The tinker said, "Among the signs that one covets this life is that one loves the people who covet this life, prefers them and ignores the duty of forbidding the evil they commit. As for the people of Thamud, they were insolent toward Allah, disbelieved in Him, and caused evil upon the earth. For this people, Allah sent a punihsment, and they were seized by As-Sayhah, the awful cry.
After the destruction of the Ad, the tribe of Thamud succeeded them in power and glory. They also fell to idol-worshipping. As their material wealth increased so, too, did their evil ways while their virtue decreased. Like the people of Ad, they erected huge buildings on the plains and hewed beautiful homes out of the hills. Tyranny and oppression became prevalent as evil men ruled the land. Because of this, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sent to them Salih ibn 'Ubayd ibn Asif ibn Masikh ibn 'Ubayd ibn Khadir ibn Thamud ibn Gether ibn Aram ibn Shem ibn Noah, as a messenger to call them to declare God's unity and to worship Him alone. It is said that Salih was Salih ibn Asif ibn Kamashij ibn Iram ibn Thamud ibn Gether ibn Aram ibn Shem ibn Noah.
While some of them believed him, the majority of them disbelieved and harmed him by both words and deeds. In Surah Hud [11]:61, Allah said, "And to Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. He has produced you from the earth and settled you in it, so ask forgiveness of Him and then repent to Him. Indeed, my Lord is near and responsive."
Salih was known for his wisdom, purity and goodness and had been greatly respected by his people before Allah's revelation came to him. In Surah Hud [11]:62, Salih's people said to him, "O Salih, you were among us a man of promise before this. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? And indeed we are, about that to which you invite us, in disquieting doubt."
Allah had made their lives long, and they inhabited al-Hijr as far as Wadi al-Qura between al-Hijaz and Syria. Salih went on urging them to worship Allah in spite of their rebelliousness and tyranny. His calling them to Allah only strengthened their determination not to respond. When this had gone on for some time-as had Salih's efforts-they said to him, "If you are truthful, then bring us a sign."
What happened then regarding them and Prophet Salih, alaihissalam, at-Tabari reporrted on account of Amr ibn Kharijah's that Thamud were the people of Salih to whom Allah had granted long life in this world, and He made their lives invulnerable. So much so, that once when one of them began to build a house out of dried mud and it collapsed on him, that man still survived. When they saw that , they used their skills to make houses out of the mountains. They hewed the mountains out, cut through them, and hollowed them out, and they lived in comfort therein. Then they said , "O Salih! Ask your Lord for us to bring forth a sign to let us know that you are the Messenger of God."
So Salih prayed to Allah and He brought forth the she-camel for them. Her drinking right was fixed on one day, theirs on another . When it was her drinking day, they would leave her alone with the water and then milk her so that her milk filled every vessel, container, and waterskin . But once when her drinking day came they kept her away from the water and did not let her drink any of it; and yet they still filled every vessel, container, and waterskin.
According to Abu al-Tufayl, Salih said to them, "Go to an elevation on the land," and it shook violently as a woman in labor shakes , and it opened up, and from its midst a camel came forth. Salih said, "This is Allah's camel, a token unto you. Let her feed in Allah's land, and do not hurt her, lest a painful torment seize you. She has the right to drink, and you have the right to drink, each on an appointed day."
According to Ibn Kathir, for awhile, Salih's people let the camel graze and drink freely, but in their hearts they hated it. However, the miraculous appearance of the unique camel caused many to become Salih's followers, and they clung to their belief in Allah.
The disbeliveers now began complaining that this huge she camel with its unusual qualities drank most of the water and frightened their cattle. They laid a plot to kill the camel, and sought the help of their women folk to tempt the men to carry out their commands. Saduq bint of Mahya, who was from a rich and noble family, offered herself to a young man named Masrai Ibn Mahraj on condition that he hamstring the camel. Aniza, an old woman, offered one of her daughters to a young man, Qudar Ibn Saluf, in return for killing the camel. Naturally these young men were tempted and set about finding seven others to assist them.
They watched the camel closely, observing all its movements. As the she camel came to drink at the well, Masarai shot it in the leg with an arrow. It tried to escape but was hampered by the arrow. Qudar followed the camel and struck it with a sword in the other leg. As it fell to the ground, he pierced it with his sword.
According to at-Tabari, Allah told Salih, "Your people are hamstringing your she-camel." He told them that, and they replied , "Verily we have not done that." He said, "If you are not hamstringing her, a son is about to be born to you who will hamstring her." They said, " What is the sign of that son? By Allah, as soon as we find him we will kill him!" He said, "He is a boy with fair skin, blue eyes, reddish-brown hair, and a ruddy complexion."[Part 1]
In that city there were two mighty and invincible shaykhs. One of them had a son whom he did not want to let marry, and the other had a daughter for whom he could not find an equal match . A meeting was arranged between them and one of them said to the other, "What prevents you from marrying your son off?" He answered , "I cannot find an equal match for him." The other responded , "Verily my daughter is an equal match for him, and I will arrange a marriage with you." So he married her to him and from them that son was born.
He was the most evil of children and each day he grew as much as others grew in a week , each week he grew as much as others grew in a month , and each month as much as others grew in a year. In the city there were eight unrepentant evildoers. One day the eight evildoers who never did good gathered togeher with the two shaykhs and said, "Make this boy our leader because of his status and the nobility of his grandfathers." So they became nine. They are listed in the Words of Allah, Surah an-Naml {27}: 48, "And there were in the city nine family heads causing corruption in the land and not amending [its affairs]."
Now Salih refused to sleep in the city with them, spending his nights instead in a prayer-place called the Mosque of Salih. In the morning he would come to them and admonish them, and when it was evening he would go back to his mosque and spend the night there.
According to Ibn Jurayj, when Salih told the eight evildoers that a boy would be born at whose hands they would be destroyed, they said, "What do you command us?" He said, "I command you to kill them." So they killed them except for one. When it reached the turn of that boy they said, "If we had not killed our sons , each one of us would have had one like this. This is the doing of Salih!" So they plotted among themselves to slay him, saying, "Let us pretend to go forth on a journey and let the people see us doing so. Then we will come back on a certain night of a certain month , and lie in wait for him at his praying place and kill him. People will think only that we had gone off on a journey and will not suspect us." They went to a large rock and lay in wait for him underneath it. Allah made that rock fall down on them, and it crushed them to death . Some men who had learned of their plan went out to them and found them crushed, and they went back to the city shouting, "O servants of Allah! It was not enough for Salih to order them to kill their children, so he killed them themselves." The people of the city then gathered to hamstring the camel, but could not make themselves do it, except for that child.
One of the people came to Salih and said, "Hurry, go to your camel, it has been hamstrung." At this he went to them, and they came forth to meet him and sought his forgiveness, saying, "O prophet of Allah, only so-and-so hamstrung her, so it is not a sin of ours." He said, "See if you can overtake her young. If you overtake him, perhaps Allah will remove the punishment from you." So they went forth seeking him. But when the young camel saw his mother upset, he went to a low mountain called al-Qarah and ascended it. They went to seize him, but Allah gave a command to the mountain and it grew so tall in the sky that not even the birds could reach it.
Salih entered the city, and when the young camel saw him, he wept until his tears flowed. Then he approached Salih and grumbled once, then again, then again. Salih said, "Each grumble is the term of one day. Enjoy yourselves in your homes for these three days. This is no false promise. The sign of the punishment is that on the first day your faces will become yellow in the morning, on the second day they will become red, and on the third day, black."
When they awoke in the morning, their faces were yellow as if daubed with saffron, young and old, male and female. When evening came they all shouted together, "Woe! One day of the term has passed and the punishment has come upon us. "When the second day dawned, their faces were red as if dyed with blood. They shouted and clamored and wept, and knew that this was their punishment. When the evening came they all cried out together, "Two days of the term have passed and the punishment had befallen us." When they rose on the third morning, their faces were black as if painted with pitch. They all shouted, "Woe! The punishment has befallen us!" They wrapped themselves in shrouds and embalmed themselves for the grave. Their embalming consisted of aloes and acid, while their shrouds were leather mats. Then they threw themselves to the ground and began looking back and forth between heaven and earth, not knowing from whence their punishment would come to them-whether from above them in the heavens or from beneath their feet , from the ground , humbled and separated.
When they awoke on the fourth day, they heard a clamor from heaven which was as loud as every thunderbolt and the noise of everything on earth that makes a sound all together. Their hearts stopped in their breasts and they fell down prostrate in their homes. Thunderbolts filled the air, followed by severe earthquakes which destroyed the entire tribe and its homeland. The land was violently shaken, destroying all living creatures in it. There was one terrific cry which had hardly ended when the disbeliveers of Salih's people were struck dead, one and all, at the same time. Neither their strong buildings nor their rock hewn homes could protect them. All were destroyed before they realized what was happening. As for the people who believed in the message of Prophet Salih, alaihissalam, they were saved because they had left the place.
Ibn Umar narrated that while our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) was passing by Thamud's houses on his way to the battle of Tabuk, he stopped together with the people there. The people fetched water from the wells from which the people of Thamud used to drink. They prepared their dough (for baking) and filled their water skins from it (the water from the wells). The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) ordered them to empty the water skins and give the prepared dough to the camels. Then he went away with them until they stopped at the well from which the she camel (of Salih) used to drink. He warned them against entering upon the people that had been punished, saying, "I fear that you may be affected by what afflicted them; so do no enter upon them."
The tinker paused, then said,"The Thamud arrogance and their outrageous crime, a calamity befell them. This is true of Allah’s punishment. And so, there must be, then, an element of responsibility attached to man’s conscious faculty and freedom of choice. Since he is free to choose between his tendencies, his freedom must be coupled with responsibility. He is assigned a definite task related to the power given to him. But Allah, the Compassionate, does not leave man with no guidance other than his natural impulses or his conscious, decision-making faculty. Allah helps him by sending him messages which lay down accurate and permanent criteria, and points out to him the signs, within him and in the world at large, which should help him choose the right path and clear his way of any obstructions so that he can see the truth. Thus, he recognizes his way easily and clearly and his conscious decision-making faculty functions in full knowledge of the nature of the direction it chooses and the implications of that choice. This is what Allah has willed for man and whatever takes place within this framework is a direct fulfilment of His will.
Man is elevated to the high position of being responsible for his actions and allows him freedom of choice, within the confines of Allah’s will that has granted him this freedom. Responsibility and freedom of choice, therefore, make man the honoured creature of this world, a position worthy of the creature in whom Allah has blown something of His own spirit and whom He has made with His own hand and raised above most of His creation. It also puts man’s fate in his own hands — according to Allah’s will as already explained — and makes him responsible for it. This stimulates caution in him as well as a positive sense of fear of Allah. For he knows then that Allah’s will is fulfilled through his own actions and decisions. This is in itself a great responsibility which demands that one should always be alert. It reminds, as well, man of his permanent need to refer to the criteria fixed by Allah in order to ensure that his desires do not get the better of him. Thus man stays near to Allah, follows His guidance and illuminates his way by divine light. Indeed, the standard of purity man can achieve is limitless."
"O young man, there is a link between the human soul, the basic facts of the universe, its constant and repetitive scenes and Allah’s unfailing law of punishing tyrant transgressors. This He does according to His own wise planning which sets a time for everything and a purpose for every action. He is the Lord of man, the universe and fate. And Allah know best."
"And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned." - [QS.17:36]
Reference :
- Sayyid Qutb, In The Shade of Quran, Volume XVIII, The Islamic Foundation
- Ibn Kathir, Stories of the Prophet, Darussalam
- The History of Al-Tabari Volume II : Prophets and Patriarchs, translated and annotated by William M. Brinner, SUNY Press
