1 2 4 ■ M K O R A N . C hap. y%
not believers % And unto the tribe of T hamud 11 we fent their brother S aleh
He faid, O my people, worihip G od : ye have no G od belides him. Now
hath a manifeft proof come unto you from your L o r d . This fhe-caniel
of G od is a fign unto you’ : therefore difmifs her freely, that lhe may feed
in G o d ’ s earth and do-her no hurt, left a painful punilhment feize you. And
call to mind how he hath appointed you fucceffors unto the tribe of A d , and
hath given you a-habitation on earths ye build yourfelves caftles on the
plains thereof, and cut out the mountains into houfes . Remember therefore
the benefits of G o d , and commit not violence in the earth, adting corruptly.
The chiefs among his people who were puffed up with pride, faid unto
thofe
* The dreadful deftru&ion of the Adites we
have mentioned in anpther place 1, and lhall only
add here fome further circumftances\.of that
calamity, and which differ a little from what is.
there faid; for the Arabv/riters acknowledge many
inconiiftencies in the hiftories of thefe ancient
tribes *.
Thetribeof ^/havingbeenfortheir incredulity
previoufly chaftifed with a: three years drought,
lent Kail Ebn Itbar and Morthed Ebn Saad
with feverity other .principal "men to the temple
of Mecca to obtain rain. Mecca was then in the
hands of the tribe o f Arnalek, whofe prince was
Modwiyah Ebn Beer; and he being without the
city when the embalfadors arrived, entertained
them there for a nionth in fo holpitable a manner
that they had forgotten the buflnefs they came
about,had notthe king reminded them of it,.not as
from himfelf, left they Ihould think he wanted
to be rid of them, but by fome verfes which he
put into the mouth of a finging-woman. At
which being rouf^d from their lethargy, Mortbed
told them the only way they had to obtain what
they wanted, would be to repent and obey
their prophet: but this difplealing the reft, they
delired Moawiyah to imprifon him, left he Ihould
go with them; which being done, Kail with the
reft entring Mecca,beggedof G o d that he would
fend rain to the people of Ad. Whereupon three
clouds appeared, a white one,' a red one, and a
black one; and a voice from heaven ordered Kail
to chufe whi'ch he would. Kail failed not to
make choice of the laft, thinking jt to be loaden
with the moft rain; but. when this cloud came
over them, it proved to be fraught with the di- '
vine vengeance, and a tempeft broke forth from
it which deftroyed them all 3. '
b Thamud was another tribe of the ancient
Arabs who fell into idolatry. See the Prelim.
Difc. §. I. p- 7.
c Saleh."] Al Beidawi deduces his genealogy
thus. Saleh, Ahe fbn of Gbeid,. the ;fon of Afaf
the fon of Mafekb, the fon of Gbeid, the Ton of
Hddher, the fon of Thamud3.
f This jbe-camel.of Go D f is a fign unto you]
The Thamudites infilling on a miracle, propofed
to Saleh that he ihould go with them to their
feftival, and that' thev fhould call on their gods,
and he dm his,; promifmg to follow that deity
which ihould anfwer. But after they had called
on their idols a long time tq np purpofe, Jonh
Ebn Amrut their prince, pointed to a rock Handing
by itfelf, and bid Saleh caufe a fhe-camel
big with young to come forth from it, folemnly
engaging that if, he did, he would believe; and
his people promifed the fame. Whereupon Saleh
asked it of Goo,-, and prefently. the rock, after fe-
veral throws as i f inlabour, was delivered of a fhe-
camel anfwering the defeription otjonda,which
immediately brought forth a young one ready
weaned, and, as fome fay, as. bigas herfelf. Jon-
day feeing this miracle, believed on the prophet,
and fome. few with him ; but the greater part of
the Thamudites remained notwithftanding incredulous.
O f this. camel the commentators tellfe-
veral very .abfurd ftories ; as that when flie went
to drink lhe never raifed her head .from the well
or, river till lhe had drank, up all the water
in it, and then lhe offered herfelf to be milked,
the-people, drawing from her as much milk as
they pleafed; «and fome fay that lhe went about
the town crying aloud, I f any wants milk let
him come forth 5.
e The tribeof Thamuddweltfirft in the country
of the Adites, but their numbers increaling, they
removed to the territory,of Hejr for the fake of
the, mountains, where they . cut themfelves
habitations in the rocks, to be Teen at this
day.
1 Prelim. Difc.p. 6. 2 A l Beidawi, J7-. D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Houd. 3 See
the Prelim. Difc. p. 7. 4 Abulfeda, Al Zamakhshari. V. D\Herbel. Bibl, Orient, dirt.
Saleh. 1 See the Prel. Difc. p. 7.
ChaP' 7- Ak K O R A N . M B
thofe who were efteemed weak, namely, unto thofe who believed among them,
D o ye know that S a l e h hath been fent from his L o r d ? They ,anfwered,
We do furely believe in that wherewith he hath been fent. Thofe who were
elated with pride replied, Verily we believe not in that wherein ye believe.
And they cut off the feet of the camel.’, and infolently tranfgreffed the command
of their L o r d b, and faid, O S a l e h , caufe that to come upon us, with
which thou haft threatened us, if thou art one of thofe who have been fent
bi God.- Whereupon a terrible noife from .heaven c affailed them ; and in
the morning they were found in their dwellings proftrate on their breafts
anddeadd. And Saleh departed from them, and faid', O my people, now
have I delivered unto you the meffage of my L o r d ; and I advifed you well, but
ye loye not thofe who advife you well. And remember LoTf, when he faid
" '■ un-
* And they cut off the feet of the camel.] This
extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from
their pafture,' a certain rich woman named Oneiza
OmmGanem, having four daughters, dreft them out
and offered one Keddr his. choice, of them, if he
would kill the camel. Whereupon he .chofe one,
and with the affiftance of eight other men, ham-
ftrurig and killed the dam, and purfuing the
I youngione, which fled to the mountain, killed
t-1h a,t. alfo, and dividdae Jd UhIi.s ffll oelfhh na mmhotrn Ow f k c i l l ^ .
Others tell the ftory : fome what differently, adding
Sad aka Bint al Mokhtar as a joint confpira-
trefs with Oneiza, and pretending that the young
d Mohammed in the expedition o f Tabuc, which
he undertook againft the Greeks in the ninth year
of the Heir a, palling by Hejr, where this ancient
tribe had dwelt, forbad his army, tho’ much dif-
treffed with heat and thirft, to draw any water
there, but ordered them if they had drank of
that water to bring it up again, or if they' had
kneaded any meal with it, to give it their camels
7 and wrapping up his face in his garment,
he fe t fpurs to his mule, crying out, Enter not
the houfes of thofe wicked men, but rather weep,
left that happen unto you, which befelthem. and
having fo faid, he continued galloping full fpeed
one was not killed; for they fay that having fled .with nis face muffled up, till he had paired the
to a certain mountain named Kara, he, there valley8.
cryed three time's, and Saleh bid them catch him e Whether this fpeech was made by Saleh to
if they could, for then there might be hopes of them at parting, as feems moft probable, or after
their avoiding the divine vengeance; but this the judgment had fallen on them, the commen-
they were not able, to do* the rock opening after .tators are not agreed.
he had cried* and receiving him within i t 2. . f Lot.] The commentators fay, conformably
*> And infolently 't* anfgrejjfed the command of to the feripture, that Lot was the fon of Harass,
tbeirhoRv, &c.] Defying the vengeance with the fon of Azer or Ter ah, and confequently A-
which they were threatened; becaufe they truft- braham's nephew, who brought him with hinted
in their ftrong dwellings hewn in the rocks, from Chaldea into Paleftine, where, they fay, he
faying that the tribe 61 Ad periflied only becaufe -was fent.by God to reclaim the inhabitants of
their houfes were not built with fuffleient Sodom and the other neighbouring cities which
ftrength3. , were overthrown with it, from the unnatural
c A terrible* noife from heaven-J] Like violent vice to which they were addidted 9. And this
and repeated claps'of thunder; which fome fay Mohammedan tradition‘ feems to be coun-
Was no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel
and which rent their hearts“5. It is faid that
after they had killed the camel, Saleh told them
that on the morrow their faces fhould become
yellow, the next, day-red, and th.e third day black.
tenanced by the words of the apoftle, that this
righteous man dwelling among them, in feeing and
bearing vexed his righteous foul from day to day
with their unlawful deeds.1 ® ; whence it is probable
that he omitted no opportunity of endeavourand
that on the fourth God’s vengeance Ihould ing their reformation. The ftory of Lot is told
light on them ; and that the firft three figns hap- with further circumftances in the eleventh chap-
pening accordingly, they fought to put him to ter.
death, but God. delivered him, by fending him ,
into Paleftinef ..
. 1 Abulfeda. 2 Al Beid.awi, V. D’Herbel. ubjfupra. 3 Al Kessa^. , 4 See
the Prelim. Difc. p. 7.. ■ f Abo-lfeda, Al B(E'idawi. 6 Al Beidawi.- : 7 Abul-
*bd. Vit. Mob. p. \2±f 8 A l Bokhara v- 9 V. D'Herbblot. -Bibb. Orient, 4 rt, (,otb,
10 2 Pet. ii. 8.