Stories of the Prophets
Salih (AS)
(Sept 25, 2020)
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Last week we went through the story of Hud (AS) who was Allah’s messenger sent to the people of ‘Aad. From the Qur’an we learn that because of the shirk (polytheism), their disbelief in the hereafter, their outright defiance of the divine message and their extreme arrogance, the people of ‘Aad were completely destroyed by a divine punishment that came through a fierce and powerful wind that blew over them for seven nights and eight days.
We learn through a narration that whenever a strong wind blew, anxiety appeared on the face of the Prophet (fearing that wind might be a sign of Allah’s wrath).
In another narration of ‘A’isha (RA), it is reported that whenever the wind was stormy, the Prophet (S) used to say: “O Allah! I ask You for what is good in it, and the good which it contains, and the good of that which it was sent for. I seek refuge with You from what is evil in it, what evil it contains, and the evil of that what it was sent for; and when there was a thunder and lightning in the sky, his color underwent a change, and he went out and in, backwards and forwards; and when the rain came, he felt relieved, and I noticed that (the sign of relief) on his face. ‘A’isha (RA) asked him (about it) and he said: It may be as the people of ‘Aad said: When they saw a cloud formation coming to their valley they said:” It is a cloud which would give us rain.” (Qur’an, 46:24).
A period of time lapsed after the destruction of the ‘Aad and once again kufr and shirk spread in the land. The tribe of Thamud succeeded the ‘Aad in power and glory. They left the Yemen region and migrated to the northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula and settled in an area called Hijr approx 380 kilometers northwest of Madinah. Thus the Thamud were also known as As-haab al-Hijr. Like the people of ‘Aad, they erected huge buildings on the plains and carved beautiful homes out of the hills.
Unfortunately, with their extravagant lifestyles, they too fell into idol worship and wickedness, and forgot Allah (SWT). Tyranny and oppression became prevalent as evil men ruled the land. Allah then sent a man who was one amongst them in order to warn them to mend their ways. His name was Salih. He was a righteous man who held a position of leadership in the community, but his call to his fellowmen to worship Allah alone infuriated many people. Some understood the wisdom of his words, but the majority of them disbelieved and harmed him with both words and actions.
Salih (AS)’s people said to him:”O Salih! You have been among us as a figure of good hope and we wished for you to be our chief, till this new thing which you have brought that we should leave our gods and worship your Allah alone. Do you now forbid us the worship of what our fathers have worshipped? But we are really in grave doubt as to that which you invite us to (monotheism).” Salih (AS) said to them: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other deity but Him. It is He who brought you into existence from the earth and gave you residence therein, so repent to Him. Indeed my Rabb is close and will respond.”
They used to worship the same gods as their forefathers, with no reason, no proof, and no thought. The proof of Salih (AS)’s message was evident, but despite this it was obvious that most of his people did not believe him.
Salih (AS) reasoned with them “O my people! Why do you hasten in evil before the good? Why do you not seek forgiveness from Allah so that He may have mercy upon you?”
They taunted him further by saying “Has the (divine) message been sent to him, from amongst all of us? In fact he is a great, evil liar!” They even went further and accused him of being under some magical spell. They troubled the followers of Salih (AS) by going to them and asking “Do you really believe in what he is preaching?” When they responded in the affirmative the disbelievers mocked at them saying “Indeed we have rejected that which you believe in!”
Basically they were trying to put off the believers and to turn away anyone who might be eager to even listen to the truth. As the Messenger of Allah, Salih (AS) continued inviting all these people towards the truth until such a time that they now began openly abusing and insulting him and calling for his expulsion from the community.
Salih (AS) asked them “O my people! What do you think, if I am on a clear mission from my Lord, and He has bestowed me His mercy, then who will assist me against Allah if I disobey Him? As for all of you, you will only increase me in loss!” They said “You are but a human like us! So bring forth a sign if you are indeed truthful!”
The people of Thamud openly declared their unwillingness to heed to what Salih (AS) said to them, and challenged him to bring forth a sign or miracle, which should meet their demands. They said: “We require that this massive rock should split up and a she camel should come out of it; It must be pregnant – ready to deliver it’s young; It must be a deep red color; It must have plenty of hair/fur; It must be gigantic; So gigantic as never seen before by any of us before. Salih (AS) replied: “Look now! If Allah sends you what you have requested, just as you have described, will you believe in that which I have come to you with and will you have faith in the message I have been sent with?” They answered: “Yes.”
So he took a vow from them on this, then prayed to Allah to grant their request. Allah ordered the rock to split asunder, bringing forth a great ten month pregnant she camel, much larger than they had ever seen before – in fact the largest camel in history! When their eyes set on it, they were amazed. They saw this great creature, a wonderful sight, a dazzling power and clear evidence! Salih (AS) declared “O my people! And this is the she camel of Allah! A clear sign for all of you! So let it roam and graze on the earth of Allah and do not touch it with any evil intent lest a near punishment takes hold of you.”
This was no ordinary camel as it was not begotten from another camel but created directly by Allah! There was no room for anyone to doubt. This was not magic. It was indeed a clear sign and a miracle. Allah instructed Salih (AS) to inform them that they will have to share with this camel from the water source, drinking in turns on alternate days. They should not prevent it from drinking neither should they cause any harm to it.
In acknowledgment of this great sign, a number of people believed the message of Salih (AS) yet most of them continued in their disbelief, stubbornness, and in going astray. These people remained in the majority and they feared that the number of Salih (AS)’s followers would increase day by day, as a result of this miraculous camel living in their midst. So within a short period of time their hatred of Salih (AS) turned towards the blessed she camel. They now began complaining that this huge she camel with its unusual qualities drank most of the water and frightened their cattle.
A conspiracy started to be hatched by the disbelievers, and they secretly plotted to kill the camel. One of the old women offered one of her daughters to a young man called Qudar ibn Salif in return for killing the camel. Another rich lady from a noble family offered herself to a young man named Masrai ibn Mahraj on condition that he kills the camel. Naturally these young men were tempted and they called upon seven others to assist them. They watched the camel closely, observing all its movements, planning and plotting how to execute their evil intentions.
Qudar was chosen to head the mission –he masterminded the exercise and then informed all the other disbelievers of their plans and gained their approval and support. Then as the she camel came to drink one day, Masrai shot it in the leg with an arrow, Qudar followed the camel and struck it with a sword in the other leg – he sliced the hamstring. As the camel fell to the ground, he pierced it with his sword killing it.
The killers were given a hero’s applause, cheered with songs and poetry composed in their praise. In their arrogance they mocked Salih (AS) claiming he could do nothing now.
According to some narrations the disbelievers even chased after the young of the she camel and killed it too. They invited the entire community to partake of the flesh of the slain animals – thus all participated in this grave wrong doing, except the few believers with Salih AS. In their merriment, the disbelievers slipped into further arrogance and very boldly called out: “O Salih! Bring forth that (punishment) which you have been promising us if you are truly from amongst the (divine) messengers!”
Salih (AS) gave them the ultimate warning by saying: “Enjoy life in your homes for three more days, for that is the promised time which cannot be falsified now. (then the punishment will descend upon you).” Salih (AS) was hoping that they would see the folly of their ways and change their attitude before the three days went out.But they were neither to change nor realize their wrong. They were now intoxicated with pride and arrogance and called out “Why three days? Let the punishment come as quickly as possible.”
The disbelievers, having got rid of the clear sign in their midst, now turned in hatred to Salih (AS) once again. They began discussing a plot to kill him so that they would not have to continue to listen to warnings and threats anymore. The very nine men who carried out the great injustice against the camel and its young, conferred in a determined manner.
Allah refers to their evil in the Holy Qur’an: “And there were nine men in the city, who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.” They said: “Swear to one another by Allah that we shall make a secret night attack on him and his household, and afterwards we will surely say to his near relatives: “We did not witness the destruction of his household! And verily we are telling the truth.”
Allah says: “So they plotted a plot, and We planned a plan, while they perceived not.” Salih (AS) was instructed to take the believers with him and leave the locality as Allah had intended to save Salih (AS) and his followers from the wicked plans of the disbelievers and also from the severe punishment which was about to descend on the entire community. Heavy hearted, they left the evil doers and moved to another place. Allah says “Verily the dwellers of Al Hijr (the rocky tract) denied the messengers. We gave them Our Signs, but they were averse to them.”
The stage was now set for the destruction of these people who were unrepentant, ungrateful and mischievous. On the first day all their faces turned yellow and they began crying, not knowing what really affected them. The second day their faces turned red and on the third day their faces went black! Nobody knew what exactly affected them – they did understand that there was something really bad coming up. They started preparing for their death as they now had no way out.
Three days after Salih (AS)’s warning, various forms of punishment started descending upon the Thamud. Thunderbolts filled the air followed by severe earthquakes and as the land was violently shaken, all humans were sent crashing to the earth whilst all other living creatures were destroyed. Ear splitting sounds rang out from all directions which destroyed the entire tribe and its homeland. The first people to be destroyed were “the group of nine.” Then finally there was one terrific cry which had hardly ended when the remaining disbelievers were struck dead, one and all. Their strong buildings carved out of rocks could not protect them.
Allah says in the Holy Qur’an “So look at what was the outcome of their plot! How We destroyed them and their entire nation? So there are their houses destroyed because of what they had transgressed. Indeed in that there are signs for the people who know. And We saved those who believed, and used to fear and obey Allah.”
Among other civilizations, ‘Aad and Thamud were two great civilizations destroyed by Allah due to their excessive wickedness. We learn from a tradition that the Prophet (S) warned his companions against entering upon the people that had been punished by a calamity because of divine wrath, saying “I fear that you may be affected by what afflicted them; so do not enter upon them.”
This means that even if are passing by some places where it is known that Allah’s punishment had struck there because of the sins and transgression of its people, we should quickly pass by that place, and not remain there.
With this we conclude the story of Salih (AS).
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Resources and References:
Imam Ibn Kathir – Stories of the Prophets
Mufti Menk – Lessons from the Stories of the Prophets in the Qur’an (https://muslimahlifestyle.com/lessons-stories-prophets-quraan-mufti-menk-creation-of-aadam-as/)
Anwar Al-Awlaki – The Lives of the Prophets (https://www.kalamullah.com/anwar-alawlaki.html)
Aisha Stacey – The Religion of Islam (islamreligion.com)
