Lesson 5 - Prophet Saleh/Saaleh AS صالح

Lineage: His lineage traces back to Sam, the eldest son of Nuh AS. He is related to Hud AS from the people of Aad. 

His name is mentioned 9 times in the Quran in 4 Surahs. He was in a place called Al-Hijr. There is a Surah called Al-Hijr (15) and he was from the people of Thamud which is mentioned in the Qur’an 26 times. It’s important to look at all 3 (all references of Saleh AS, Thamud and Surah Al-Hijr) when finding the story of Saleh AS.

Evidences that Saleh AS is a Prophet

From Qur’an:

• Surah 26:141-143 - “The people of Thamud rejected the messengers when their brother Salih said to them, ‘Do you not fear Allah? I am an honest messenger to you” This verse clarifies that Salih was a messenger sent to the people of Thamud. A messenger is usually sent to his own people (with the exception of Prophet Lut AS)
• Surah 91:11 - “ Thamud rejected the truth out of arrogance, when the most wicked man amongst them was roused (to kill the she-camel). But the messenger of Allah warned them, “do not disturb Allah’s camel and her turn to drink!”  Based on the above verse, we can deduce that the messenger referenced here is Salih as Allah has confirmed he was sent to the people of Thamud. 

Where can you find his story in the Quran?

• Surah 7:73-79 - see link
• Surah 11:61-68 - see link
• Surah 26:141-159 - see link
• Surah 27:45-53 - see link

From Sunnah:

• Hadith from Abu Dharr - Of all of the prophets, 4 came from Arabia; Hud, Saleh, Shuaib and Prophet Muhammad SAW. This is considered a weak hadith with suggestions of fabrication. 
• Hadith - Prophet SAW went to do Hajj with his companions, he crossed a valley and asked Abu Bakr RA what the name of this valley was, Abu Bakr answered and the Prophet replied Hud AS and Saleh AS crossed this valley to go to Makkah to do Hajj. can’t locate hadith.

Prophet (Nabi) or Messenger (Rasool)? Ijma - consensus that Saleh AS is definitely a prophet, but there is disagreement on whether he was a messenger. 

Background

• There was a tribe called Thamud who were the descendants of the people of Aad. They were Arabs and lived in an area between Makkah and Syria. This area is called Mada’in Salih today, formerly called Al-Hijr. The term “Hijr” derives from the word “Hajar” which means stone. This is a mountain area with lots of hard rocks/stone.
• Mada’in Salih boasted a valley, water sources and gardens, making it a great place for business. Lots of tribes used to cross this area to travel to Syria or Egypt. 
• The people used to engrave the mountains and construct houses within them, as depicted in the picture below. Allah talks about them in Surah 26:149  

 

• A corrupt King approached the people and proposed worshipping idols (shirk). The people tried to dissuade him because they remembered the punishment for the people of Aad. The King tried to justify his suggestion by pointing out that the people of Aad were destroyed because they only had 3 idols, whereas he suggested 360 - one for each day of  the lunar calendar. 
• The people then asked what about the big wind that Allah would send as a punishment like he sent to the people of Aad? The King dismissed their worries, claiming that their mountainous habitat would provide protection. Gradually, the people started to worship the idols. 

Saleh AS as a Prophet

• He was from amongst the people of Thamud. He worked as a shepherd and around the age of 40 he became a prophet and started giving dawah to his people.
• He told his people that he did  not ask for a wage and just to believe in the oneness of Allah. Source Surah 26:145
• Saleh AS asked them to seek repentance, to fear Allah and turn back towards righteousness. He assured them that if they did, Allah would forgive them.
• He reminded them of the fate of the people of Aad and their punishment. He advised them to look at the bounty Allah gave them, the area they resided in and the palaces that they live in. They lived an extravagant life. 
• The people refused to abandon the idol worship practised by their forefathers. They accused him of lying and magic, questioning why he, a mere man, had become a prophet instead of them. Source Surah 26:154
• They said if you are a true messenger, ask Allah to send a punishment on us. This shows just how arrogant they were, because a normal person would ask for a miracle from Allah and then they would follow, instead they asked Allah to send a punishment first.
• Saleh AS persisted in giving them dawah for a long time, until the leaders approached him and asked him to show them a miracle. In response, Saleh AS asked them what they desired and that he would ask Allah.
• They pointed at a hard rock, and asked Allah to bring from this hard rock a she-camel and she should be bigger than the size of a male camel, with a lot of fur on it, and for her to be 10 months pregnant. They gave specific details of what miracle they wanted to witness.
• Saleh AS supplicated for this miracle, and Allah agreed with one stipulation: no harm should befall the she-camel, and any harm would result in the destruction of the entire nation.(Source Surah 26:156) Saleh AS conveyed this condition to the people, and they agreed. 
• Saleh AS started to make dua, and the people made dua to their idols to prevent the fulfilment of Saleh AS duas.  
• After a short time, the rock began to move, and a she-camel emerged, precisely matching the description they had requested. A camel usually gives birth around 10 months, and this she-camel gave birth to a camel that was the same size as her. 
• Furthermore, Allah granted another miracle - the she-camel would consume all the water in the well, and the next day, she would produce enough milk to sustain the entire Thamud community. Thamud was a big tribe with an estimate of 5,000 houses. This single camel would be able to feed all the people of the tribe. 
• Some people were amazed and started to believe, but the leaders remained arrogant. 

Killing the She-Camel

• Some people were not happy with the presence of the she-camel. Among them was a woman called Unazah, a wealthy woman, and Sadoof, a woman with beautiful daughters. They both came together to find someone to kill the she-camel, offering a reward of money and one of the beautiful daughters as a prize. 
• They later found a corrupt man called Quda bin Salef. He said he couldn’t do it alone so he spoke with his friends first. In total, a group of nine individuals assembled to devise a plan to kill the she-camel. They consulted with the disbelieving members of the tribe, who agreed. 
• One morning, the she-camel went to drink water accompanied by her offspring, and the plan was for one of the killers to shoot an arrow from a distance,l and then another individual would come closer and cut her legs. 
• The she-camel started to cry out to warn her baby. Her baby climbed the mountain, made 3 noises and disappeared into the mountain. 
• After they killed the mother, they cut her to pieces and gave her to all of the kafir to eat. 
• Saleh AS came to inquire what happened, they said the baby camel ran away and made 3 noises. In response, Saleh AS  informed them that their punishment would unfold in 3 days. (Source Surah 11:65) As the she-camel was killed on a Wednesday, their faces would turn yellow on Thursday, red the next day, black on Saturday, and then the punishment would befall on Sunday.
• Saleh AS was angry with what they did, because not only did they refuse islam, they killed the miracle sent from Allah. 

Plot to kill Saleh AS

• The nine individuals who killed the she-camel plotted to kill Saleh AS next along with his family. 
• Their plan was to deceive everyone by announcing they were departing on a journey. They would then bring all their camels and weapons, hide in the mountain and subsequently attack Saleh’s AS along with his family. They planned to return to the mountains, play ignorant to the attack and argue that they were away, travelling and so it could not have been them. 
• They decided to execute this plan at night by surrounding the house of Saleh AS. However, Allah intervened by sending a storm that killed all nine of them. Source Surah 27:49
• In the morning, it appeared as though Saleh AS had killed them all, and so the people of Thamud came with all their weapons to confront Saleh AS. 
• However, the tribe intervened and proposed waiting three days, as Saleh AS had informed them that their punishment would unfold in three days. After the three days passed, they would revisit the situation to kill him.
• The following day, their faces turned yellow, which marked the first sign. By Friday, their faces had turned red, signalling the second sign, and on the last day their faces turned very dark. Yet, no one sought repentance or forgiveness.  
• On Sunday, Allah sent three punishments:

1. An earthquake  (Source Surah 7:78)
2. Thunderbolts 
3. A deafening noise/shout coming from an Angel, which would cause instant death to all who heard it. (Source Surah 11:67)

• Prior to this, Allah had instructed Saleh AS to lead all the believers to a secure location so they could be shielded from the punishment. 
• When the punishment finished, and Saleh AS had witnessed what happened, “he turned away from them and said, "oh my people, I have certainly delivered to you the message of my Lord, and wished you betterment, but you do not like the sincere advisers.” - Surah 7:79
• Saleh AS was commanded to leave this area because it was cursed and he most likely moved to Palestine.
• Saleh AS gave dawah for 20 years and had around 100 followers.
• Some believe he died in Palestine in an area called Nabi Sali, a small Palestinian village. 
• His people were still skilled and built a new city - Petra in Jordan. 

Side discussions:

Battle of Tabuk

• The Prophet SAW led a force of 30,000 companions to Tabuk, situated in modern-day Saudi Arabia. They came across the valley of al-Hijr, he cautioned the Sahabas from entering, referencing the people of Thamud who disobeyed Allah. The Prophet SAW expressed concerns that entering this region might incur Allah’s displeasure and lead to a potential punishment, as this area was cursed. The Sahabas wanted to enter and learn the lesson, the Prophet SAW said you could enter under specific conditions: that you must be in a state of humility, crying and seeking forgiveness from Allah. Within this area there were two wells, one where the she-camel drank from (permissible for you to drink from here) and the other is the well of Thamud (prohibited for you to drink from here). The Prophet SAW then recounted the story of Thamud. In light of this hadith, the previous Saudi government restricted access to this area, deeming it cursed. However, the new Saudi Prince has allowed people to enter this area for tourism.  Sahih al-Bukhari 4702

She-camels baby location?

• The baby camel disappeared, some scholars believe this camel will be the beast of the land, one of the major signs of the last days. 
• Some argue the camel is still alive today

Quda bin Salef

• He is mentioned in Surah Shams (91). He is mentioned as the weakest person who came to kill the she-camel. Source 91:21
• Hadith - Prophet Muhammad SAW said on the night journey that he saw three people, Qudar bin Salef, Amr bin Luhai (he was the first person to introduce idols in Arabia) and the Dajjal. Sahih al-Bukhari 3521

Lessons to learn:

• Be moderate in the way you live. The people of Thamood used to compete with each other with their houses. They lived very extravagant lives and became arrogant.
• Hegar, known to Muslims as Al-Hijr, is an archaeological site located in the area of Al-Ula within Medina Province in the Hejaz region, Saudi Arabia. This area has recently become a tourist attraction (seen on Dubai bling), don’t go here.  Sahih Muslim 2980a

Next week - Prophet Ibraheem AS