al-Shams

كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِطَغْوَاهَا

إِذِ انبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا

فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقْيَاهَا

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُم بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا

ولَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا

11. “The Thamood (people) rejected (their prophet) through their inordinate wrong doing,"
12. “When rose up the most reprobate of them,"
13. “Then the Messenger of Allah (Salih) said to them: 'It is a she-camel of Allah and (bar her not from) having her drink!"
14. “But they rejected him and hamstrung her, so their Lord crushed them for their sin and levelled them (with the ground),"
15. “And for Him if no fear of its consequences.”

The Fatal End of the Wrongdoers!

Following the previous awakening verses about the end of those who pollute their soul, in the next verses one of the clear examples of these people, of the past, is referred to and the destiny of the Thamood is explained with some short, expressive, decisive sentences. It says:

The terms /taqwa/ and /tuqiyan / both have the same meaning, which is 'transgression'; and here it means 'exceeding all the Divine bounds and disobeying His Law'. The Thamood people, whose prophet was Salih (as) are the most ancient people to have lived in a zone between Hijaz and Sham (Syria). They lived comfortably and care-free on a fertile, level land in strong, splendid castles. They not only showed ingratitude for the abundant blessings they had, but disobeyed their Lord by acting rebellious to the instruction of the Apostle Salih (as) and mocked His Sign, the she-camel. This conduct brought perdition to the people by means of a sudden, violent blast from heaven which was accompanied by an earthquake.

Then, the Qur'an illustrates one of the clear examples of this rebellious group and says:

The term /asqa/ means 'the most wretched' among them, referring to the person who hamstrung the she-camel which was sent to them as a trial and whose murder was a sign of rebellion against their divine Prophet (S). Some commentators and historians have said that the most wicked man among them, who dared to commit that heinous crime, was Qudar-ibn-Salif. In some traditions it is narrated that the holy Prophet (S) of Islam said:

“The most wicked person among the ancient ones was the murderer of the harmless she-camel of Salih (as), and the most wicked person of the latter age is the murderer of Ali-ibn-Abi-Taleb. A wicked one, who will make his beard dyed (red) from the blood of his forehead.” ⁷

In the next verse there is more about the rebellious impieties of the Thamood people. It says:

The meaning of

here is Salih (as), the prophet of the Thamood people; and

refers to the fact that it was no ordinary she-camel, but it was a miracle from Allah sent to those people to prove that the prophet was a true prophet and from Allah. One of the specialities of the camel, according to a known narration, was that she exiled from inside the mountain to be a clear miracle for the arrogant disbelievers. It is well understood from other verses of the Qur'an that Salih (as) told the people that they should divide the water of the town between the camel and themselves so that on one day they could drink the water and in turn the next day the camel could drink, without them bothering each other:

And he particularly told them:

The term /aqaruha/ is based on /uqr/ which basically means 'origin, basis' and then 'to cut the basis, or to kill'. Some have said that the objective meaning here is 'to hamstring an animal', that is to cut the legs of the animal and make it fall so that it consequently dies. It is interesting to note that the man who was deputed to do the impious deed of hamstringing the she-camel was only an individual whom the Qur'an considers 'the most reprobate' but had of course the sympathy and cooperation of the whole people as the verse too mentions the subjective pronoun of the verb in the plural form / aqaruha/ ‘they hamstrung her' which means that others of the Thamood tribe had a share in committing the act also.

An action like that is usually plotted by a group and then is fulfilled by one or a few definite individuals. Furthermore, they are content to do it and pleased with it, which unequivocally introduces the group as participants. That is why Hazrat Ali (as) has said:

"…for only one individual killed the camel of Thamood, but Allah punished all of them, because all of them joined him by their acquiescing in their contentment to it. Thus, Allah, the glorified has said:

But, it was too late for that regretfulness. It was the fruit of their own rejection and impiety that destroyed them and then they were buried in their houses by the punishment of Allah. The term /damdama/ is based on the term /damdamat/ which is sometimes used in the sense of 'to destroy' and sometimes 'to make shared punishment fall upon people' or 'to cut the roots of them', or 'to pound, crush' and sometimes 'to disfavor' or 'to surround, involve', all or which can be applicable, in this verse, because that penalty originated from the wrath of Allah due to their sin which resulted in their being made level with the ground.

The term /sawwaha/ is based on /taswiyah/ which means 'to make level or equal', and it may mean that their houses were levelled to the ground, Allah sent an equal destruction upon them all so that no one could escape. All these meanings can also be accepted. The pronoun /ha/ in the term /sawwaha/ refers to the tribe of Thamood or to their cities and buildings which Allah destroyed and levelled with the ground. Some have said that the pronoun refers to the term /damdama/ ‘destruction' which is understood from the next sentence, i.e. Allah divided this wrath and destruction equally between them all.

However, the first commentary seems more appropriate. By the way, this verse denotes that their penalty was the fruit of their sin and was in proportion to it and this adopts to Divine Justice and Wisdom. It is said about many nations that when they felt that they were receiving punishment and saw its preliminary signs, they became regretful and repented; but as some narrations denote, the situation about the Thamood is different. They decided to find Salih (as), their sincere prophet and kill him when they saw the first signs of the Divine penalty for their disobedience. This shows the depth of their rebellion and disobedience, against Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (S), Salih (as), whom He saved by His Mercy and then destroyed all the rejectors.

Finally, in the last verse of the Surah, in order to clearly warn all those who go on the same path, it says:

There are many rulers who have the authority and power to punish others, but, they fear the consequence that it may have and the reactions of the people. For this very reason they do not use their power completely or putting it more directly, their power is based on weakness and inability, and their knowledge is mingled with ignorance hence they fear of being unable to afford the unknown results that they will face with. Allah, the Almighty, the All-knowing, has created and can create at will, and there can be no question of any such apprehension in His case, that is why He does decisively what He pleases.

Transgressors and wrongdoers should be careful of their conditions, lest they will be involved in the wrath of Allah for their evil actions. The term /uqba/ means 'end, finite', and the pronoun /ha/, at the end of the Arabic word, refers to

Explanation: The Brief Story of the Thamood

As it was mentioned before, the Thamood flourished in a territory between Medina and Sham (Syria). The plain was known as 'wadi-ul-Qura’ which forms the southern boundary of Syria. They worshipped a part of a mountain when Salih (as) was sent to them as an Apostle of Allah. He preached to those people and tried his best to correct their faith and conduct, but it was to no avail at all. At last the people challenged Salih (as) saying that they would believe in Allah and obey His Apostle, Salih, if Salih could cause a she-camel to come out of the mountain with a young one.

Salih (as) did cause the miracle and yet the people did not believe and correct themselves. It was then fixed that on one day the she-camel would drink of the water of the town and on the next day the people would have the water. As some narrations denote, even on the day the she-camel drank the water, she gave so much milk that the whole town was supplied. Salih (as) had already warned them that if they caused the least harm or hurt to her a chastisement from Allah would overtake them. But, the cup of their inequities was full enough to plan to kill both Salih (as) and the she-camel who were obstacles to their carnal desires.

They cruelly hamstrung the poor, harmless she-camel by the hand of the most wretched man among them, Qudar-ibn-Salif. But, they failed to find Salih (as) to slay. After that he had warned them that they had only three days time in which to enjoy themselves in this world:

Just three days time for further thought and repentance! However, they were not only heedless, but also increased their impiety. Then, by night came a terrible earthquake as a Divine punishment, and buried them in their own fortress homes which they thought to be such places of security:

They were destroyed and the light of life in their land was extinguished so that no one there remained alive, but, Allah saved Salih (as) and his believing followers:

Supplication:

O Lord! You are our hope in avoiding carnal desires; please help us.

O Lord! You inspired in us the understanding of what is 'piety' and what is 'impiety'. Bestow upon us the success of taking benefit from this inspiration.

O Lord! The temptations and intrigues of Satan are mysteriously concealed in the soul of Man. Open their mysteries to us so that we may know them and be able to avoid them.