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The successors of the people of ^ad were the people of Thamud. Did they learn from the lessons of their past or did they also fall in to the ditches of the devil. Lets find out as we explore the story of Saleh and the amazing she-camel, the miracle that appeared upon the people’s request.
The Thamud people were indeed the inheritors of the Arabic culture from the civilization of the ^Ad people. They were also referred to as the younger cousins of the ^Ad people because their forefathers were brothers and the sons of Sam, the son of Nuh.
The people of Thamud were situated in an area between Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Their land included rocky country and fertile valleys with springs and date palms and plenty of fruit trees. The people of Thamud were the first civilization to carve their houses into rocks and mountains. They established for themselves 1700 cities as such, where they lived safely and securely.
Like the ^Ad people before them, the people of Thamud also became overwhelmed with the further advancement of material civilization. As a result, they too became increasingly faithless and arrogant. They worshipped idols. Like their predecessors, they also needed someone to save them and guide them to the right path-to Islam.
Soon prophet Hud was bestowed upon a man from among their people. Saleh, who is referred to in the Qur’an as kin to the Thamud people, emerged from among them as their prophet and Master. He taught them to leave the idols and worship Allah. “He is our Savior and our Provider,” he told them,“ You must praise Him for all the good things He has provided you with, like the fertile land and the plenty of fruit trees and the safety and security you feel in your homes.” But only those people of Thamud, who had little influence and were poor, believed in prophet Saleh the rich and forceful wee the majority. They chose to follow in the path of their ancestors, and so belied the prophet.
The leaders of the non believers anticipated that Saleh’s followers would increase. In order to prevent this and in disapproval they said to Salih, “You are merely a man like us, you eat like us and you drink like us. To believe you we need to witness a sign proving your message.” So, they asked him. “If you are truthful, then extract from this rock a she-camel and her male calf then we shall believe in you.” They specified a huge dense rock known as Al-Katiba. They knew for sure that it was not hollow or carved, but it was as solid as a rock could be expected. Undoubtedly, they were waiting for the chance to mock prophet Saleh, with their false confidence in that Saleh would fail to meet their challenge.
Little did the blasphemers know that Allah is in the aid of his prophets. By the will of Allah and in support to His prophet, they all witnessed a pregnant she-camel walk out of the rock. Their request had been answered and the sign of Salih’s truthfulness was made apparent to all. This miracle was a vivid explanation of how miracles serve to defeat those who chose to defy Islam. Despite this visual truth, the stubborn headed non-believers didn’t submit and remained turning their backs to Islam. A small number of people including some of their leaders however, embraced Islam after witnessing this miracle
