Part 49

out homes in the mOlln tains. So rCl11cmbert he graces (bestowed

upon you) from Alla h, and do not go abollt mak ing mi schicf

on th e carth:' Th e leaders of those who were arrogant among

his people said to those who were cOlln ted weak - to such or

them as bel ieved. "Know you that Salih is one sent frol11 his

Lord?" They sa id. "We indeed belie ve in Lhat with which he

has been scn t. " Those who were arrogan t sa id, "Verily, we

disbelieve in that which you believe in:' So they killcd the

shc-ca mel and inso lentl y dcfi ed the Commandm ent or thei r

Lord and said. "0, Sahh! Bring about your threats if you arc

indeed OIlC of the Messengers (of Allah)." So lh e earthquak e

seized them a nd th ey lay (dead) , prostrate in their homes .

Thcn he (Sa lilt) tumcd rrol11 them and said, "0, my people!

224 71,e S((n:I' (lISa/eft, fhe Pmphel u{T/uI/I /(wd

( ha ve indeed con veyed to you the Message of my Lord , and

h.w e g iven yo u good adv ice but you like 110t good advisers."

) (Soarail AI-A 'raf7:73-74)" He, Most Hi gh, says in SoO/"ail

Hood, ( And to Th amood (peopl e. We sent) their broth er Sa lih .

He said, " 0, my people! Worship All ah, yo u have no ot her

ilah (god) but I-lilll. He brought you forth from the earth and

se ttl ed you there in, then ask forg iveness o f Il im and tll rn to

(lim in repent,mce . Certain ly, my Lord is Ncar (to all by Hi s

Knowledge), Respo nsive." They sa id. "0. Sa lih! You havc

been among us as a fi gure o f good hope (a nd wc w ished fo r you

to be ou r chi c f) . till this (new thing which yo u have bro ug ht;

that we leave our gods and worship your God [A ll ah] A lone) !

Do you (now) forbid us fro m th e worship o f what o ur fath ers

have wo rshipped? Bu t we arc really in g ra ve doubt as to lhat

whi ch you in vite us to (mo noth eism}," l ie said . "0, Illy people!

Te ll me. if I hav..:: a clea r proo f from my Lord . and there has

come to me a Mercy ( Propheth ood, etc,) fro m Ilim , who then

ca n help me again st All ah, if I were to di sobey I-I im? Theil you

increase me not hut in loss, And 0. my peopl e! This she-ca mel

o f A llah is a sign to you. leave her to feed o n All ah 's earth, and

to uch her not with evil int enti o n. lest a ncar to rment w ill seize

you." But they klll ed her. So he sai d, "Enjoy yourse lves in your

home s for three days . Thi s is a promise (i.e . a th rea t) that will

not be be li ed." So when O ur Commandm ent ca me, We saved

Sali h and those who be li eved w ith him by a Mercy from Us,

and fro m the d isgrace o f th at Day. Veril y, your Lord, l ie is

the Strong, the A lmi g hty. And A.\'-Sailwl! (to rment - aw ful cry,

etc.) overt ook the wrongdoers, so they lay (dead ), pros trate in

the ir ho mes, as if they had never li ved there . No do ubt! Veril y.

Tham ood disbe lieved in their Lo rd . So away w ith Tham ood! )

He, Most Hi gh, says in SoO/'all Ash-Shu 'am " ( Thamood

The S'OI:I' o/Saleh. 'he Pmphl!' o/Th(flllood

(peop le) be lied the Messe nger. When the ir brothe r Sa lih said to

the m: " Wi ll yo u not lear A llah and obey Him? I am a trustworthy

Messe nge r to you. So fear A ll ah. kee p your dUl y to Ilim . and

obey me. No reward do I ask o f you for it (m y Message of

Islami c Mo nothe ism), my rewa rd is onl y from th e Lord o f the

·A/ameen . Will you be left sec ure in Ih al whi ch you have hcre'!

In gard ens and sprin gs .lI1d green crops (fi clds. etc.) and datc-

pa lms w ith son spadi x. And you carvc hou ses out ofmoulltains

wilh great skill. So fear Alla h, kee p your duty to I lim, a nd obey

me. And fo llow not the comma nd o f a/-musri/ilOl1 (i,e, thei r

chi efs, Icaders who were polythe ists. crimin als and sinners).

who mak c mi schi e f in th e land , and refo rm not." They said ,

" You arc on ly of th ose bewitched! You a re but a human be in g

like liS. T hen bring us a sign if you are of the truthfuL " li e

said , " I lcre is a she-camcl: it has a ri ght to drink (watcr). and

you ha vc a right to drink (wat er) (each) on a day, know n. And

tOllch her not w ith harm , les t the punishm ent o f a Great Da y

se ize YOll. ' · But they kil led her and then th ey beca mc regre tful ,

So the punishment overtook th elll , Verily, in thi s is indeed a

sign, yet most o fth ell1 arc no\ bdi eve rs. And ve ril y! Your Lord.

li e is indeed the Almi ght y. th e Most Me rciful. ) (5001'011 AsII-

Shu 'ara' 26: 141 - 159)

A ll ah frequen tl y links in Hi s Book the menti on of' Ad wi lh

that of Th amood, as in SOOl'all Bara 'all (5001'(111 AfTalVhah),

SOOl'all lbralleem , Soorall AI-Flirqan, Soorall Sad, SoO/'all

Qa/, SOOl'ali AI/-Na)m and SOOl'ail AI-Fa)r, It is said that Ihe

stol)' o r these two nati ons is not known to the People of the

Scri pture and th at they were not ment ioned in th ei r Sc ripture,

the Torah. But in the Qur ' an there is evidence that Moosa

ifS infonned his peop le about them. as Allah says in SOOl'al1

lbralleem, ( And Moosa (Moses) sa id , " Ir you di sbelie ve,

you and a ll on earth togeth er, then ve ril y, Allah is Ri ch (Free

226 71/{: SlOl)' vjSa/ell. Ille pIYJpltet ojTlulI/wor/

of all want s), O wner of all Praise. lias not th e news reached

YOll , o f those before you, th e people o f Noeh, and' Ad a nd

Thamood? And those after th em? None kn ows them but A ll ah.

To them came their Messe ngers with cl ear proo fs, but they put

their hands in their mouths (b iling th em from ange r) and sa id,

Verily. we di sbeli eve in Iha l with whi ch you have been sent,

and we a rc rca lly in grave doubt as 10 that to whi ch you in vite

us (i.e. Islami c Monotheism)." ) (SoO/'all /brall eelll 14: 8,9).

II is apparent that these word s are en tirely those of Moosa

~\ which he addressed to hi s people. But because these two

nati ons were from among the Arabs, their stories were not well

document ed and no attempt wa s made to record th em, although

they were well-known during the time of Moosa ~ . We have

spoken in detail concernin g all of thi s in th e Tc!fseer; all praise

anci thanks be 10 Allah , from Whom procecds all Grace.

What is int ended now is to mcnlion their story and their

circum stances a nd how All ah saved I-li s Prophet, Saleh

~ , and those who believed in him , and how He eradicated

those who wcre guilty of inju sti ce because of th eir di sbelief,

their arrogance and the opposition they di splayed to their

Messenger, Sale h ~ . Wc have already mentioned that they

were Arabs andlhallhcy came after th e peopl e of' Ad, but they

did not pay heed to wha t had befallen th em. This is why Saleh

:-Ml said to them, ( And to Thamood (peopl e, We sellt) their

brother Salih . He said , "0, my pcople ! Wors hip Allah ! You

ha vc no olher ilalt (god) but Him. (La i/alla II/allah: no nc has

the ri ght to be worshipped but All ah). Indeed there has co me

to you a cl ear s ign (the miracle of Ihc eomjn g oul of a huge

she-cam el fro m the midst of a rock) from your Lord. This she-

camel of All ah is a sign unt o you; so YOll leave her 10 graze

in Allah 's earth , and touch her not with harm . lest a pa inful

puni sh mc nt should se ize you. And reme mber when '-Ie made

you sllccessors ailer 'Ad (people) and gave you habitations

in the land, you build for yourseh'cs palaccs in plains, and

carve out homes in the mountains. So remember the graccs

(bestowed upon yo u) from Alla h, and do not go about making

mischief on the Earth." ) (Soorah AI-A ·raf7:73,74) That is,

He has onl y made yo u successors aner them in orde r that you

migh t pay heed to their fa te and act in a manne r cont ra ry 10

their actions. He has permitted to YO ll th ese lands, allowing you

10 build palaces in their plains. ( "And you carve houses out o f

moun tains with gre:.u sk ill .·' ) (Sooralt Ash-Shll 'ora' 26: 149)

That is, yo u a rc profic icnt in bui lding thclll , perfec ting them

and preci sely exccuting (the building of) thc m, so respond to

Allah's Bless ing with gra titude, righteous deeds a nd worship

Him, Alone, without ascribing partners to Him. Bcwarc of

oppos ing Him and rcfrain ing from Hi s obedic ncc, beca use the

punishmc nt fo r that is an evil one. Thi s is why he warned them,