Islamic Timeline of RevelationOpen in flowchart →Prophet Salih (AS)
صالح
The prophet sent to Thamud, who carved homes into mountains in north-west Arabia. They hamstrung the she-camel given to them as a sign and were destroyed after a three-day respite.
Biography
Thamud were successors after 'Ad (7:74), who carved dwellings out of mountains (7:74; 15:82; 26:149). Their region is called al-Hijr (15:80), identified with the area of Mada'in Salih / Hegra in north-west Arabia.
Salih called them to Tawheed. As a sign, Allah gave them a she-camel, with a share of water on alternate days (26:155), warning them not to harm her (11:64). Nine mischief-makers in the city conspired against Salih (27:48-49), and the most wretched of them hamstrung the camel (91:12-14; 54:29). Salih told them to enjoy themselves for three days (11:65), after which they were seized by the blast (sayhah, 11:67) / earthquake (rajfah, 7:78). Salih and the believers were saved.
When the Prophet ﷺ passed by al-Hijr on the way to Tabuk (9 AH), he instructed his companions not to enter the dwellings of those who wronged themselves except while weeping, and not to use the water of its wells (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith al-Anbiya; Sahih Muslim).
The Nabataean tombs visible at Hegra today date mostly to the 1st century BCE-1st century CE; the relationship between Thamud's original dwellings and these monuments is debated.
Sources & explanation
۞ Qur'an
7:73 7:74 7:75 7:76 7:77 7:78 7:79 11:61 11:62 11:64 11:65 11:66 11:67 11:68 15:80 15:82 15:83 26:141 26:142 26:149 26:155 26:156 26:157 26:158 27:45 27:48 27:49 27:50 27:51 54:23 54:27 54:29 54:31 91:11 91:12 91:13 91:14 17:59
Links open quran.com.
📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com
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Sahih al-Bukhari 3378 Sahih
When passing al-Hijr (land of Thamud) the Prophet ﷺ ordered not to drink from its wells or use its water, except the well of the she-camel.
💬 Explanation Unverified
Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective
Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside Israiliyat (Judeo-Christian lore absorbed into later tafsir) and weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: The Quranic account and the Tabuk hadith are primary; legendary details about the camel emerging from a rock would be checked against authentic sources.
Further references
- Quran 7:73-79
- Quran 11:61-68
- Quran 26:141-159
- Quran 91:11-15
- Sahih Bukhari (passing al-Hijr)
- Sahih Muslim (passing al-Hijr)
Connections
Comes from
- Prophet Hud (AS) prophetic succession — Thamud were successors after 'Ad (7:74)