Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:73

"And to Thamūd [We sent] their brother..."

It is read as {wa-ilā Thamūd} without tanwīn (diptote), interpreting it as a tribe. It is also read with tanwīn (triptote), interpreting it as a clan, or considering its origin, as it is the name of their great ancestor: Thamūd b. ʿĀbir b. Iram b. Sām b. Nūḥ. It is said they were named Thamūd due to the scarcity of their water, from al-thamad, which is little water. Their dwellings were in al-Ḥijr, between al-Shām and al-Ḥijāz, up to Wādī al-Qurā.

"There has come to you a clear evidence..." A manifest sign and witness to the truth of my prophethood. It is as if it were asked: "What is this evidence?" So he said:

"This is the she-camel of Allah for you as a sign." Āyah (sign) is in the accusative case as a state (ḥāl). The governing agent is the meaning of the verb implied by the demonstrative pronoun, as if he said: "I point to her as a sign." The phrase "for you" (lakum) specifies those for whom she is a sign that necessitates belief, namely the Thamūd, because they witnessed her directly, whereas other people were only told about her, and hearing is not like seeing. It is as if he said: "For you specifically." She was attributed to Allah to exalt her and magnify her status, indicating she came from Him, created without a male or mating, as one says: "A sign of Allah."

It is narrated that when the ʿĀd were destroyed, the Thamūd inhabited their lands, succeeded them in the earth, multiplied, and lived long lives—to the point that a man would build a sturdy house, and it would collapse within his lifetime. They carved houses out of the mountains and lived in ease and prosperity. They grew arrogant against Allah, spread corruption, and worshipped idols. Allah sent Ṣāliḥ (peace be upon him) to them. They were Arabs, and Ṣāliḥ was of the most noble lineage among them. He called them to Allah, but only a few of the oppressed followed him. He warned them, so they asked him for a sign. He asked: "What sign do you want?" They replied: "Go out with us to our festival on a known day of the year. Call upon your God, and we will call upon our gods. If your prayer is answered, we will follow you; if ours is answered, you will follow us." Ṣāliḥ agreed. They went out, and they called upon their idols, but they received no answer.

Then their leader, Jundaʿ b. ʿAmr, pointed to a solitary rock on the side of the mountain called al-Kāthibah and said: "Bring out for us from this rock a she-camel, fully formed, hollow, and flawless." Ṣāliḥ took their solemn oaths that if he did this, they would believe and affirm him. They agreed. He prayed and called upon his Lord. The rock heaved like a pregnant female giving birth, then split open to reveal a she-camel, pregnant, hollow, and flawless, just as they had described. No one knew what was between her flanks except Allah. Their leaders watched, and then she gave birth to a calf of similar size. Jundaʿ and a group of his people believed, but the heads of the tribe prevented their followers from believing.

The she-camel remained with her calf, grazing and drinking. She would come to the water on alternate days. On her day, she would place her head in the well, and it would not rise until she had drunk all the water. Then she would spread her legs, and they would milk her until their vessels were full, drinking and storing the rest. Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī said: "I came to the land of Thamūd and measured the source of the she-camel; I found it to be sixty cubits."

When the heat intensified, the she-camel would move to the back of the valley, and their livestock would flee from her to the bottom. When the cold came, she would move to the bottom, and their livestock would flee to the back. This burdened them. Two women, ʿUnayzah Umm Ghanm and Ṣadaqah bint al-Mukhtār, incited them to hamstring her because she harmed their livestock, as they owned many. They hamstrung her, divided her meat, and cooked it. Her calf fled, climbed a mountain called Qārah, and wailed three times. Ṣāliḥ had told them: "Catch the calf; perhaps the punishment will be lifted from you," but they could not. The rock split after its wailing, and it entered it. Ṣāliḥ said: "Tomorrow morning, your faces will be yellow; on the second day, red; and on the third day, black. Then the punishment will overtake you." When they saw the signs, they sought to kill him, but Allah saved him to the land of Palestine. On the fourth day, at mid-morning, they were struck by a cry from the sky; their hearts were severed, and they perished.

"Let her eat in the earth of Allah..." Meaning: The earth is Allah’s, and the she-camel is Allah’s. Leave her to eat in the land of her Lord; the land is not yours, nor is the vegetation in it of your creation.

"And do not touch her with harm..." Do not strike her, drive her away, or cause her any annoyance, out of reverence for the sign of Allah.

It is narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by al-Ḥijr during the expedition of Tabūk, he said to his companions: "Do not enter the dwellings of these people who were punished, unless you are weeping, lest what befell them befall you." And he (ﷺ) said: "O ʿAlī, do you know who the most wretched of the ancients was?" He said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "The one who hamstrung the she-camel of Ṣāliḥ. Do you know who the most wretched of the later ones is?" He said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "The one who kills you."

"And He settled you in the earth..." Al-mabāʾah is the dwelling.

"And you carve from its mountains, houses..." Meaning: You build them from the ease of the earth using what you work with, such as mortar, mud-bricks, and baked bricks.

If you ask: "Why is buyūtan (houses) in the accusative?" I say: It is a state (ḥāl), as when you say: "Sew this cloth into a shirt" or "Sharpen this reed into a pen." It is a "prospective state," because the mountain is not a house while it is being carved, nor is the cloth or reed a shirt or pen while being sewn or sharpened. It is also said they lived in the plains in summer and the mountains in winter.