Thamud
Thier Place
It is the land known as Diyar Thamud or Madain Saleh, located about three hundred and eighty "kilometers" northwest of Medina, and now the city of Al-Ula is located in the south of it, and some of its wells, especially the well known as the NAQA well, still remain today, and traces of Thamud from houses and tombs still exist today, especially the houses they used to carve in the mountains.
The people of Thamud lived in safety in the gardens of the many-eyed shadows, and the crops and palm trees of which were digested, they made palaces in the plains of the Earth, and carved houses from the mountains in dexterity, skill and adornment, and Allah Almighty pleased them with the reasons for well-being, and they were the closest of the nations that came after the people of Hud (peace be upon him).
Sending Saleh (peace be upon him) to Thamud
Thamud was also a tribe that worshiped idols, and Allah sent a righteous master Saleh to them, and he called on them to unify Allah Almighty and to single him out with divinity and godliness, and to acknowledge his good names and good qualities, and reminded them yes Allah is upon them and they fear his punishment, and warned them that their continued polytheism in Allah and their ingratitude yes Allah may descend upon them what came down with the people of Hud, he has answered his call to Allah Almighty the most vulnerable among them, and the arrogant have refused to turn to Allah.
The elders of Saleh's people were surprised by what he said that he accuses their gods of being worthless, and he forbids them to worship her and orders them to worship Allah alone, and his call caused a great shock in society and Saleh was known for wisdom, purity and goodness, his people respected him before Allah inspired him and sent him to invite them.
And they said, O Saleh, you were hoping in us for your knowledge, your mind, your honesty and your good management, and then we were disappointed in you, do we want to worship what our fathers worshiped?'! What a disaster everything is, Saleh, except this, what we expected from you to reproach our gods that we found our fathers worship them, and so people admire what he invites them to, denounce what is duty and right, and are surprised that their brother Saleh invites them to worship Allah alone. Why? It was all only because their parents worshiped these gods.
The Miracle of The She-Camel (Naqa)
Despite the call of Salih (peace upon him), it seemed clear that his people would not believe him and they doubted his call, and they believed that he was enchanted, and they demanded a miracle to prove that he was a messenger from Allah to them, and the will of Allah wanted to respond to their request.
The people of Thamud were carving great houses out of the mountains and using rock to build, and they were strong, and Allah had opened their livelihood to them from everything.
When Saleh asked them about the miracle they wanted, they pointed to a large rock near the place, and they asked Saleh to come out of this rock Naqa, and they began to set impossible conditions in the specifications of the Naqa, so Saleh then went to the chapel and called on Allah to come out of the rock Naqa. And then she came out of the rock, naked according to their conditions and in front of their eyes, so the people were amazed and some believed in Saleh, and they were few, and the majority continued to disbelieve.
One of the verses of Allah in the Naqa was that she used to drink from water almost eliminating their water, so Saleh (peace be upon him) agreed with them to share water between them and Naqa, so she drinks one day they do not share water, and they drink one day the Naqa does not share drinking with them, although this verse fascinates minds, and it has conclusive evidence and shining proof of the sincerity of Salih (peace be upon him); it is an insightful verse, and a compelling argument - Nevertheless, the arrogant continued their stubbornness, insisted on their disbelief and their misguidance, and tried to divert the believers from the righteous messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and worked to raise the similarity in the call of Saleh (peace be upon him), and Allah forbade them to rain in fear and warning, the arrogant said: "the righteous destroyed our country.
It is said that it was a miracle because she was drinking the water in the wells on a day when the rest of the animals do not approach the water on this day, and it was said that it was a miracle because she was producing enough milk for all people to drink on this day when she drinks water, there is nothing left for people.
Allah Almighty added it to himself in the sense that it is not an ordinary Naqa, but it is a miracle from Allah, and Allah issued his command to Saleh to order his people not to touch the Naqa, harm it or kill it, he ordered them to let it eat in the land of Allah, and not to touch it badly, and warned them that if they extend their hands to harm the Naqa, they will take a near punishment.
At first, Thamud's surprise increased when Naqa was born from the rocks of the mountain, she was a blessed Naqa, and thousands of men, women and children were enough for her, and it was clear that she was not just an ordinary Naqa, but a sign from Allah.
This is because when the disbelievers ask their prophet for a sign, it is not because they want to make sure of his sincerity and faith in him, but to challenge him and show his helplessness in front of people, but Allah was letting them down by supporting his prophets with miracles from him.
Saleh (peace be upon him) used to speak to his people with kindness and love, inviting them to worship Allah alone, and warning them that Allah had revealed to them a miracle, the Naqa, as proof of his sincerity and evidence of his call he asked them to let the Naqa eat in Allah's land, and the whole earth is Allah's land, and he warned them not to touch it badly for fear of Allah's punishment falling on them.
He also reminded them of the grace of Allah to inhabit the Earth after Add people and blessed them with palaces, carved mountains, Bliss, sustenance and strength.
The conspiracy of the public on the Naqa and the beginning of Allah's punishment
And the hatred turned from our master Saleh to the blessed Naqa, the hatred centered on her, and the conspiracy began to weave its threads against the Naqa
One night, a meeting of the elders of the people was held, and it has become fashionable to see that in the stories of the prophets these measures to eliminate the Prophet, His miracles or his call come from the heads of the people, they are those who fear for their interests if people turn to monotheism, and from their fear to the fear of Allah alone.
The heads of the people began to consult on what should be done to end Saleh's call.
One of them told them to kill al-Naqa and then killed Saleh
This is the weapon of darkness and unbelievers in every time and place, who rely on force and weapons instead of dialogue and discussion with arguments and proofs, because they know that the truth is supreme and second to none, and no matter how long they stretch, the truth will appear and invalidate all their arguments.
They did not want to reach this stage, and decided to eliminate the right before its thorn strengthened, but one of them said: Saleh warned us not to harm the Naqa, and threatened us with imminent punishment.
One of them said quickly, before the words of the one who preceded him affected the minds of the people: I know who dares to kill the Naqa.
The choice fell on nine of the folk titans; they were men who were wreaking havoc on the land, woe to those who opposed them.
They agreed on the date of the crime and the place of execution.
On the appointed night, while the Blessed Naqa was sleeping peacefully, the nine criminals finished preparing their weapons, swords and arrows, to commit the crime, the men attacked the Naqa, and the Naqa got up in fright, the deadly sinful hands stretched out to her and her blood flowed.
Thamud Perdition
The Prophet Saleh knew what had happened and went out angry at his people.
He said to them, ' didn't I warn you not to touch the Naqa?' They said: 'We killed her, so we brought the punishment and hastened it.
Didn't you say you were one of the messengers He said to his people: have fun in your house for three days, and Allah's punishment will come to you, after that Saleh left his people and passed on.
The matter ended and Allah promised to destroy them after three days, and three days passed for the disbelievers from the Saleh people as they mocked the torment and waited, and at the dawn of the fourth day: the sky split from one mighty cry and the cry descended on the mountains, and everything alive perished in it, it is one cry.
The first of them had hardly begun and the last of them was coming until the disbelievers of Saleh's people were all shocked by one shock and they all perished before they realized what had happened, but those who believed in our master Saleh, had left the place with their prophet and survived.
Allah mentioned the story of the prophet of Allah Saleh in several places in the Qur'an :
And to Thamūd [We sent] their brother Ṣāliḥ. 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." (11:61), They said, "O Ṣāliḥ, you were among us a man of promise before this. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshiped? And indeed we are, about that to which you invite us, in disquieting doubt." (11:62), He said, "O my people, have you considered: if I should be upon clear evidence from my Lord and He has given me mercy from Him, who would protect me from Allah if I disobeyed Him? So you would not increase me except in loss. (11:63), And O my people, this is the she-camel of Allah – [she is] to you a sign. So let her feed upon Allah’s earth and do not touch her with harm, or you will be taken by an impending punishment."(11:64), But they hamstrung her, so he said, "Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. That is a promise not to be denied." (11:65), So when Our command came, We saved Ṣāliḥ and those who believed with him, by mercy from Us, from the disgrace of that day. Indeed, it is your Lord who is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might. (11:66), And the shriek seized those who had wronged, and they became within their homes corpses fallen prone. (11:67), As if they had never prospered therein. Unquestionably, Thamūd denied their Lord; then, away with Thamūd. (11:68)