Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 76

Thamud: Their Land and Their Lineage

Scholars of Tafsir and genealogy say that (the tribe of Thamud descended from) Thamud bin `Athir bin Iram bin Sam bin Nuh, and he is brother of Jadis son of `Athir, similarly the tribe of Tasm, and they were from the ancient Arabs, Al-`Aribah, before the time of Ibrahim, Thamud came after `Ad. They dwelled between the area of the Hijaz (Western Arabia) and Ash-Sham (Greater Syria). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by the area and ruins of Thamud when he went to Tabuk (in northern Arabia) during the ninth year of Hijrah. Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to the area of Al-Hijr in Tabuk with the people, he camped near the homes of Thamud, in Al-Hijr and the people brought water from the wells that Thamud used before. They used that water to make dough and placed the pots (on fire) for cooking. However, the Prophet commanded them to spill the contents of the pots and to give the dough to their camels. He then marched forth with them from that area to another area, near the well that the camel (as will follow) used to drink from. He forbade the Companions from entering the area where people were tormented, saying,

The Confrontation Between the Arrogant and the Weakened

The third (75) and the fourth (76) verses carry a dialogue between two groups of the people of Thamud. One of these was of those who had come to believe that Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) was a prophet while the other was that of deniers and disbelievers. Says the verse: قَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُ‌وا مِن قَوْمِهِ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا لِمَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ (The chiefs of his people, who were arrogant said to the weakened, to those of them who believed).

In Tafsir Kabir, Imam Razi has said: At this place, the Holy Qur'an identifies two qualities of these two groups, but the quality or trait of the disbelievers was mentioned in the active voice (اسْتَكْبَرُ‌وا who were arrogant) while the quality or state of the believers was identified through the passive (اسْتُضْعِفُوا the weakened). It indicates that the condition of the disbelievers - that they were arrogant - was what they chose to do at their own discretion which was questionable and blame-worthy, and which finally became the cause of their punishment. As for the quality or state of believers which these people put as weak and low, it was something said by disbelievers. Their description had nothing to do with the actual state and quality of believers, something which could be considered blameworthy in any manner whatsoever. In fact, blameworthy are those who call them weak and low, and take them to be so, without any reason. After that comes the dialogue which has occured between these two groups where the disbelievers said to the believers: ` Are you sure that Salih is a messenger from his Lord?'

The people of Thamud perfected the art of construction. They were definitely well versed in related branches of knowledge, for example, mathematics, geometry and engineering, otherwise such development could not have been possible. But they were held guilty not of material developments but of spreading disturbance on the earth. This means that God does not prohibit progress within legitimate limits. But, in the matter of how he conducts his life, man should follow the balanced system which God has enforced in the whole universe. When a prophet comes to the world, he is a controversial figure in his time rather than an established personality. Moreover, he is not surrounded by worldly glories. He is not the occupier of any of the important seats of the time. That is why his contemporaries, unable to understand his prophethood, reject him. They find it difficult to believe that one whom they know as an ordinary person is the very individual whom God has chosen to deliver His message. ‘We are believers in that with which he has been sent.’ This reply of Salih’s companions tells us the difference between them and others. Those who deny the truth looked at the personality of Salih while the believers looked at the real message. Since, for those who denied the truth, no outward glory surrounded the personality of Salih, they ignored him. The believers, on the contrary, saw glimpses of Truth in Salih’s message, so they immediately accepted his words and became his companions.