“And after Him [Hud] there appeared from the Ridvan of the Eternal, the Invisible; the holy person of Salih, who again summoned the people to the river of everlasting life. For over a hundred years. He admonished them to hold fast unto the commandments of God and eschew that which is forbidden. His admonitions, however, yielded no fruit, and His pleading proved to no avail. Several times, He retired and lived in seclusion. All this, although that eternal Beauty was summoning the people to no other than the city of God.” Baha’ullah (Book of Certitude)…
The people of Thamud lived in the Northwest corner of Arabia, between Medina and Syria (likely part of Petra). They built palaces and castles in the open rocky land located on the trade route from southern Arabia to Syria. They were blessed with gardens fed by springs, which brought forth date palms and other fruit trees. They carved Nabatean style stone dwellings, but also out of stone, they carved idols.
The Thamud were related to and successors of the ‘Ad. They took pride in fertile farms and outstanding architecture. With the advantages of a lavish material civilization, they, too, became arrogant idolaters and lax in virtue. They did not feel beholden to a Supreme Creator and were not moved to develop virtuous or caring behavior. Rather, they cheated and mistreated the people who passed through their lands. Their good qualities continued to decline, and they became materialistic tyrants. A Messenger worthy of all trust, known as Saleh, meaning “Righteous,” came to them nine generations after Noah and three generations before Abraham, roughly 4600 years ago.
Saleh was so righteous that His community already relied heavily on Him. In fact, He might have been chosen as their king if he had followed their ways (Similar to Ram and Yima). But, He had been chosen by God for a higher mission, which was to preach against the selfishness of the fortunate, and to condemn the practice of idolatry. The wealthy and wicked saw no need to worship one God, since the idols of their parents seemed to be doing quite nicely.
Stone idols might have been enough for their parents, but these were the people chosen to advance civilization once again, and they flatly refused. They chastised and rebuked Salih, whom they had once adored. The poor and needy of the community became His only believers. This caused the others to mock His efforts even more.
Salih asked that the rich stop oppressing the poor and adopt a more virtuous behavior. A few more people accepted His words. Not surprisingly, most of them refused to heed His warning and instead began to harass Him to cause a miracle as proof of the Power of God. Salih kept telling them to look around and remember the numerous miracles God had already bestowed upon them. He reminded His people of the countless castles and palaces they had built, and of their rich farm fields, and technical superiority. He also reminded them of the fate of the ‘Ad, and how they were destroyed for their similar, unrepentant sins.
“Produce a camel from the rocks”, they shouted. Still, He exhorted them to worship ‘One God,’ and be thankful to the One from whom all blessings flow. There was still time to turn from idolatry to monotheism. Even a few of His believers turned away, because most people wanted proof that God was all – powerful.
The She-Camel
Salih performed a visible miracle as a last resort. In answer to their request. He beseeched God, who brought forth a beautiful she-camel as a gift for sustenance, and to the astonishment of the community, as a sign of His divine grace. A large, beautiful, pregnant camel appeared to step out of the rock itself.
“Let this camel be a sign for you that Allah alone exists. Let no harm come to her, leave her to graze Allah’s earth, and let her come and have a baby. Do no harm to her, or you will be seized with a horrible punishment.” (Qu’ran)
At first, the people were amazed and stunned, but eventually they hurt Salih with their words and deeds. Salih warned the people to protect and cherish the camel as their gift from God’s benevolence. But the miracle failed miserably.
From the beginning, the camel was at great risk. After a time, the people of Thamud complained that she drank too much water. They turned their hatred for Saleh on her, even though He warned…
”O my people! This she camel of Allah is a sign to you. Leave her to feed on Allah’s earth, and touch her not with evil lest a near torment will seize you.” —Qu’ran (Ch11:64)
For a while, they suffered the camel to graze and drink freely, even though they hated her. She had caused more people to believe in one God. The people were now divided and quarreling with each other.
Most still felt that the camel drank too much water and gave too much milk. They said they needed more water for their cattle. So they plotted its death. Two women were promised as prizes to young men if the men would kill the camel. They happily set about the task. One man, Masra’i, shot an arrow into her leg. She tried to get away, but couldn’t move well, so another man, Qadar, hacked at another leg with his sword. When she fell to the ground, he pierced her with the blade. The killers were treated like heroes, celebrated and cheered with songs and poetry composed for their deed. People mocked Salih, who begged them to reconsider their crime and repent.
“Oh My people! I did indeed convey to you the message for which I was sent by My Lord: I gave you good counsel, but ye love not good counselors!” – Salih (as recorded by Mohammad) Qur’an 7:79
“Enjoy life for three more days, then the punishment will descend on you.”
“Why wait three days? Let the punishment come as quickly as possible.” They jeered. Salih begged them to ask Allah for pardon. He told them they were being tested. The nine evil chiefs and their sons refused to reform and plotted to attack Saleh and His household at night.
They would use the cloak of darkness so they could swear that they never saw the destruction of His home and family. But three days after the warning, before they had a chance to act on their vicious plan, thunderbolts filled the air, followed by earthquakes (perhaps tectonic) so severe that they destroyed the entire tribe and its homeland along with all living creatures in it.
There was one terrific cry which had hardly ended when the disbelievers were struck dead, all at the same time. Their strong bodies, exquisite buildings, or rock-hewn idols could protect them.
“So the earthquake took people unaware, and they lay prostrate in their homes in the morning.” Quran 27:45-53
The people who believed in Saleh’s message were saved because they had already left that place.
Later, when Mohammad passed the stricken area, some of His people filled their water skins at a well and started to cook. He warned them to dump out that water and give the dough to the camels rather than eat it. He let them refill the skins only from the well where the she-camel drank. Only He could know this after thousands of years that the spring was still there in the rubble. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleh
With residual physical reminders as blatant as this, it is hard to believe anybody would still doubt the power of a Single Creator. But wait…
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