Tarikh (al-Tabari) 106
The story of Salih (peace and blessings be upon him)
فَلَمَّا طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْحَالُ هَذَا اجْتَمَعَ مَلَؤُهُمْ، وَاتَّفَقَ رَأْيُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ يَعْقِرُوا هَذِهِ النَّاقَةَ لِيَسْتَرِيحُوا مِنْهَا، وَيَتَوَفَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَاؤُهُمْ، وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: فَعَقَرُوا النَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ ائْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ [ الْأَعْرَافِ: 77 ]. وَكَانَ الَّذِي تَوَلَّى قَتْلَهَا مِنْهُمْ رَئِيسَهُمْ قُدَارَ بْنَ سَالِفِ بْنِ جُنْدَعٍ، وَكَانَ أَحْمَرَ أَزْرَقَ قَصِيرًا، وَكَانَ يُقَالُ: إِنَّهُ وَلَدُ زَانِيَةٍ، وُلِدَ عَلَى فِرَاشِ سَالِفٍ. وَهُوَ مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ: صِيبَانُ، وَكَانَ فِعْلُهُ ذَلِكَ بِاتِّفَاقِ جَمِيعِهِمْ؛ فَلِهَذَا نُسِبَ الْفِعْلُ إِلَى جَمِيعِهِمْ كُلِّهِمْ. وقيل أن سَبَبُ قَتْلِ النَّاقَةِ : إِنَّ قُدَارَ بْنَ سَالِفٍ جَلَسَ مَعَ نَفَرٍ يَشْرَبُونَ الْخَمْرَ فَلَمْ يَقْدِرُوا عَلَى مَاءٍ يَمْزُجُونَ بِهِ خَمْرَهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَوْمُ شِرْبِ النَّاقَةِ، فَحَرَّضَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا عَلَى قَتْلِهَا. وَذَكَرَ ابْنُ جَرِيرٍ، وَغَيْرُهُ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ: أَنَّ امْرَأَتَيْنِ مِنْ ثَمُودَ اسْمُ إِحْدَاهُمَا صَدُوفُ بِنْتُ الْمُحَيَّا بْنِ زُهَيْرِ بْنِ الْمُحَيَّا، وَكَانَتْ ذَاتَ حَسَبٍ وَمَالٍ، وَكَانَتْ تَحْتَ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَسْلَمَ، فَفَارَقَتْهُ فَدَعَتِ ابْنَ عَمٍّ لَهَا يُقَالُ لَهُ: مِصْدَعُ بْنُ مَهْرَجِ بْنِ الْمُحَيَّا، وَعَرَضَتْ عَلَيْهِ نَفْسَهَا إِنْ هُوَ عَقَرَ النَّاقَةَ ، وَاسْمُ الْأُخْرَى عُنَيْزَةُ بِنْتُ غُنَيْمِ بْنِ مِجْلَزٍ، وَتُكْنَى أُمَّ عُثْمَانَ، وَكَانَتْ عَجُوزًا كَافِرَةً، لَهَا بَنَاتٌ مِنْ زَوْجِهَا ذُؤَابِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو أَحَدِ الرُّؤَسَاءِ، فَعَرَضَتْ بَنَاتَهَا الْأَرْبَعَ عَلَى قُدَارِ بْنِ سَالِفٍ إِنْ هُوَ عَقَرَ النَّاقَةَ فَلَهُ أَيُّ بَنَاتِهَا شَاءَ، فَانْتُدِبَ هَذَانِ الشَّابَّانِ لِعَقْرِهَا، وَسَعَوْا فِي قَوْمِهِمْ بِذَلِكَ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ سَبْعَةٌ آخَرُونَ فَصَارُوا تِسْعَةً، وَهُمُ الْمَذْكُورُونَ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَكَانَ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ. وَسَعَوْا فِي بَقِيَّةِ الْقَبِيلَةِ، وَحَسَّنُوا لَهُمْ عَقْرَهَا فَأَجَابُوهُمْ إِلَى ذَلِكَ، وَطَاوَعُوهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ فَانْطَلَقُوا يَرْصُدُونَ النَّاقَةَ، فَلَمَّا صَدَرَتْ مِنْ وِرْدِهَا كَمَنَ لَهَا مِصْدَعٌ فَرَمَاهَا بِسَهْمٍ فَانْتَظَمَ عَظْمَ سَاقِهَا، وَجَاءَ النِّسَاءُ نِسَاءُ الْقَبِيلَةِ فِي قَتْلِهَا، وَحَسَرْنَ عَنْ وُجُوهِهِنَّ تَرْغِيبًا لَهُمْ، فَابْتَدَرَهُمْ قُدَارُ بْنُ سَالِفٍ فَشَدَّ عَلَيْهَا بِالسَّيْفِ فَكَشَفَ عَنْ عُرْقُوبِهَا، فَخَرَّتْ سَاقِطَةً إِلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَرَغَتْ رَغَاةً وَاحِدَةً عَظِيمَةً، تُحَذِّرُ وَلَدَهَا، ثُمَّ طَعَنَ فِي لَبَّتِهَا فَنَحَرَهَا، وَانْطَلَقَ سَقْبُهَا، وَهُوَ فَصِيلُهَا فَصَعِدَ جَبَلًا مَنِيعًا، وَرَغَا ثَلَاثًا. وعَنْ مَعْمَرٍ عَمَّنْ سَمِعَ الْحَسَنَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ أَيْنَ أُمِّي، ثُمَّ دَخَلَ فِي صَخْرَةٍ فَغَابَ فِيهَا، وَيُقَالُ: بَلِ اتَّبَعُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهُ أَيْضًا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: فَنَادَوْا صَاحِبَهُمْ فَتَعَاطَى فَعَقَرَ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقْيَاهَا. أَيِ احْذَرُوهَا فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا. قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زَمْعَةَ قَالَ: خَطَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَذَكَرَ النَّاقَةَ، وَذَكَرَ الَّذِي عَقَرَهَا، فَقَالَ: إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا انْبَعَثَ لَهَا رَجُلٌ عَارِمٌ عَزِيزٌ مَنِيعٌ فِي رَهْطِهِ مِثْلُ أَبِي زَمْعَةَ. أَخْرَجَاهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ هِشَامٍ بِهِ. عَارِمٌ أَيْ شَهْمٌ عَزِيزٌ أَيْ رَئِيسٌ مَنِيعٌ أَيْ مُطَاعٌ فِي قَوْمِهِ. وعَنْ عَمَّارِ بْنِ يَاسِرٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِعَلِيٍّ: أَلَا أُحَدِّثُكَ بِأَشْقَى النَّاسِ. قَالَ: بَلَى. قَالَ: رَجُلَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا أُحَيْمِرُ ثَمُودَ الَّذِي عَقَرَ النَّاقَةَ، وَالَّذِي يَضْرِبُكَ يَا عَلِيُّ عَلَى هَذَا - يَعْنِي قَرْنَهُ - حَتَّى تَبْتَلَّ مِنْهُ هَذِهِ. يَعْنِي لِحْيَتَهُ رَوَاهُ ابْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: فَعَقَرُوا النَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ ائْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ [ الْأَعْرَافِ: 77 ]. فَجَمَعُوا فِي كَلَامِهِمْ هَذَا بَيْنَ كُفْرٍ بَلِيغٍ مِنْ وُجُوهٍ؛ مِنْهَا أَنَّهُمْ خَالَفُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فِي ارْتِكَابِهِمُ النَّهْيَ الْأَكِيدَ فِي عَقْرِ النَّاقَةِ الَّتِي جَعَلَهَا اللَّهُ لَهُمْ آيَةً ، وَمِنْهَا أَنَّهُمُ اسْتَعْجَلُوا وُقُوعَ الْعَذَابِ بِهِمْ فَاسْتَحَقُّوهُ مِنْ وَجْهَيْنِ؛ أَحَدُهُمَا: الشَّرْطُ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي قَوْلِهِ: وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ قَرِيبٌ. وَفِي آيَةٍ " عَظِيمٌ ". وَفِي الْأُخْرَى " أَلِيمٌ ". وَالْكُلُّ حَقٌّ. وَالثَّانِي: اسْتِعْجَالُهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ. وَمِنْهَا أَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا الرَّسُولَ الَّذِي قَدْ قَامَ الدَّلِيلُ الْقَاطِعُ عَلَى نُبُوَّتِهِ وَصِدْقِهِ، وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ ذَلِكَ عِلْمًا جَازِمًا.
Translation
✧ When this situation had gone on long for them, their assembly gathered, and their opinion agreed upon hamstringing this she-camel so that they might be relieved of her and their water might be reserved for them. Satan made their deeds seem fair to them. God, exalted be He, said: “So they hamstrung the she-camel and rebelled against the command of their Lord, and said: O Ṣāliḥ, bring us what you promise us, if you are one of the messengers” [al-Aʿrāf: 77]. The one among them who undertook killing her was their chief Qudār b. Sālif b. Jundaʿ. He was red-skinned, blue-eyed, and short. It was said that he was the son of an adulteress, born on the bed of Sālif. He was from a man called Ṣībān. His act was by agreement of all of them; therefore the act was attributed to all of them. It is said that the reason for killing the she-camel was: Qudār b. Sālif sat with a group drinking wine, and they could not get water with which to mix their wine because it was the she-camel's day to drink. They incited one another to kill her. Ibn Jarīr and other scholars of the exegetes mentioned that two women of Thamūd, the name of one of them being Ṣadūf bt. al-Muḥayyā b. Zuhayr b. al-Muḥayyā, and she was possessed of noble lineage and wealth, and she was married to a man of Aslam, and she separated from him. She summoned a cousin of hers called Miṣdaʿ b. Mahraj b. al-Muḥayyā and offered herself to him if he hamstrung the she-camel. The name of the other was ʿUnayza bt. Ghunaym b. Mijlaz, and she was called Umm ʿUthmān. She was an old disbelieving woman who had daughters from her husband Dhuʾāb b. ʿAmr, one of the chiefs. She offered her four daughters to Qudār b. Sālif if he hamstrung the she-camel: he could have whichever of her daughters he wished. These two young men were summoned to hamstring her, and they went among their people with that. Seven others responded to them, and they became nine. They are those mentioned in His saying, exalted be He: “And there were in the city nine persons who made mischief in the land and did not reform.” They went among the rest of the tribe and made hamstringing her seem good to them. They answered them to that and complied with them in that. They set out to lie in wait for the she-camel. When she returned from her watering, Miṣdaʿ lay in ambush for her and shot her with an arrow that pierced the bone of her shank. The women, the women of the tribe, came urging her killing, and they unveiled their faces to encourage them. Qudār b. Sālif rushed at her and struck her with the sword, cutting her hamstring. She fell to the ground and uttered one great cry, warning her young. Then he thrust into her throat and slaughtered her. Her young, that is her foal, went off and climbed a strong mountain and cried three times. From Maʿmar, from one who heard al-Ḥasan say: “O Lord, where is my mother?” Then it entered a rock and disappeared therein. It is said: rather they followed it and hamstrung it too. God, exalted be He, said: “So they called their companion, and he took and hamstrung. How then was My punishment and My warning?” And He, exalted be He, said: “When the most wretched of them rose up; so the Messenger of God said to them: the she-camel of God and her drinking.” That is, beware of her. But they denied him and hamstrung her; so their Lord crushed them for their sin and levelled it, and He does not fear its consequence. Imam Aḥmad said with his chain from ʿAbd Allāh b. Zamʿa, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ gave a sermon and mentioned the she-camel and mentioned the one who hamstrung her. He said: “When the most wretched of them rose up” — there rose up for her a fierce, mighty, strong man in his clan, like Abū Zamʿa. They transmitted it from the ḥadīth of Hishām with it. Fierce, that is shrewd; mighty, that is a chief; strong, that is obeyed among his people. From ʿAmmār b. Yāsir, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said to ʿAlī: “Shall I not tell you of the most wretched of people?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Two men: one of them is the red one of Thamūd who hamstrung the she-camel, and the one who will strike you, O ʿAlī, on this” — meaning his head — “until this” — meaning his beard — “becomes wet from it.” Ibn Abī Ḥātim transmitted it. And He, exalted be He, said: “So they hamstrung the she-camel and rebelled against the command of their Lord, and said: O Ṣāliḥ, bring us what you promise us, if you are one of the messengers” [al-Aʿrāf: 77]. In this speech of theirs they combined profound disbelief from several aspects: among them, that they disobeyed God and His Messenger by committing the emphatic prohibition of hamstringing the she-camel which God had made a sign for them; and among them, that they sought to hasten the occurrence of the punishment upon themselves, so they deserved it from two aspects: one of them is the condition placed upon them in His saying: “and do not touch her with harm, lest a near punishment seize you”; in one verse, “great”; in another, “painful”; and all are true. The second is their hastening of that. And among them, that they denied the messenger whose prophethood and truthfulness had been established by decisive proof, while they knew that with certain knowledge.
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