world of the time, though, was the punishment of Flood that came upon the people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) . Then, for them, the destruction of their brethren, the people of ` Ad was current history. But, wealth and power have a pull of their own. No sooner does one affluent structure collapse on its foundation, there comes another person, another group who would raise a higher structure on the same foundation totally ignoring what had happened before. When the people of ` Ad were destroyed, the people of Thamud inherited their mansions and lands and it was at the same places they erected their venues of luxury, places where their own brethren had faced destruction. And as if this was not enough, they started indulging in the same deeds as were done by the people of ` Ad. They too became heedless of their Creator and unmindful of the Hereafter only to stoop to the level of worshiping idols and associating others in the Divinity of Allah. Then, Allah Ta` ala - in accordance with His constant practice - sent Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) as His messenger so that he would guide them on to the straight path. Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) in terms of his lineage and country, was one of the people of Thamud as he too came from the progeny of Sam. Therefore, the Qur'an has called him a brother of the people of Thamud - as in: اَخَاھُم صٰلِحاً (their brother,Salih - 73). The call given by Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) to his people is no different from the call messengers from Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of them have been giving all along - as mentioned in the Qur'an: وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّ‌سُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ (We have sent to every community a messenger so that he tells them to worship Allah and shun idols - 16:36). This is what Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) said to his people, just as it was done by past prophets: يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُ‌هُ	(0 my people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him).Then, along with it, he also said قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّكُمْ that is, now there has come to you from your Lord a very clear sign. This ` sign' refers to the unusual she-camel which finds a brief mention in the present verse while details appear in different Surahs of the Qur'an. The background of this event concerning the she-camel goes back to the time when Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) started preaching as a young man. He kept doing his duty until marks of old age started showing on him. He still did not seem to give up. His people became impatient with his repeated efforts to make them believe in one God. So they decided to come up with a demand which it would be impossible for him to fulfill and, as a result, they would prevail as winners of the confrontation. The demand that they made was: If you are really a messenger of Allah, make a she-camel come out from Katibah, this hill of ours, and it has to be in its tenth month of pregnancy while being strong and healthy.The first thing Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) did was to take a pledge from them. He asked them if he fulfilled this demand of theirs, would they all believe in him and in his Da'wah. When all of them made a compact, Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) made two raka'at of Salah and made a Du` a' before Allah Ta` ala: For You nothing is difficult. Let their demand be fulfilled. Soon after the Du` a', there was a rumble in the hill, a big rock blasted out, and out came a she-camel as demanded.Seeing this mind-boggling miracle of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) ، some from among those people became believers instantly. As for the rest of them, they too decided to enter the fold of faith they have been rejecting upto that time. But, some of their chiefs who were the real promoters of idol-worship, talked them out of it. When Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) saw that his people had broken the pledge, he was concerned for them. The danger was that they might be subjected to punishment for having done that. Thus, feeling for them, he advised them not to harm the she-camel in any way, and keep protecting it, in which case, they may stay safe against the danger of punishment, otherwise, they might be seized in punishment immediately. This is the subject matter of what has been said in the following sentences of verse 73: هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّـهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً ۖ فَذَرُ‌وهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْ‌ضِ اللَّـهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ۔ (This is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So, leave her to eat on the earth of Allah and do not touch her with mischief, lest a painful punishment should seize you). This she-camel has been called ` the she-camel of Allah' because it was a proof of the perfect power of Allah and had appeared in an extra-ordinary manner as a miracle of Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) . The expression: تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْ‌ضِ اللَّـهِ (to eat on the earth of Allah) indicates that the she-camel should be left free to eat and drink because what she would eat and drink was not owned by them. The earth belonged to Allah and He was the creator of the produce it yielded. So, she was to be left free to eat from the natural grazing grounds of the earth of Allah.The well from which the people of Thamud got their water was the one from which this she-camel got her share of water to drink. But, when this she-camel, an extra ordinary creation of Allah, drank her share of water, she would drink up all the water in the well. Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) had, following the Divine will, given the verdict that the she-camel would drink water from the well one day and the next day the rest of Thamud people will have water from the well for themselves. It so happened that the day the she-camel drank water from the well, others would get milk from the she-camel, in lieu of water, in such quantity that they would fill out their water containers with it. This distribution of water has been referred to elsewhere in the Qur'an in the following words addressed to Sayyidria Salih (علیہ السلام) وَنَبِّئْهُمْ أَنَّ الْمَاءَ قِسْمَةٌ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ كُلُّ شِرْ‌بٍ مُّحْتَضَرٌ‌ ﴿28﴾ (54:28) that is, the water of the well is to be divided between them, one day for the she-camel and the other for his people, and this distribution will be watched by angels lest anyone does against it.' In another verse (26:155), it was said: قَالَ هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْ‌بٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْ‌بُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ ﴿155﴾ that is, ` this is a she-camel of Allah; water for one day is her right and water for the other day is fixed for you'.