Prophet Salih said,
[قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم
بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ هَـذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ ءَايَةً]
("Indeed there has come to you a clear sign from your Lord. This she-camel of
Allah is a sign unto you;'') meaning, a miracle has come to you from Allah
testifying to the truth of what I came to you with. Salih's people asked him to
produce a miracle and suggested a certain solid rock that they chose, which
stood lonely in the area of Hijr, and which was called Al-Katibah. They asked
him to bring a pregnant camel out of that stone. Salih took their covenant and
promises that if Allah answers their challenge, they would believe and follow
him. When they gave him their oaths and promises to that, Salih started praying
and invoked Allah (to produce that miracle). All of a sudden, the stone moved
and broke apart, producing a she-camel with thick wool. It was pregnant and its
fetus was visibly moving in its belly, exactly as Salih's people asked. This is
when their chief, Jundu` bin `Amr, and several who followed him believed. The
rest of the noblemen of Thamud wanted to believe as well, but Dhu'ab bin `Amr
bin Labid, Al-Habbab, who tended their idols, and Rabbab bin Sum`ar bin Jilhis
stopped them. One of the cousins of Jundu` bin `Amr, whose name was Shihab bin
Khalifah bin Mikhlat bin Labid bin Jawwas, was one of the leaders of Thamud, and
he also wanted to accept the message. However, the chiefs whom we mentioned
prevented him, and he conceded to their promptings. The camel remained in
Thamud, as well as, its offspring after she delivered it before them. The camel
used to drink from its well on one day and leave the well for Thamud the next
day. They also used to drink its milk, for on the days she drank water, they
used to milk her and fill their containers from its milk. Allah said in other
Ayat,
[وَنَبِّئْهُمْ أَنَّ
الْمَآءَ قِسْمَةٌ بَيْنَهُمْ كُلُّ شِرْبٍ مُّحْتَضَرٌ ]
(And inform them that the water is to be shared between (her and) them, each
one's right to drink being established (by turns)) [54:28] and,
[هَـذِهِ نَاقَةٌ
لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ]
(Here is a she-camel: it has a right to drink (water), and you have a right
to drink (water) (each) on a day, known) [26:155] The camel used to graze in
some of their valleys, going through a pass and coming out through another pass.
She did that so as to be able to move easily, because she used to drink a lot of
water. She was a tremendous animal that had a strikingly beautiful appearance.
When she used to pass by their cattle, the cattle would be afraid of her. When
this matter continued for a long time and Thamud's rejection of Salih became
intense, they intended to kill her so that they could take the water for
themselves every day. It was said that all of them (the disbelievers of Thamud)
conspired to kill the camel. Qatadah said that he was told that, "The designated
killer of the camel approached them all, including women in their rooms and
children, and found out that all of them agreed to kill her.'' This fact is
apparent from the wording of the Ayat,
[فَكَذَّبُوهُ
فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا ]
(Then they denied him and they killed it. So their Lord destroyed them
because of their sin, and made them equal in destruction!) [91:14], and,
[وَءَاتَيْنَا
ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا]
(And We sent the she-camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did her
wrong.) [17:59] Allah said here,
[فَعَقَرُواْ
النَّاقَةَ]
(So they killed the she-camel) Therefore, these Ayat stated that the entire
tribe shared in agreeing to this crime, and Allah knows best.
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