5. The Story of Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم
   5.1 People of Thamūd Thought they were Secure in Rock Mountains
   5.2 Salih عليه السالم Calls his People to Monotheism
   5.3 The People of Thamud Reject the Message of Salih عليه السالم
   5.4 Shaitān Will Allow You to Advance as Long as You Worship him
   5.5 Miracle of Sālih عليه السالم by the Will of Allāh ﷻ
   5.6 Nine Men from Thamūd Decide to Kill the Sacred Camel
   5.7 Allāh ﷻ Sends His Punishment to the People of Thamūd
   5.8 You are Either with the Party of Allāh ﷻ or with the Party of Shaitān!
   5.9 “Do Not go Into the Ruins of Thamūd Except if You’re Going to Cry”

5.1 People of Thamūd Thought they were Secure in Rock Mountains

We will start with the story of Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم .

[Allāh ﷻ says,] “And  verily,  the  dwellers  of  Al-Hijr  (the  rocky  tract)  denied  the Messengers.(Al-Hijr – 15:80-82) Al-Hijr is the rocky tract. They used to live in a rocky tract. It’s a very rocky area, solid rocks. Allāh ﷻ says,

And We gave them Our Signs, but they were averse to them.(Al-Hijr – 15:80-82)

And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains (feeling themselves) secure.(Al-Hijr – 15:80-82) Allāh ﷻ says, ‘They used to carve out these houses in the mountains, palaces in the mountains – Āminīn.’ In the Tafsīr of Ibn Jawzi, he gives a few meanings of Āminīn. One of them is, that they were feeling secure and safe from the punishment of Allāh ﷻ. The second meaning is, that they were feeling secure and safe, that these buildings will never be destroyed; they are carving it out of solid bedrock. Imagine you have a solid rock, like this masjid, and you carve into it a house. They were not building houses from bricks or stones. No, they were carving out houses in solid rock. Allāh ﷻ says,

Will you be left secure in that which you have here? (Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:146)

I mean, you have a house carved in rock, what will destroy it? Rocks, solid rocks! Earthquakes cannot harm it, wind cannot affect it, a hurricane, tornados. I mean, it’s out of rocks, solid rocks, you’re in the middle of a mountain! So, they used to feel that they are secure from anything, nothing can harm them. Plus, they’re in high ground, so if there’s any floods it will not affect them. They have a guaranteed safety. One hundred percent sure, as they thought – Āminīn. Allāh ﷻ is asking, “Do you think that you will be here safe?” (Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:146) A human being should never feel safe, as long as he is on the face of this earth. We should always be worried of the punishment Allāh ﷻ. Therefore, Allāh ﷻ says,

Did they then feel secure against the Plan of Allāh. None feels secure from the Plan of Allāh except the people who are the losers.(Al-A’rāf – 7:99) The only ones who feel secure from the planning of Allāh ﷻ are the losers. If you feel that you’re safe, you are a loser! The Mu’min is always afraid! The Mu’min has always fear from Allāh ﷻ. So, their Nabi Sālih عليه السالم  is telling them,

“Will you be left secure in that which you have here? In gardens and springs. And green crops (fields etc.) and date-palms with soft spadix. And you carve houses out of mountains with great skill.”(Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:146-149) They had great skill, they were very excellent architects, they were great in construction and structures of their houses. Allāh ﷻ says,

And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains (feeling themselves) secure.(Al-Hijr – 15:82) What the people of Thamūd used to do is, they would build, they would carve out these houses in the mountain and then they would build palaces on the valleys. So, they have palaces in the valley, and they have these houses carved in the mountains. But they were corrupt, and their Nabi Sālih عليه السالم  told them,

“And do not go about making mischief on the earth.”(Al-A’rāf – 7:74)

They were very corrupt people.

5.2 Salih عليه السالم  Calls his People to Monotheism

What was the Message of Sayyidnā Sālih? Allāh ﷻ says,

And to Thamūd (people, We sent) their brother Sālih (Saleh). He said: “O my people! Worship Allāh, you have no other Ilah (God) but Him.(Hūd – 11:61)

The same message of Ād, and the same message of Nūh عليه السالم . And he repeated the same thing that they did. What did they also say? ‘Thumma astaghfirū rabbakum’ – Istighfār! Every Nabi is telling his people to make Istighfār. So, this was the Da’wah of Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم .

5.3 The People of Thamud Reject the Message of Salih عليه السالم

What was the response? Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم  was a young man, and he was very intelligent, and strong, and he was from a noble family. He was from the high class of the society. And they were preparing him to be their leader. They were preparing him, he was a young man, and they were looking forward; that one day he will assume responsibility for the people of Thamūd. They had a lot of expectations in Sālih عليه السالم . And suddenly Sālih presented them with the Message of Islam. So, what happened?

Allāh ﷻ says, “They said: “O Sālih! 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 leave our gods and worship your God (Allāh) 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).(Hūd – 11:62)

Subhān’Allāh! The disease and the illness that people have, is that they do not want to give up what their fathers used to worship; Taqlīd – imitation!

5.4 Shaitān Will Allow You to Advance as Long as You Worship him

We are willing to change; look at the people around you, look at them. Take any nation on the face of the earth, an advanced nation – Japan or the United States. Look at the difference between the United States now and the United States one hundred or two hundred years ago. Or Japan of today and Japan of two hundred years ago. Big difference! Look at the advancement in technology and science. Look at the different lifestyle. Look at the standard of living. Look at the way people think, and speak, and behave! Professors in math, professors in physics, experts in economics, experts in engineering, experts in medicine. They learned a lot! There’s a big difference between one of them today, and their forefathers one hundred years ago. Big difference; in everything BUT religion! There’s a big difference in everything, but religion did not change.(In fact, they have advanced even more in Kufr, because their forefathers at least believed in the mere existence of a God, who has created the universe and everything in it, while today one of the worst types of Kufr, that is spreading and is being taught in schools is atheism; the complete denial of the existence of God.) So, this PhD in Math, who is working in the most advanced lab in the world from 8 o’clock until 5, is dealing with logic and numbers. And then when he goes back home in the evening, he doesn’t have a problem making Sujūd to an idol or worshipping a cow. When it comes to religion, Shaitān is telling people, “Don’t change! Stay on the religion, the false religion that you are doing!” [ Allāhﷻ says,]

Nay! They say: “We found our fathers following a certain way and religion, and we guide ourselves by their footsteps.”(Az-Zukhruf – 43:22)

This is the disease, an illness, but Shaitān is telling them, no problem, you are going to advance in everything else. That’s okay, do whatever you want. That’s not going to do you anything in Ākhirah, but in terms of religion, stay on the religion of the cow, and the religion of buddha, and the religion of the cross. So, the people of Sālih عليه السالم , they knew Sālih, they knew him, and they knew his qualities and they were looking ahead at giving him the responsibilities of leading their people. But when he came with Islam they said, “Now we change our mind – Wa ‘Innanā Lafī Shakkin Mimmā Tad`ūnā ‘Ilayhi Murībin – now we are in doubts of you.(Hūd – 11:62)

First, we used to have trust in you, now when you’re Muslim, we doubt in you. And then they accused him of magic. Allāh ﷻ says,

They said: “You are only of those bewitched! You are but a human being like us. Then bring us a sign if you are of the truthful.”(Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:153, 154)

5.5 Miracle of Sālih عليه السالم  by the Will of Allāh ﷻ

They said, they wanted a sign. “What sign do you want?” They were given the option. Thamūd, the people of Thamūd, were given an option that was not given to the other nations. They got to choose their miracle. Sālih told them, “What do you want?” They said, “Do you see this rock over here? We want you to produce out of it a living camel.” This solid rock – produce for us a camel. Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم  asked Allāh ﷻ. The miracle was performed, Mu’jizah! Allāh ﷻ gives life to the dead. I mean, for Allāh ﷻ what’s the difference between creating from a cell, or creating from dirt or creating from a rock? They’re all dead things. There’s no difference for Allāh ﷻ. It [only] looks different to us, but for Allāh ﷻit’s ‘Kun Fayakūn’ – “Be” and it becomes. Suddenly, out of this rock, and the people of Thamūd are watching, a huge she-camel came out. Huge! Bigger than the regular camels! Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم  told them, this is the agreement. This camel that you asked for, you can drink from your water one day but then the next day you have to allow the water for the camel, you don’t touch it. You can take from the wells today, but tomorrow, the next day, it’s only for the camel. You don’t drink any water. If you want to drink, you can drink from the milk of the camel, but no water!

5.6 Nine Men from Thamūd Decide to Kill the Sacred Camel

Allāh ﷻ says, “He said: “Here is a she-camel; it has a right to drink (water), and you have a right to drink (water) (each) on a day, known.”(Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:155)

This is the schedule. And then he told them,

“And touch her not with harm, lest the torment of a Great Day seize you.”(Ash-Shu’arā’ – 26:155) So this was a sacred camel. You cannot touch it; you cannot harm it. So, the camel was drinking from the well one day, and they would drink one day. But there were some conspiracies occurring. There was something brewing. There were a group of men, out of the people of Thamūd, who were planning, not only to harm the camel, but to kill it. They were ordered, “Don’t touch it with any harm.” [But] these were planning to kill the camel. How many men are these? How many do you expect? How many? Nine! Out of the whole nation of Thamūd, the ones who conspired to kill the camel were nine.

Allāh ﷻ says, “And there were in the city nine men (from the sons of their chiefs), who made mischief in the land, and would not reform.(An-Naml – 27:48) These were nine men who were corrupt. They are the ones who made the conspiracy and planned to kill the camel. It wasn’t all of the people of Thamūd, it was only nine. These men agreed, and these were from the leaders of Thamūd. They came together and agreed, “We are going to kill the camel.” So, they made their move, and when they got next to the camel, they hesitated because the camel was huge, but one of them, the most evil among them, took his sword and he hit the camel in its front legs – and that is called ‘Aqr. So, the camel fell down, and then they attacked it with their swords and killed it.

Allāh ﷻ says, “Thamūd (people) denied (their Prophet) through their transgression. When the most wicked man among them went forth (to kill the she- camel).(Ash-Shams – 91:11, 12) So out of these nine, only one dared to make the attack on the camel. ‘Idhin ba`atha ‘Ashqāhā – the most evil one”, the wicked among them, he is the who made his attack. Allāh ﷻ says, “Fa`aqarūhā – but they killed her.” And ‘Aqr is when you chop the front legs, so the camel fell down, and then they cut her into pieces.

Allāh ﷻ says, “So they killed the she-camel and insolently defied the Commandment of their Lord, and said: “O Sālih (Saleh)! Bring about your threats if you are indeed one of the Messengers (of Allāh).”(Al-A’rāf – 7:77)

They said, ‘the camel is dead, bring your threat! We challenge you; we dare you to do anything. Here is the camel, you said this camel is sacred? Allāh ﷻ is protecting it? Look at it, it’s dead! So now bring us the punishment that you promised.’ Not only did they do that, they went back, and they made a conspiracy at night-time; that they will assassinate, not only Sālih عليه السالم , but they would exterminate his whole family. They made a plan, that the next step after we kill the camel, we are going to kill Sālih and all of his family. Allāh ﷻ says,

They said: “Swear one to another by Allāh that we shall make a secret night attack on him and his household, and afterwards we will surely say to his near relatives: ‘We witnessed not the destruction of his household, and verily! We are telling the truth.'”(An-Naml – 27:49) So they are planning to kill Sālih عليه السالم  and his family, and then they’re planning to lie and say that “we didn’t kill him” and they are going to say that “we are telling the truth.”

5.7 Allāh ﷻ Sends His Punishment to the People of Thamūd

Sālih عليه السالم  came out and told his people,

“Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise that will not be belied.”(Hūd – 11:65) You have three days! Three days to enjoy yourselves, and that’s it! You’re not going to live anymore. The first day passed, nothing happened. The second day passed, nothing happened. The third day passed, nothing happened. They started joking at night-time and saying, look at this liar! He told us three days. Here, the three days is over. They went to bed, Āminīn – secure. Then early in the morning.

Allāh ﷻ says, “But As-Saihah (torment – awful cry etc.) overtook them in the early morning.(Al-Hijr – 15:83) Allāh ﷻ sent on them the awful cry in the morning of the fourth day! The exact deadline! They went to bed safe – āminīn, in houses carved from solid bedrock. Nothing can destroy it! Wind cannot harm it, earthquake will not do it any harm, a hurricane, a tornado, a torrential rain, a storm, [and] floods will not harm it! They thought they were safe! Allāh ﷻ destroyed them with a sound wave! An awful cry! Very, very loud voice; that was so loud, ‘Fa’akhadhat/humu Ar-Rajfatu’ – it caused the earth to shake! The cry, this awful cry was so violent and powerful, it made the earth under them shake! Only nowadays, are we learning the power of soundwaves, and now we hear, that they’re trying to use, and they’re thinking about ways to use soundwaves as a weapon. Allāh ﷻ destroyed these people with sound! It is said that it was so violent, it shook their insides, so their hearts were falling. It was so violent, no matter how strong your house is. It’s like a microwave, these are waves that came in, and could pass through anything: through rock, through walls, it is a soundwave, it could go through anything. It can travel through any medium that Allāh ﷻ created. There’s nothing that can stop it! So, the sound reached, and it was shaking their insides and shaking the earth, so their hearts fell down dead!

Allāh ﷻ says, “And the awful cry overtook the wrong-doers, so they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes, as if they had never lived there. No doubt! Verily, Thamūd disbelieved in their Lord. So away with Thamūd!(Hūd – 11:67-68) As is they never lived! After moments of cry, as if nobody was living in Thamūd. It’s a haunted, deserted area.

With Allāh ﷻ, it is ‘Kun Fayakūn’ – “Be!” and it is. Allāh ﷻ says,

So they plotted a plot, and We planned a plan, while they perceived not.(An-Naml – 27:50, 51) When these nine men were meeting, they were meeting in secret, whispering to each other, but Allāh ﷻ is listening to them, and they are trying to hide their plan from Allāh ﷻ, but Allāh ﷻ is hearing their plan. But then Allāh ﷻ is planning, and His plan is hidden from them. ‘Makarū Makrāan’ – they planned but Allāh ﷻ is also making a plan, but the plan of Allāh ﷻ is secret, and their plan is not, because Allāh ﷻ is listening to them.

Allāh ﷻ says, “Then see how was the end of their plot! Verily! We destroyed them and their nation, all together.(An-Naml – 27:50, 51)

5.8 You are Either with the Party of Allāh ﷻ or with the Party of Shaitān!

Let’s go back. How many are the ones who made this plan? Nine! And then who was the one who went ahead and made the first move? One! Nine men

are the ones who administered the execution of the camel, and the plan to kill Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم . How come the rest of the people of Thamūd were destroyed? It was only nine, Allāh ﷻ told us in Qur’ān. How come, because of nine, the whole nation was destroyed?

[The answer is,] because they knew about this corruption, and they did not stop it! Because they were a silent majority! Because they thought that they can eat, and drink, and have sex, and sleep, and they can be secure and safe. “We are safe in our houses; nothing is going to affect us.” But there is no grey area, there’s nothing in between: you are with Hizb Ar-Rahmān – the party of Allāh ﷻ, or the other side is Hizb as-Shaitān – the party of Shaitān. There’s nothing in between! That is how the masses of the people are. Take any nation. Let’s take the US for an example, who are the decision makers in America? The President, the National Security Council, a few influential men in Congress, a few CEOs of big corporations in America, a few heads of major banks, a few of the strong Jewish lobbyists, and then a few of the professors and ‘think tanks’ in major Universities in the US.

[How many are they overall?] Two hundred, three hundred or four hundred people, and the rest of the people are between the aisles, and the malls, and the grocery stores, sitting on the benches, watching games, or on their couches, eating, and drinking, and sleeping.

Allāh ﷻ says, “While those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as cattle eat, and the Fire will be their abode.(Muhammad – 47:12)

The masses of the people, that’s what they do! There is a few of Al-Mala’, and Allāh ﷻ talks about them in Qur’ān as Al-Mala’, we have been talking about Al-Mala’ a lot until now: Al-Mala’ are the ones who rejected the Message of Nūh عليه السالم , Al-Mala’ are the one who rejected the Message of Hūd عليه السالم , and now Al-Mala’ are the ones who rejected the Message of Sālih عليه السالم . Al-Mala’ are the chiefs and the leaders!(Al-‘A`rāf – 7:60, 66, 75, 88, 90, – Hūd – 11:27, 38, 97, – Yūnus – 10:75, – AlMu’minūn – 23:24, 33, – Sād – 38:6, – Al-‘Ahzāb – 33:67)

The rest of the people, they are after Dunyā, running after Dunyā, running after this world, but they are not secure. And if you do not choose [a side, then you will be counted as part of the masses, because], you cannot stay on the fence. You have to make a decision! You want to be with Hizb Ar- Rahmān or Hizb at-Shaitān? There’s nothing in between.

And when these nine men plotted their evil, and no one of the society stopped them, they were included, everyone else in the society was included in the punishment. A very important lesson for us to learn! Now, there is Sarā’ bil Haq wa al-Bātil – a conflict between truth and evil! The conflict is happening. There’s a conflict between Islam and Kufr, and the ones who are leading and representing Islam are a very small minority. And then the ones who are leading Kufr are a very small minority. And then the masses of the people are like the people of Thamūd, doing nothing! So, we need to choose and make a decision, are we going to be with the ones who are representing Islam or are we going to be with the ones who are representing evil, because there is nothing in between!

When they were destroyed, completely destroyed, Sayyidnā Sālih عليه السالم  and his followers were saved. Allāh ﷻ saved them and after Thamūd were destroyed, Sālih came back, he came back to his town that was empty, a ghost town, and he started speaking to the dead bodies.

Allāh ﷻ says, “Then he [Sālih] turned from them, and said: “O my people! I have indeed conveyed to you the Message of my Lord, and have given you good advice but you like not good advisers.(Al-A’rāf – 7:79)

He was talking to these dead bodies and telling them, “Oh my people, I have conveyed the message. I advised you, but you don’t like the true advisers.”

5.9 “Do Not go Into the Ruins of Thamūd Except if You’re Going to Cry”

When Rasūlullāh ﷺ was speaking to the dead bodies in Al-Qalīb; after the battle of Badr, the leaders of Quraysh were all buried in Al-Qalīb [a well]. And Rasūlullāh ﷺ came to them and said, “Yā Ahl al-Qalīb! Oh, people of the grave! Do you find the promise of Allāh ﷻ on you to be true? Because I find the promise of Allāh to me to be true.” Allāh ﷻ promised Muhammad ﷺ  with victory, and it happened. And Allāh ﷻ promised you with Hellfire, did it happen? ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Yā Rasūlullāh ﷺ – Oh Messenger of Allāh ﷻ, are you speaking to bodies that are already decomposed?” This was a few days after they were already buried. You’re talking to bodies that are already decomposed. Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “You cannot hear me better than they. They can hear me, but they cannot reply back.(Sahīh Muslim 2873, 2874 – Musnad Ahmad 182 – Sunan an-Nasa’i 2074, 2075)

Rasūlullāh ﷺ was travelling with an army, and they passed by the ruins of Thamūd. So, some of the Sahāba went in, and they took some water from the wells of Thamūd, and they made some bread; actually, they mixed flour with that water to make bread and they brought some of that water. Rasūlullāh ﷺ told them, “Don’t eat from that bread, and feed it to the camels, and throw all the water that you brought. And do not go in there, illā an takūnu bākīn – except if you are going to cry.”(Sahīh Muslim 2980, 2981, – Sahīh al-Bukhārī 3379)

Do not go in there, except if you are going to cry! Today, when we go into the ruins of Thamūd, or the ruins of Fir’aun (Pharaoh), or the ruins of the Romans, or the ruins of the Greeks, we go in, and we smile, and we take pictures. And we are fascinated with the civilization of the Romans, and the Greek civilization, and the civilization of Fir’aun, and the advancement of humanity. Rasūlullāh ﷺ is saying, THAT water that you brought FROM Thamūd, DON’T EVEN drink it! And that bread, DON’T feed it to yourselves, but feed it to camels because it’s EVIL! And don’t go in there! Don’t go in Thamūd except if you are going to cry! Why only then? Because then you are going in and benefitting from the ‘Ibrā [lesson]. Why would you cry? Because you would look at what happened to these people when they disbelieved, and you would fear Allāh ﷻ, and you would ask Allāh ﷻ to save you, so you would cry. So, if you’re going to go in there and be impressed with their civilization, then don’t go in! But if you’re going to go and learn the lesson, if you are going to go there and contemplate, and think about what happened to the non-Believers, even though they were wealthy, and powerful and strong. If you’re going to go there with that mentality and thinking, then go in.

That is completely the opposite of what the people today do. Unfortunately, some Muslims are even proud with the Fir’aunic, so called ‘civilization’. Subhān’Allāh! A Muslim can be proud with Fir’aun (Pharaoh)? Fir’aun! At- Tāghiya! – the worst, evil in Qur’ān! Fir’aun! And we would be impressed with the Civilization of Fir’aun? Subhān’Allāh, Fir’aun is a symbol of evil. Allāh ﷻ gave us a symbol of Hāqq, which is Mūsā عليه السالم , and on other side, the symbol of evil was Fir’aun (Pharaoh). And the battle, and the conflict between Mūsā عليه السالم  and Fir’aun, was the battle and the conflict between Hāqq and Bātil – between truth and evil! And then we still go and choose the side of Fir’aun?

That is how we should deal with these ruins [like Rasūlullāh ﷺ dealt with it]. Allāh ﷻ left them behind for a reason. These are left behind for a reason; so that we would learn the Message, so that we can see a physical representation in front of us, of how Allāh ﷻ has destroyed the non- Believers. Physical representation! So, we read it in Qur’ān, and then we can see it in an actual example!