فَقالَ لَهُم رَسولُ اللَّهِ ناقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقياها

But then the apostle of Allah said to them: ‘Be cautious of the she-camel of Allah, and her drinking!’

EXEGESIS

Suqyāhā (its drinking from the water) is the verbal noun of saqaya. In this context, by warning them about the camel’s drinking, Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) was cautioning them not to interfere with the she-camel’s drinking by killing her or preventing her from accessing the water.^{‎[1]Mizan, 20/299.} This was a reference to the pact made between Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) and the people of Thamūd, that the she-camel be allowed exclusive access to the drinking well every other day (see 26:155 and 54:28).

This camel has been attributed to Allah to indicate its significance as a clear sign of God.^{‎[2]Mudarrisi, 18/140.} It was no ordinary camel but was a miracle of God.^{‎[3]Amthal, 20/242.}

EXPOSITION

This verse mentions the response of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a). Based on 26:155 and 54:28, we are able to discern that Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) had told them that they would be allowed access to the drinking well one day, whilst the she-camel would access it the next day. In 26:156, Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) also tells them, Do not cause her any harm, for then you shall be seized by the punishment of a terrible day. As such, the present verse succinctly indicates the two messages of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a). The first is his reminding them of the consequences of harming the she-camel, and the second is a reminder of their pact regarding usage of the drinking well.

However, as the next verse shows, these words of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) had no impact on them.

The story of the camel

Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) was appointed a prophet at the age of sixteen and stayed among his people for about a hundred years inviting them to monotheism. However, despite all his efforts, not only they did not believe in him, they hurled him with all kinds of abuse. As a last resort, he told his people: ‘I was sent to you at the age of sixteen, now 120 years of my life have passed; after all that effort, now I have a proposal for you: I make a request to your gods – if they grant my request, I will leave you and I have nothing more to do with you; then you make a request to my God, and if my God answers your request, believe in Him. After this long time, I am fed up with you and you are fed up with me, so we better settle this matter.’

The people accepted his suggestion and acknowledged that it was fair. It was agreed that Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) ask their idols first. On the appointed day, the idol worshippers went outside the city next to the idols, and put food and drinks next to them to be blessed; then they ate those foods and drank those drinks and began to pray and besiege their idols to grant Prophet Ṣāliḥ’s (a) request. They then told Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) to ask what he wanted from the idols. Naturally, the idols could not fulfil Prophet Ṣāliḥ’s (a) request. To attract the affection of the idols, the idol worshippers undressed and ritually rolled themselves on the dust and poured dust on their heads, saying to the idols if they do not respond to Prophet Ṣāliḥ’s (a) request today, they would all be disgraced. Still there was no answer.

Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) said to the people: ‘The first hours of the day have passed and your gods did not answer my request; now it is your turn to ask me for your request, so that I may ask God, and at this hour He will fulfil your request.’ Seventy of the elders of Thamūd said: ‘O Ṣāliḥ! We will tell you our request, and if your Lord fulfils our request, we will accept you as a prophet and will follow you with all the people of the city.’

Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) told them to ask what they wanted. They told him: ‘Come with us to this mountain and ask your God that at this very moment, that He carves out of this mountain a live, red, she-camel, which is lush with colour and wool, and has a ten-month-old baby in its womb.’ Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) said: ‘Your request is tremendous for me, but it is easy for God.’

Suddenly, everyone present saw that the mountain was split open, followed by a disturbing, intense sound. Then the mountain moaned like a woman in labour, and the she-camel came out of it and stood firmly on the ground on its hands and feet. When the people of Thamūd saw this great miracle, they said to Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a): ‘How quickly your God answered your request! Ask your God to take out the child for us too.’ Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) made the same request to God. Suddenly, the camel dropped her baby, and the baby became lively next to her.

At this time, Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) addressed the seventy people and said: ‘Do you have any other request?’ They said: ‘No, let us go together to our people and tell them what we saw, so that they also believe in you.’ Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a), along with those seventy people, moved towards the people of Thamūd, but they had not yet reached the people when sixty-four of them denied it, and said: ‘What we saw was magic and lies.’ When they reached the people, the remaining six testified that what they saw was the truth, but the people did not accept their words, and considered the miracle of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) as magic and a lie. One of the those six by the name of Qudār, also doubted and joined the misguided ones, and it was he who followed and killed that camel.^{‎[4]Kafi, 8/185.}

[1] Mizan, 20/299.
[2] Mudarrisi, 18/140.
[3] Amthal, 20/242.
[4] Kafi, 8/185.