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The story of Salih (peace be upon him) in the Quran and the Islamic tradition: verses, hadiths and the views of the exegetes, faithfully translated from Arabic.
Updated on 06 September 2026 at 3:41 AM
Thamud is a famous tribe, named after their ancestor Thamud, the brother of Jadis, both sons of Abir ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh. They were Arabs of the pure Arabs, dwelling in al-Hijr, between the Hijaz and Tabuk, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by this place on his way to Tabuk with the Muslims who accompanied him, as its account will come. They came after the people of 'Ad, and worshipped idols like them. Allah therefore sent among them a man from among them, the servant of Allah and His messenger, Salih ibn Abd ibn Masikh ibn Ubayd ibn Hajar ibn Thamud ibn Abir ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh. He called them to the worship of Allah alone, without partner, to casting down the idols and the equals, and to associating nothing with Him. Some of them believed in him, but their majority disbelieved; they harmed him in word and deed, sought to kill him, and killed the she-camel Allah had made a proof against them. So Allah seized them with the seizing of a Mighty, Powerful One.
The Most High said in Surat al-A'raf: « And to Thamud, their brother Salih. He said: O my people, worship Allah: you have no deity other than Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord: this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So leave her to eat in Allah's earth and touch her not with harm, lest a painful punishment seize you.
And remember when He made you successors after 'Ad and settled you in the earth: you take palaces in its plains and hew the mountains into houses. So remember the favors of Allah and do not corrupt the earth. The notables who were arrogant among his people said to those who were deemed weak, to those of them who believed: do you know that Salih is sent from his Lord? They said: we believe in that with which he was sent.
Those who were arrogant said: we disbelieve in that which you believe. So they hamstrung the she-camel and turned away from the command of their Lord, and they said: O Salih, bring upon us what you promise us, if you are among the sent. Then the earthquake seized them, and they lay in their dwellings motionless by morning. So he turned away from them and said: O my people, I did convey to you the message of my Lord and gave you counsel, but you do not love the counselors » (al-A'raf, 73-79).
And the Most High said in Surat Hud: « And to Thamud, their brother Salih. He said: O my people, worship Allah: you have no deity other than Him. It is He who produced you from the earth and settled you in it. So ask forgiveness of Him, then turn to Him: my Lord is near, responsive.
They said: O Salih, you were among us one in whom hope was placed before this. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? We are indeed in grave doubt about that to which you call us. He said: O my people, consider: if I am upon a clear proof from my Lord, and He has given me mercy from Himself, who would help me against Allah if I disobeyed Him?
You would add nothing to me but loss. O my people, this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So leave her to eat in Allah's earth and touch her not with harm, lest a near punishment seize you. But they hamstrung her, and he said: enjoy in your homes three days: that is a promise not to be belied.
Then, when Our command came, We saved Salih and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and from the disgrace of that day: your Lord is the Strong, the Mighty. And those who had wronged were seized by the Cry, and they lay in their homes motionless by morning, as if they had never flourished therein. Thamud disbelieved their Lord: so away with Thamud! » (Hud, 61-68).
And the Most High said in Surat al-Hijr: « The people of al-Hijr belied the messengers. We gave them Our signs, but they were turning away from them. They hewed houses from the mountains, in security. But the Cry seized them at morning: what they used to earn availed them nothing » (al-Hijr, 80-84).
And He said: « We do not send the signs except to frighten; and We gave Thamud the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her. We send the signs only as a warning » (al-Isra, 59).
And the Most High said in Surat ash-Shu'ara: « Thamud belied the messengers, when their brother Salih said to them: will you not fear? I am to you a trustworthy messenger. So fear Allah and obey me. I ask of you no reward for it: my reward is only upon the Lord of the worlds.
Will you be left secure in what is here, among gardens and springs, and fields and palms whose spathes are fine? You hew houses from the mountains, skillfully. So fear Allah and obey me, and do not obey the command of the wasteful, who corrupt the earth and do not reform it. They said: you are only of the bewitched; you are only a human like us: so bring a sign, if you are of the truthful.
He said: this is a she-camel: she has her drink, and you have your drink, on a day appointed. Touch her not with harm, lest the punishment of a great day seize you. But they hamstrung her, and in the morning they were regretful. So the punishment seized them: in that are signs, but most of them were not believers.
Your Lord is the Mighty, the Merciful » (ash-Shu'ara, 141-159). And the Most High said in Surat an-Naml: « We sent to Thamud their brother Salih: worship Allah. But they became two parties contending. He said: O my people, why do you hasten to evil before good?
Why do you not seek forgiveness of Allah, that you may receive mercy? They said: we augur ill of you and of those with you. He said: your ill augury is with Allah; rather you are a people being tested. And there were in the city nine persons who corrupted the earth and did not reform it.
They said: swear by Allah to kill him by night, he and his household, then say to his guardian: we witnessed not the destruction of his household, and we are truthful. They plotted a plot, and We plotted a plot, while they perceived not. So see how the end of their plot was: We destroyed them and their people, all together. Those are their houses, desolate for their wrongdoing: in that is a sign for people who know.
And We saved those who believed and were God-fearing » (an-Naml, 45-53).
The Most High said in Surat Fussilat: « As for Thamud, We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness over guidance; so the thunderbolt of the humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn. And We saved those who believed and were God-fearing » (Fussilat, 17-18). And the Most High said in Surat al-Qamar: « Thamud belied the warnings. They said: a single human from among us, that we follow him?
We would then be in error and madness. Has the Reminder been cast upon him from among us? Rather he is a lying insolent one. Tomorrow they will know who is the lying insolent one.
We shall send the she-camel as a trial for them: so watch them and be patient. And inform them that the water is divided between them, each drink attended. But they called their companion, and he took and hamstrung her. How then were My punishment and My warning!
We sent upon them one Cry, and they became like the dry stubble of one penned. We have made the Quran easy for remembrance: is there any who will remember? » (al-Qamar, 23-32). And the Most High said: « Thamud belied in their transgression, when the most wretched of them rose up.
The messenger of Allah said to them: the she-camel of Allah, and her drink. Then they belied him and hamstrung her: so their Lord crushed them for their sin, and He leveled it » (ash-Shams, 11-15).
Allah often joins in His Book the mention of 'Ad and that of Thamud, as in Surat at-Tawba, Ibrahim, al-Furqan, Sad, Qaf, an-Najm and al-Fajr. It is said that these two nations are unknown to the People of the Book, and that there is no mention of them in their Torah; but the Quran indicates that Musa informed of them, as the Most High said in Surat Ibrahim: « And Musa said: if you disbelieve, you and all who are on earth together, then Allah is surely Rich, Worthy of praise. Has not the news come to you of those before you: the people of Nuh, 'Ad and Thamud, and those after them? None knows them but Allah. Their messengers came to them with clear proofs » (Ibrahim, 8-9). What is apparent is that this is part of all of Musa's speech with his people; but since these two nations were Arabs, they did not record their report well, nor take care to preserve it, whereas the report of these two nations was famous in the time of Musa (peace be upon him). We have covered all of this in brief in the Tafsir, and to Allah belong the praise and the favor.
The object now is the mention of their story, of what came of them, of how Allah saved His prophet Salih (peace be upon him) and those who believed in him, and how He cut off the existence of the people who wronged, through their disbelief and tyranny and their opposition to their messenger. We have mentioned that they were Arabs, coming after 'Ad, and that they took no lesson from what came of them. That is why their prophet said to them: « worship Allah: you have no deity other than Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord: this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you.
So leave her to eat in Allah's earth and touch her not with harm, lest a painful punishment seize you. And remember when He made you successors after 'Ad and settled you in the earth: you take palaces in its plains and hew the mountains into houses. So remember the favors of Allah and do not corrupt the earth »: He made you successors after them so that you might take lesson from what came of them and act contrary to their deeds; He permitted you this earth: you build palaces in its plains and hew houses from the mountains with art, that is, skilled in their making and perfection. So meet Allah's favor with gratitude, righteous work and the worship of Him alone without partner; and beware of disobeying Him and turning from His obedience, for the end of that is dire.
That is why he exhorted them: « Will you be left secure in what is here, among gardens and springs, and fields and palms whose spathes are fine? », that is, abundant, plentiful, beautiful, radiant, ripe; « you hew houses from the mountains, skillfully. So fear Allah and obey me, and do not obey the command of the wasteful, who corrupt the earth and do not reform it. »
He said to them also: « O my people, worship Allah: you have no deity other than Him. It is He who produced you from the earth and settled you in it », that is: He created you and brought you forth from the earth, and made you its dwellers, giving it to you with what it contains of crops and fruits. He is the Creator, the Provider; so He alone deserves worship, to the exclusion of all else. « So ask forgiveness of Him, then turn to Him »: abandon what you are in and turn to His worship; He will accept from you and pardon you.
« My Lord is near, responsive. » They said: « O Salih, you were among us one in whom hope was placed before this », that is: we hoped that your intellect would be complete before this speech, your call upon us to worship Allah alone and abandon what we worshipped of equals, and the turning from the religion of fathers and forefathers. That is why they said: « Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? We are indeed in grave doubt about that to which you call us.
» He said: « O my people, consider: if I am upon a clear proof from my Lord, and He has given me mercy from Himself, who would help me against Allah if I disobeyed Him? You would add nothing to me but loss. » This was a gentle subtlety from him in expression, a softness of manner, and a fine approach in calling them to good: what do you think, if the matter is as I say to you, and I call you to it? What would your excuse be before Allah, and what would deliver you before Him, while you ask me to abandon my call upon you to His obedience?
That is impossible for me, for it is an obligation upon me: were I to abandon it, none of you, nor anyone else, could shelter me from Him or help me. I shall therefore never cease calling you to Allah alone, without partner, until Allah judges between me and you. They said to him also: « you are only of the bewitched », that is: of the bewitched; they mean a bewitched man who knows not what he says in calling upon us to worship Allah alone and cast down all else of equals. This is the view the majority chose: the bewitched means the bewitched.
It is said: of those who have sihr, which is the lung; as if they were saying: you are only a human afflicted with sihr. The first is more apparent, given their word after it: « you are only a human like us. » Their word: « so bring a sign, if you are of the truthful »: they asked him to bring them a supernatural matter proving the truth of what he brought them. He said: « this is a she-camel: she has her drink, and you have your drink, on a day appointed.
Touch her not with harm, lest the punishment of a great day seize you. » And he said: « a clear proof has come to you from your Lord: this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So leave her to eat in Allah's earth and touch her not with harm, lest a painful punishment seize you. » And the Most High said: « We gave Thamud the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her.
»
The exegetes mentioned that Thamud gathered one day in their assembly, and the messenger of Allah Salih came to them, calling them to Allah, reminding them, warning them, exhorting them and commanding them. They said to him: if you bring out for us from this rock, and they pointed to a rock there, a she-camel of such and such description; they enumerated her attributes, described her and insisted: that she be heavy with a long gestation, with such and such qualities. The prophet Salih (peace be upon him) said to them: consider: if I answer you in what you ask, in the manner you seek, will you believe in what I have come to you with, and affirm me in that for which I was sent? They said: yes.
He then took their pledges and covenants on that, then went to his place of prayer, prayed to Allah what was decreed for him, and invoked his Lord to answer them in what they asked. Allah commanded that rock to split open with a great she-camel, heavy with a long gestation, in the required manner and the described form. When they beheld her thus, they saw a mighty matter, an awesome sight, a dazzling power, a decisive proof and a luminous demonstration: many of them believed, but most of them persisted in their disbelief, error and obstinacy. That is why He said: « but they wronged her », that is: they denied by her and did not follow the truth because of her; this concerns most of them.
The chief of those who believed was Junda' ibn Amr ibn Mikhlat ibn Lubayd ibn Jawwas, who was among their notables, the remnant of the nobles upon Islam. They were turned from it by Du'ab ibn Umar ibn Lubayd, by al-Hubab, the master of their idols, and by Rabab ibn Sam'ar ibn Jahlas. Junda' called his cousin Shihab ibn Khalifa, who was among their nobles and inclined toward Islam; those men forbade him, and he turned toward them. On that, a man of the Muslims named Mihrash ibn Ghanma ibn ad-Dumayl said poetry: « There was a band of the people of Amr calling Shihab to the religion of the Prophet.
The notables of Thamud, all together, he inclined toward answering them; had he answered, Salih would have become honored among us, but they preferred not their companion over Du'ab. As for the ghouls of the people of al-Hijr, they turned, after their guidance, into wolves. »
That is why Salih said to them: « this is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you »: he attributed her to Allah with an attribution that honors and magnifies, like His word: the House of Allah, the servant of Allah. « A sign for you », that is, a proof of the truth of what I have come to you with. « So leave her to eat in Allah's earth and touch her not with harm, lest a near punishment seize you. » The situation agreed that this she-camel would remain among them, grazing wherever she wished in their land, coming to water one day after another; when she came to the water, she drank the well's water that day, and they drew their need of water that day for the morrow.
It is said that they drank of her milk sufficient for their need. That is why he said: « she has her drink, and you have your drink, on a day appointed. » And that is why the Most High said: « We shall send the she-camel as a trial for them », that is, to test them: will they believe in her or disbelieve? « So watch them », that is: await what will come of them, « and be patient » under the harm they do you; the news will come to you plainly.
« And inform them that the water is divided between them, each drink attended. »
When this state grew long upon them, their notables gathered, and their opinion agreed upon hamstringing this she-camel, to be rid of her and have their water plentiful. Satan adorned their deeds for them. Allah the Most High said: « they hamstrung the she-camel and turned away from the command of their Lord, and they said: O Salih, bring upon us what you promise us, if you are among the sent » (al-A'raf, 77). The one among them who took charge of her killing was their notable Qudar ibn Salif ibn Junda', who was red, blue-eyed, and short; it was said he was the son of a harlot, born upon Salif's bed, of a man called Siban. And that deed took place by the agreement of them all, which is why the deed was attributed to all of them.
Ibn Jarir and others of the scholarly exegetes mentioned that two women of Thamud, one of whom was named Saduf bint al-Muhayya ibn Zuhayr ibn al-Muhayya, a woman of lineage and wealth, the wife of a man of Aslam; she left him and called her cousin named Misda' ibn Mihraj ibn al-Muhayya, and offered herself to him if he hamstrung the she-camel. The second was named Unayza bint Ghunaym ibn Mijlaz, known by the kunya Umm Uthman; she was an old disbelieving woman who had daughters from her husband Du'ab ibn Amr, one of the chiefs; she offered her four daughters to Qudar ibn Salif if he hamstrung the she-camel: whichever of her daughters he wished. These two young men were thus dispatched for her hamstringing, and they sought among their people support for it; seven others answered, and they became nine: these are those mentioned in the word of the Most High: « there were in the city nine persons who corrupted the earth and did not reform it. » They then sought the rest of the tribe, made her hamstringing fair-seeming to them, and they answered to it and complied.
They set out to lie in wait for the she-camel: when she returned from her watering, Misda' shot her with an arrow that severed the bone of her leg. The women of the tribe came out for her killing, uncovering their faces to entice them. Qudar ibn Salif rushed upon her, struck her with the sword and cut her hock; she fell to the ground, letting out one great cry that warned her offspring. Then he struck the middle of her body and slaughtered her, and her young went out, climbed a rugged mountain, and cried out three times.
Abd al-Razzaq reported, from Ma'mar, from one who heard al-Hasan, that he said: the young one said: O Lord, where is my mother? Then it entered into a rock and vanished within it. It is said: rather they followed it and hamstrung it too. The Most High said: « they called their companion, and he took and hamstrung her. How then were My punishment and My warning! » And the Most High said: « when the most wretched of them rose up. The messenger of Allah said to them: the she-camel of Allah, and her drink », that is: beware of her; they belied him and hamstrung her: their Lord crushed them for their sin, and He leveled it.
Imam Ahmad said: Abdullah ibn Numayr reported to us, Hisham, that is ibn Urwa, reported to us, from his father, from Abdullah ibn Zamma'a, who said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) delivered a sermon and mentioned the she-camel, and mentioned the one who hamstrung her, and he said:
« When the most wretched of them rose up: a man rose for her, fierce, powerful, obeyed among his people, like Abu Zamma'a. »
Reported by Ahmad
The two compilers of the Sahih extracted it from the hadith of Hisham. « Fierce » means bold; « powerful » means a chief; « obeyed » means followed among his people.
Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: Yazid ibn Muhammad ibn Khuthaym reported to me, from Muhammad ibn Ka'b, from Muhammad ibn Khuthaym Abu Yazid, from Ammar ibn Yasir, who said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Ali:
« Shall I not tell you of the most wretched of people? Two men: one is Uhaymir Thamud, who hamstrung the she-camel; and the one who will strike you, O Ali, here, until this becomes soaked with it », pointing to his temple, then his beard.
Reported by Ibn Abi Hatim
The Most High said: « they hamstrung the she-camel and turned away from the command of their Lord, and they said: O Salih, bring upon us what you promise us, if you are among the sent » (al-A'raf, 77). In this speech of theirs gathered a profound disbelief from several angles: they opposed Allah and His messenger by committing the firm prohibition of hamstringing the she-camel Allah had made for them a sign; and they hastened the descent of the punishment upon them, deserving it from two angles: the condition binding them in His word: « touch her not with harm, lest a near punishment seize you »; in one verse « great », in another « painful », all of it true; and their haste toward it. And also this: they belied the messenger although the decisive proof of his prophethood and truthfulness had been established, and they knew that with absolute certainty; but disbelief, error and obstinacy carried them to repelling the truth and the descent of the punishment upon them.
The Most High said: « But they hamstrung her, and he said: enjoy in your homes three days: that is a promise not to be belied. » They mentioned that when they hamstrung the she-camel, Qudar ibn Salif was the first to rush upon her: Allah cursed him and severed her hock, and she fell to the ground. Then they attacked her with their swords, cutting her to pieces. Her young, seeing that, fled from them, climbed to the top of the mountain there and cried out three times.
That is why Salih said to them: « enjoy in your homes three days »: besides that day. They did not affirm him in this firm promise either; rather, when night fell they plotted to kill him, intending, as they claimed, to join him with the she-camel. They said: « swear by Allah to kill him by night, he and his household, then say to his guardian: we witnessed not the destruction of his household, and we are truthful », that is: we shall bury him in his home with his family, kill him, then deny his killing and repudiate it if his guardians demand his blood. That is why they said: « then say to his guardian: we witnessed not the destruction of his household, and we are truthful.
» And the Most High said: « They plotted a plot, and We plotted a plot, while they perceived not. So see how the end of their plot was: We destroyed them and their people, all together. Those are their houses, desolate for their wrongdoing: in that is a sign for people who know. And We saved those who believed and were God-fearing.
» Allah the Most High sent upon that band who aimed at Salih's killing stones that crushed them beforehand, before their people. Thamud awoke on Thursday, the first day of the respite, their faces yellow, as Salih (peace be upon him) had warned them. When night fell, they cried out all together: a day of the term has passed. Then they passed to the second day of the respite, Friday, their faces reddened; when night fell, they cried: two days of the term have passed.
Then they passed to the third day of enjoyment, Saturday, their faces blackened; when night fell, they cried: the term has passed. On Sunday morning they embalmed themselves and prepared, sitting to watch what punishment, affliction and vengeance would befall them, not knowing how they would be dealt with, nor from which side the punishment would come. When the sun rose, a Cry came upon them from the heaven, from above them, and a violent earthquake from beneath them: the souls poured out, the spirits fainted away, the movements stilled, the voices hushed, the realities were fulfilled; they lay in their dwellings by morning, corpses without soul or movement. They said: none of them remained except a crippled girl named Kalba bint as-Salq, also called az-Zuray'a; she was of intense disbelief and hostility toward Salih (peace be upon him).
When she saw the punishment, her legs were released; she rose, running like the fastest thing, reached an Arab tribe, informed them of what she had seen and of what had befallen her people, and asked them for water; when she drank, she died. The Most High said: « as if they had never flourished therein », that is: they never dwelt therein in ease, provision and wealth. « Thamud disbelieved their Lord: so away with Thamud! »: the tongue of destiny cried this over them.
Imam Ahmad said: Abd al-Razzaq reported to us, Ma'mar reported to us, Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Khuthaym reported to us, from az-Zubayr, from Jabir, who said: when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by al-Hijr, he said:
« Do not ask for signs, for the people of Salih asked for them. » He meant the she-camel that used to come to water by this pass and go out by that other pass. « They turned from the command of their Lord and hamstrung her. She drank their water one day, and they drank her milk one day.
Then they hamstrung her, and a Cry seized them: Allah extinguished everyone beneath the heaven's skin except one man who was in Allah's sanctuary. » They said: who is he, O Messenger of Allah? He said: « he is Abu Righal. When he left the sanctuary, what had befallen his people befell him.
»
Reported by Ahmad; according to the condition of Muslim, absent from the six books
Abd al-Razzaq also said: Ma'mar informed me: Isma'il ibn Umayya informed me that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by the grave of Abu Righal and said: do you know who this is? They said: Allah and His messenger know best. He said: « this is the grave of Abu Righal, a man of Thamud who was in Allah's sanctuary: the sanctuary of Allah withheld him from the punishment of Allah. When he went out, what had befallen his people befell him; he was buried here, and a branch of gold was buried with him. » The people dismounted, fell upon the grave with their swords, dug and extracted the branch. Abd al-Razzaq said: Ma'mar said: az-Zuhri said: Abu Righal is Abu Thaqif. This is mursal by this way. And it has come connected by another way, as Muhammad ibn Ishaq mentioned in the Sira, from Isma'il ibn Umayya, from Bujayr ibn Abi Bujayr: I heard Abdullah ibn Amr: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
« As we were setting out with him for Ta'if, we passed by a grave, and he said: this is the grave of Abu Righal, and he is Abu Thaqif; he was of Thamud, and he was in this sanctuary which withheld him. When he left it, the punishment that had befallen his people in this place befell him; he was buried in this place, and the sign of that is that a branch of gold was buried with him: if you dig it up, you will find it with him. » The people fell upon the grave and extracted the branch from it.
Reported by Abu Dawud, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq; al-Mizzi said: a hasan aziz hadith
I say: Bujayr ibn Abi Bujayr alone reported it in this manner, and he is known only by this hadith, and none narrated from him except Isma'il ibn Umayya. Our sheikh said: it is possible that he erred in its attribution to the Prophet, and that these words are of Abdullah ibn Amr himself. And Allah knows best. I say: but the preceding mursal account, as well as the hadith of Jabir, stand as witnesses to it. And Allah knows best.
As for His word: « So he turned away from them and said: O my people, I did convey to you the message of my Lord and gave you counsel, but you do not love the counselors »: it is an informing that Salih (peace be upon him) addressed his people after their destruction, as he set out to leave their abode for another, saying to them: O my people, I did convey to you the message of my Lord and gave you counsel, that is: I strove to guide you by all that was possible for me, and was earnest in that by my word, my deed and my intention; « but you do not love the counselors », that is: your characters would not accept the truth nor wish it; so you have arrived at this painful punishment that falls upon you and continues forever; I have no device with you, nor hands to repel it from you; what was incumbent upon me of conveying the message and counseling you, I have done and given to you, but Allah does what He wills.
And thus the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) addressed the people of the pit of Badr after three nights: he stood over them, mounted on his mount, having ordered the departure at the end of the night, and said: « O people of the pit, have you found your Lord's promise true? For I have found my Lord's promise true. » He said to them also: « evil are the kinsfolk of the prophet: you belied me while the people affirmed me, you expelled me while the people sheltered me, you fought me while the people aided me. Evil are the kinsfolk of the prophet that you were to your prophet. » Umar said to him: O Messenger of Allah, do you address people become carrion? He said: « by Him in whose hand is my soul, you are not more hearing of what I say than they, but they do not answer. » Its account will come in its place, Allah willing. It is said that Salih (peace be upon him) moved to the sanctuary of Allah and dwelt there until he died.
Imam Ahmad said: Waki' reported to us, Zam'a ibn Salih reported to us, from Salama ibn Wahram, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, who said: when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by the valley of Usfan at the time of hajj, he said: O Abu Bakr, what is this valley? He said: the valley of Usfan. He said:
« Hud and Salih passed through here, upon red young camels with nostrils like palm fiber, wearing cloaks and draped in fabrics of Namar, answering the call, on pilgrimage to the Ancient House. »
Reported by Ahmad; a good chain
And there has come, in the story of Nuh (peace be upon him), from the transmission of at-Tabarani, a similar hadith mentioning Nuh, Hud and Ibrahim.
Mention of the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passing through the valley of al-Hijr, the land of Thamud, in the year of Tabuk. Imam Ahmad said: Abd as-Samad reported to us, Sakhr ibn Juwayriya reported to us, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, who said: when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stopped with the people at Tabuk, he stopped with them at al-Hijr, by the houses of Thamud. The people drew water from the wells from which Thamud used to drink, kneaded dough from it and set the pots. The Messenger of Allah ordered them to pour out the pots and feed the dough to the camels; then he traveled with them until he stopped at the well from which the she-camel used to drink, and he forbade them from entering upon the people who had been punished, and said: I fear that what befell them may befall you; so do not enter upon them.
Ahmad also said: Affan reported to us, Abd al-Aziz ibn Muslim reported to us, Abdullah ibn Dinar reported to us, from Abdullah ibn Umar: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, while he was at al-Hijr:
« Do not enter upon these punished people except weeping; if you are not weeping, then do not enter upon them, lest what befell them befall you. »
Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim
In some narrations: when he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by their dwellings, he covered his head, quickened his mount, and forbade entering their dwellings except weeping. In a narration: if you do not weep, then feign weeping, for fear that what befell them befall you. May the prayers of Allah and His peace be upon him.
Imam Ahmad said: Yazid ibn Harun reported to us, al-Mas'udi reported to us, from Isma'il ibn Awsta, from Muhammad ibn Abi Kabsha al-Anmari, from his father, whose name is Amr ibn Sa'd, also called Amir ibn Sa'd, who said: during the campaign of Tabuk, the people rushed toward the people of al-Hijr to enter upon them. That reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who called out: prayer is gathering. I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): he was holding his camel's rein and saying: what makes you enter upon a people against whom Allah is wrath? A man called out: we marvel at them, O Messenger of Allah. He said:
« Shall I not tell you of something more wondrous? A man from among you informs you of what was before you and of what will be after you. So stand upright and be rightly guided, for Allah is not heedless of punishing you anything; and a people will come who cannot repel anything from themselves. »
Reported by Ahmad; a good chain
It has been mentioned that the people of Salih had long lifespans: they built houses of mud brick, which would fall to ruin before the death of any one of them; so they hewed for themselves houses in the mountains. They mentioned that when the people of Salih asked him for a sign, Allah brought the she-camel out of the rock for them, and he commanded them to respect her and the young one that was in her womb, and warned them of Allah's might should they harm her. He informed them that they would hamstring her, and that this would be the cause of their destruction; he described for them her hamstringer: red, blue-eyed, ashen. They therefore sent watchers through the land: whenever they found a newborn of this description, they would kill him.
They remained thus a very long time; a generation passed away and another came. Then, in one era, one of their chiefs married his son to the daughter of another like him in leadership; they were joined and there was born to them the hamstringer of the she-camel, Qudar ibn Salif. The watchers could not kill him because of the nobility of his parents and grandparents among them. He grew quickly: he matured in a week as others mature in a month, until he became an obeyed chief among them.
His soul prompted him to the hamstringing of the she-camel, and eight of their nobles followed him in that: these are the nine who intended to kill Salih (peace be upon him). When the hamstringing took place, and it reached Salih (peace be upon him), he came to them weeping over her. They met him apologizing to him, saying: this did not come from an assembly of ours; these young men did this among us. It is said that he commanded them to pursue her young so as to surround it with kindness in compensation for her.
They went after it: it climbed a mountain; as they climbed after it, the mountain rose until the birds could not reach it, and the young one wept until its tears flowed. Then it faced Salih (peace be upon him) and cried out three times; whereupon Salih said: « enjoy in your homes three days: that is a promise not to be belied. » And he informed them that on the morrow their faces would be yellow, then that they would redden on the second day, and on the third day their faces would blacken; on the fourth day, a Cry came upon them containing the sound of every thunderbolt, which extinguished them: they lay in their dwellings by morning. And in a part of this account there is matter for scrutiny, and elements contrary to what is plainly understood from the Quran concerning them and their story, as we have mentioned.
And Allah knows best what is right: He suffices us and is the best Disposer.