2953 years after Habut—death 3252
The honourable Quran described the life of hazrat Salih a.s in the following manner: We send Salih a.s towards Samud. He said: O People! Worship God, there is no other way besides Almighty. Observe the signs and miracles of God and believe it. I am his prophet and messenger, came to guide you.
His language was Arabic and he lived for 280 years and his grave is in Najaf Ashraf.
The Almighty God stated in Sur e Aaraf
72 I send to the people of Samud their brother Salih a.s. He said: O People worship the One and Only God. No one had created you except him and there is no other God. At present, evident and open miracles approached you. This is the she camel which you wanted to graze on the land of God and do not wish anything ill about it else you will be tied up in the punishment of God.
73 O the people of Samud! realise that when the One God demolished the people of Aad he made you their successor and bestowed you their lands and homes “the lands of Sahlah with soft earth”. You built the splendid palaces and strong houses from the rocks of the mountains. Presently remember the favours of God and do not spread corruption and troubles on the land.
74 An enormous gathering of the nobles and affluent of the tribe of Salih a.s mocked at him. The poor, weak and defenceless people who brought faith on the Salih a.s, when the rich asked them: Do you know Salih a.s is the prophet of God. The faithful were responding them: Yes we are certain that Salih a.s is the prophet of God. Surely his rules are the laws of God. The wealthy and boastful aristocrats said: We too firmly reject the God whom you brought faith, we do not accept you.
75 The prosperous tribes of the Samud altogether demanded a she camel which emerged from a rock they chased it and began to rebel the prophet Salih a.s. They ridiculed him and harshly told him: O Salih! If you are the messenger of God then at this moment (the punishment) as you promised for our transgression, declare to come.
76 When they wished for the torment, an intense earthquake occurred, for which they lost their lives in their abodes. Within three days no one was left alive by the wrath of God.
77 When the signs of punishment from heaven appeared Salih a.s turned away his face from them and got desperate with them. He stated: O people! I have imparted you the message of God and advised you. But you with utter ignorance and haughtiness did not appreciate the well wishers and preachers.
The following chapters in Quran mentioned about the Salih a.s.
In Sur e Hud ayat from 60 to 68.
In Sur e Hajr ayat from 79 to 89.
In Sur e Shuara ayat from 141 to 158.
In Sur e Namal ayat from 44 to 52.
In Sur e Zariyat, Sur e Najm, Sur e Qamar exists about the Salih a.s.
In Sur e Alhaqqa and Sur e Shams is the definition about the Salih a.s.
The prophecy of hazrat Salih a.s
He was the messenger who was sent to unite the people for their well being. He was Salih bin Jabir bin Iram bin Sam bin Nuh a.s The tribe of Samud were abiding in the city of Hijr ( Rock city) in between the Syria and west of Suadi Arabia. Even today the relics of the houses of that period exists in between the huge rocks. Those who visit Mecca if they pass from there they come across the rock houses with short doors and low roofs.
The tribe of Samud were the descendents of Aad, all of them became idolaters. The devil enquired them: Whom do you worship? They replied: We do not know. The devil advised them: Carve a large stone and sculpt a face upon it and serve it, so that at the judgement day it can be your intercessor.
On the instruction of the devil they built a gigantic idol of gold and silver and prostrated before him.
Samud was the tribe to whom the prophet Salih a.s belonged. They acquired the fame by the name of their forefather. He was sent on a mission to guide his people. Hazrat Salih a.s was of very much esteemed status in the divine court and he was extremely tolerant and chaste. The people of Samud were the remnants of the tribe of Aad. There lineage was the children of Sumud bin Aad bin Iram bin Sam bin Nuh a.s.
Abodes of Samud
Between Hijaz (west Saudi Arabia ) and Syria towards the Vadi e Qura is a place named Madain Salih even today it has such fame. This land was the abode of the tribe of Samud. The palaces of the kings were built by the rocks exists in the relics. The rooms and chambers remained till today by the name Baqiyatul Naqah. They were before the period of the prophet Musa a.s.
The tribe of Samud were idolaters; they brought this religion from Egypt . The names of the five idols were Laat, Uzza, Manath, Hubal and Qaes. God sent Salih a.s to invite them but they did not like to follow him.
In their worldly matters they were swearing in the name of the idols and when Salih a.s invited them, they asked: what miracle and reason you have? The prophet Salih a.s replied: What is your demand I will create it.
They claimed: Bring out a she camel with red hairs from this rock so that we can drink its milk.
Salih a.s expressed: Promise me that you will not kill the camel and bring faith in God and if you go against Him the torment of God will descend upon you and you too like the people of Aad will be destroyed.
The nobles and elders of the tribe gathered and they demanded from Salih a.s a she camel that should have ten months old calf and who should be pregnant too.
The rock burst apart, a fearful thundering sound was heard, the mountains trembled and by the will of God, the she camel of Salih a.s emerged from it. Its head with red hair appeared first, the neck was not evident then gradually the body came out and it was standing on the land. They were not expecting that so soon the miracle will be going to happen and their wish was fulfilled. They demanded she must have a calf along with it.
Then hazrat Salih a.s pleaded to the God, All of a sudden a calf separated apart from the she camel and began to step around its mother. Those who visited the country of Syria , even today they can cite the cleavage in the rock where the she camel emerged. In the city it was a splendid river, Salih a.s was addressed: Announce the people the God had fixed that one day the water of this river belongs to you and the other day it is only for the purpose of drinking the camel.
A day which was fixed for the camel, it used to drink the water of the whole river but in exchange she was giving milk which the young and old were drinking and enjoying it freely.
One day the people gathered, a man with red hairs and red face by the name Qaddar who was baseborn and illegitimate. He chased the she camel while the animal was drinking the water on the river; its calf ran towards the mountain. At this moment hazrat Salih a.s informed them: The punishment of God will reach you soon. The sign of which is that your faces will get pale on the first day, on the second day the faces will get red and on the third day the countenance of the people will get black. It means that live for three days in your houses and this promise is undeniable.
On the third day evening a horrible sound was heard, their hearts trembled. The rash winds began to blow and those winds were lifting them up from the land and striking them back on the land and killed them. The entire houses, buildings and monuments turned out into dust particles.
A lesson from the life of the prophet Salih a.s
The story of Salih a.s and the tribe of Samud is a lesson of warning for the world. The tribe of Samud who were attached themselves to the mean, lustful and ardently desirous life style of their forefathers. Hazrat Salih a.s guided them towards the truth and the improvements of life. Those people in spite of acquiring much gains from Salih a.s still they were committed in the sins and an immense torment occurred upon them.
Those people every morning were milking the camel free of cost and taking it to their homes rather they were wasting it. Instead of bringing the water from the river they were drinking the camel’s milk. In the place of thanking God for this blessing on contrary they were using it wastefully. While drinking the water they chased the camel and neglected the advices of Salih a.s and lost the best and unending favour of God.
Salih a.s with extreme kind heartedness upon their wish appealed to the God and the Almighty accepted it and gave birth to the she camel from the rock. Possessing all these distinguished qualities he requested his people to stop idol worshipping and bring faith upon God, the master of Universe and praise him.
We get a lesson from hazrat Salih a.s that one must follow the true path and carry out the heavenly rules and laws and obey the prophets and protects the heart and soul from the desires and passions.
Hazrat Salih a.s taught us to maintain the sincerity of the soul and the purity of heart. And enlightened the people and told those who do not have their own power, they follow the wise, faithful people and the believers who have the power to control their desires.
