STORY OF SALEH (SALIH) THE PROPHET

STORY OF SALEH (SALIH) THE PROPHET

The Holy Quran says: The Thamud (also) rejected (their) Warner’s. For they said: What! a man! a Solitary one from among ourselves! Shall we follow such a one? Truly should we then be straying in mind, and mad! “Is it that the Message is sent to him, of all people amongst us? Nay, he is a liar, an insolent one!” Ah! They will know on the morrow, which is the liar, the insolent one! (54:23-26) Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) led the Muslim Army in the year nine (9) Hijra. He headed for Tabuk, to meet the Romanian Army in the north of the Arab Peninsula towards the territory of Syria. The Muslim soldiers walked for miles and miles. They became tired and thirsty. So Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) ordered them to stop at the valley of the villages (Wadi al-Qura) near Tabuk. The Muslim Army camped near the mountains. There were ruins and wells. One Muslim asked about the ruins: “Whose ruins are they?” The answer was: “They’re Thamud’s ruins. The tribe of Thamud lived at this place.” Holy Mohammed (pbuh) prevented the Muslims from drinking water from the wells. Then he showed them a spring near the mountain. He said to them: “Saleh’s She-camel drank from this spring.”

Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) prevented his soldiers from entering the ruins. He wanted them to learn a lesson from that tribe on which a curse of God befell and it was destroyed. Then He said, “The most wicked person from the olden times is the one who killed the innocent She-camel of Prophet Saleh and the most wicked person in these times is the one who will martyr Ali son of Abu Talib.” Who is the tribe of Thamud? What is the story of prophet Saleh (pbuh)? The tribe of Thamud is among the forgotten Arab tribes. History has not mentioned it. The Holy Quran has mentioned its story. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) has mentioned it in his traditions. The tribe of Thamud known as second Aad was living happily in the land of Al-Hijr. The other name of Thamud is Ashab Al-Hijr. They were well to do people, enjoying the green gardens, big springs and

rivers, the productive land and beneficial animals of this country. In order to protect themselves they used to carve buildings of the huge rocks in the mountains. But gradually idolatry and corruption got over spread among the people of this tribe like their predecessors. They worshipped a piece of the mountain and offered sacrifices to it, annually. And consequently Almighty God appointed Saleh at the age of sixteen (16) years as a messenger, a pious man of a noble and respectful family in Al-Hijr, who was quite well-known for his knowledge and wisdom in the tribe to guide the people. He preached up to the age of one hundred twenty (120) years but it was of not avail at all.

Therefore, Prophet Saleh addressed the whole tribe and said: “O’ my people! Worship the Almighty for he is the most kind and there is no God rather than him. It is He who has created you from the clay and made this land productive for you. Ask forgiveness from Him and repent to His greatness for He is so close to you and the only one that will respond to your prayers. Remember the time when He made you the successor of Aad tribe and placed you on the earth where you now build your palaces on its flat lands and form houses out of its mountains. Remember God’s favors and do not choose the way of the corrupt.” To avoid any misunderstanding, Prophet Saleh reminded them of his sentiments of kinship and ties of ancestral relationship saying: “All of you are kith and kin, and we are from the same ancestors. I am your well-wisher, and have no evil intentions against you. Come, let us seek God’s forgiveness and repent for our sins; for people who call Him will find Him very close to them. He always responds to the people who implore Him; and He forgives those who repent.”

The people of Thamud were extremely surprised at the preaching of Prophet Saleh and said: “O’ Saleh! You used to be a wise and logical man in this tribe and we thought we could depend on your wisdom at the time of terrible events and calamities. Now you are asking us to reject what our fathers used to worship. We shall thus be quite dubious about what you are inviting us to.” Prophet Saleh: “You have to fear God. Accept my words and don’t obey the immodest people for they spread corruption on the earth and never try making any reformation.”

People: “You’re undoubtedly bewitched and have lost your wisdom and sense of logic. You are a human being just as we are, Aren’t you? What advantage or superiority have you got over us that have made you wiser than us and enabled you to claim that you are a Prophet appointed by God? If your words are true, bring us a sign or a miracle to prove the righteousness of your claim.” 

However, they said they would believe in his mission, if he could cause woolly red She-camel to come out of the mountain. Prophet Saleh said: “I’ll ask God for that. If He does that, will you believe that there is only one God? Will you believe that I’m His Apostle for you?” 

“Yes,” they answered. “When will the promise be fulfilled?” they asked.

Prophet Saleh replied: “The promise will be fulfilled at this place tomorrow.”

At dawn Prophet Saleh set out to the mountain where a big rock was situated. The people of Thamud gathered about the rock. Some of them doubted Saleh some of them were looking at the rock; some of them were looking at Saleh. Prophet Saleh sat down. His eyes were full of tears. He asked Almighty God for a sign to convince his people. For he wanted his people to return to their own nature and to serve only God.

Suddenly, Prophet Saleh rose. He pointed with his finger to the rock. All the members of the tribe heard a fearful sound. They heard the rock break. Then they saw it break into pieces. Then a wonderful She-camel (Naqatullah), with those characteristic, stepped out of the rock before them with the will of Almighty.  But even then the people refused to believe in his Divine Mission. He reminded his people of the boons Almighty had given them, for which they should be grateful to Him. At this time God sent Saleh a revelation saying:

“Inform your tribe of the God’s wills which permits you to use the water of this town alternatively with this She-camel, which is one day the people of Thamud shall use the water and one day the She-camel would drink all the water of the spring (the first spring in the world to gush forth from the earth).” On the day the She-camel of God drank the water, she gave sufficient milk for the people of the town. It was a blessing for the people.

So the Prophet Saleh said to the tribe: “You people! This is the She-camel of God which shall serve as a token of His presence and a miracle to prove the righteousness of my Prophethood and invitation. So leave this camel on its own to graze in God’s land and feed on the grass and vegetables. Don’t do it any harm for otherwise a great torment will soon fall upon you.” However, the well-to-do and mischief-mongers didn’t leave their obstinacy and revolt and revealed their disbelief in Prophet Saleh quite clearly and as strong as they could, except for a few people who accepted his invitation and believed in him.

Finally people decided to kill the She-camel, but each time the fear of torment prevented them from taking any action. One day, some young men who were motivated by women of the tribe got determined to kill the camel and set out to do so. While the camel was busy drinking water, they shot her by an arrow which hit it in the leg and caused her to fall down. Then they drew their swords, attacked and killed her.

Prophet Saleh coming to know this turned to people and said: “Repent within three (3) days lest there will be chastisement from Almighty. This is certain and exact promise that will not be belied or delayed.” The people of the tribe neglected his words and went on with their revolt and disobedience. They even decided to kill Prophet Saleh but didn’t find the time for God. On the fourth (4) day God responded to their trickery and conspiracy with His torment, there came a lightning on them which changed them to lifeless corpses in their houses. And this was a due punishment for their oppression and revolt.

Prophet Saleh and his followers survived and the disbelievers of the tribe of Thamud could not escape the inevitable, and were destroyed. After the destruction of the tribe of Thamud, Prophet Saleh moved to Makkah and devoted his life in worship.

When Prophet Saleh left his nation he was middle-aged, with a big belly, a fine body, a dense beard and of medium height. When he returned after some years, he looked youthful and there were no signs of aging. As a result, the people could not recognize him. Prophet Saleh found the people divided into three (3) groups.

The first group was in doubt about whether he was the same Saleh who had left the nation many years ago. The second group denied him completely. They did not believe for a moment that he was the same Saleh who left the nation years ago. The third group of people was steadfast in its belief and accepted Prophet  Saleh as the prophet of their nation.

Prophet Saleh first approached the group that doubted  him. When he claimed to be Saleh, they refused to accept him and instead abused him and turned him away. Then he went to the group that denied him. Even they did not believe in his claim and abused him. Both these groups denied Prophet Saleh’s Prophethood by saying, ‘The Saleh we knew looked different from you. You cannot be the same Saleh.’ ProphetSaleh explained, ‘Almighty God gives the appearance to whomsoever He Pleases. He is the One who has given me this appearance to test you.’ But they remained stubborn in their disbelief.

Finally Prophet Saleh turned his attention to the third group. This group was steadfast in its faith. Prophet Saleh approached them and introduced himself as Saleh - the same prophet who had left their nation years ago. The group asked him, ‘If you are Saleh, then inform us about past.’ Prophet Saleh revealed, ‘I got the She-camel for you. She used to drink water for one day and you used to drink water on the next day.’ The group replied, ‘We accept you as the same Prophet Saleh. We only wanted to test you before accepting you.’ In this manner, only one small group accepted, while the majority rejected him. He lived on this earth for five hundred and eighty six (586) years.