فَكَذَّبوهُ فَعَقَروها فَدَمدَمَ عَلَيهِم رَبُّهُم بِذَنبِهِم فَسَوّاها

But they impugned him and then hamstrung her, so their Lord took them unawares by night because of their sin, and levelled it.

EXEGESIS

ʿAqarūhā (hamstrung her); ʿaqara, when used in referring to a palm tree, means to uproot it from its origin, and when used for animals, it means to slaughter. According to Ṭūsī, the verb ʿaqr refers to cutting the flesh of an animal which causes blood to gush forth.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 10/360.} Some have said ʿaqr means to cut off the legs of an animal such that it falls to the ground.^{‎[2]Amthal, 20/243.}

Damdama ʿalayhim (took them unawares by night) has several possible meanings. It could mean punishment was meted out to them; or it could mean they were the recipient of God’s anger and wrath; or it could mean a shaking of the earth that made them all level; or it could mean being destroyed due to their sins and crushed in such a way that no trace of them was left.^{‎[3]Mizan, 20/299; Tibyan, 10/360.}

Sawwāhā (levelled it) can have two possible meanings depending on what is considered the referent of the pronoun in it. If it goes back to damdama then the meaning would be: everyone was equally hit by the punishment. However, if the pronoun goes back to the earth, then it would mean: the earth completely levelled them such that neither their bodies nor their city could be seen.^{‎[4]Munyah, 30/391.}

EXPOSITION

The verse mentions that they all hamstrung her, whereas it was only one man who did so. This is because firstly, such an act is only possible after strategic planning, of which everyone was a part. Secondly, they were all happy with his act and thus God deemed all of them equally liable. In this vein, Ṭabarī quotes Qatādah as saying that Qudār refused to slaughter the camel until each and every member of Thamūd, including the women and children, had pledged allegiance to him as if indicating that they were all pleased with this act.^{‎[5]Tabari, 30/137.}

Imam Ali (a) mentions this in a sermon: ‘O people, certainly, what gathers people together [in categories] is [their] agreement [to good or bad] and [their] disagreement, for only one individual killed the camel of Thamūd but Allah held all of them in punishment because all of them consented to it. Thus, Allah, the glorified, has said: But they hamstrung her, whereupon they became regretful [26:157]. Then their land declined by sinking [into the earth] as the spike of a plough pierces unploughed, weak land. O people, he who treads the clear path [of guidance] reaches the spring of water, and whoever abandons it strays into waterless desert.’^{‎[6]Nahj, sermon 201.}

It is noteworthy that the verb sawwā also appeared in verse 7 where it was translated as fashioned. It has also been used with reference to the creation of human beings in 18:37, 32:9, 75:38, and 82:7. In this verse, sawwā has been used in the context of the destruction of human beings, whilst the other verses use it in the context of the creation of human beings. This has been understood as indicating that God can destroy human beings as easily as He created them, and that God’s punishment is part of the continuing process through which God fashions the human soul.^{‎[7]Nasr, p. 2768.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

According to Tafsīr al-Qummī, damdama is interpreted as ‘they were taken by surprise at night’. However, this does not seem to be attributed to any Imam and neither does it seem to be taken from the linguistic meaning of the words. Perhaps this was a personal interpretation of Qummī based on other narrations that indicate how the people of Thamūd were punished.^{‎[8]Qummi, 2/425.}

In an extremely rare transmission, the mystic exegete Qushayrī mentions that Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) had died and it was only after his death that the people became disbelievers. God brought him back to life and he then once again called them to faith which they denied. They then asked for a sign and he brought forth for them the she-camel.^{‎[9]Qushayri, 3/733.}

In another version, the people of Thamūd actually believed in Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) and were from amongst the faithful. However, they later on became rebellious and deviated from their faith.^{‎[10]Alusi, 15/363.} The more well-known account, however, is that they never believed in the message of Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) even for a moment.

[1] Tibyan, 10/360.
[2] Amthal, 20/243.
[3] Mizan, 20/299; Tibyan, 10/360.
[4] Munyah, 30/391.
[5] Tabari, 30/137.
[6] Nahj, sermon 201.
[7] Nasr, p. 2768.
[8] Qummi, 2/425.
[9] Qushayri, 3/733.
[10] Alusi, 15/363.