Salih or Saleh () is a prophet mentioned in the Qur'an who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of Muhammad. The story of Salih is linked to that of the she-camel of God, a gift from God to the people of Thamud when they sought a miracle to confirm that Salih was a prophet.

Historical context

thumb|right|[[Hegra|Mada'in Saleh or Al-Hijr in the Hejaz Mountains of Saudi Arabia]]

The Thamud were a tribal confederation in the northwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula mentioned in Akkadian literature during the reign of Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The tribe's name continues to appear in documents into the fourth century, but by the sixth century, they were regarded as a group that had vanished long ago. which corresponds to the Nabataean city of Hegra. The city rose to prominence around the 1st century as an important site in the regional caravan trade. Adjacent to the city were large, decorated rock-cut tombs used by members of various religious groups. At an unknown point in ancient times, the site was abandoned and possibly functionally replaced by Al-'Ula. The site has been referred to as Mada'in Salih () since the era of Muhammad and was named after his predecessor, Salih.

Saleh is not mentioned in any historical texts or in any of the Abrahamic scriptures that precede the Qur'an, but the account of Thamud's destruction may have been well known in ancient Arabia. The tribe's name is used in ancient Arabian poetry as a metaphor for "the transience of all things". He was chosen by God as a prophet and sent to preach against the selfishness of the wealthy and to condemn the practice of shirk (polytheism). Although Saleh preached for a sustained period, the people of Thamud refused to heed his warning and instead asked him to perform a miracle for them. They said: “O Ṣāliḥ! We truly had high hopes in you before this. How dare you forbid us to worship what our forefathers had worshipped? We are certainly in alarming doubt about what you are inviting us to.” and of their technological superiority over neighbouring communities. Furthermore, he told them about their ancestors, the ʿĀd, and how they too were destroyed for their sins. Some of the people of Thamud believed Saleh's words, but the tribal leaders refused to listen to him and continued to demand that he demonstrate a miracle to prove his prophethood.

In response, God gave the Thamud a blessed she-camel () as both a means of sustenance and a test. The tribe was told to allow the camel to graze peacefully and avoid harming her. In defiance of Saleh's warning, the people of the tribe hamstrung the camel. Saleh informed them that they had only three more days to live before the wrath of God descended upon them. The people of the city were remorseful, but their crime could not be undone, and all the disbelieving people in the city were killed in an earthquake. Al-Hijr was rendered uninhabitable and remained in ruins thereafter. Saleh himself and the few believers who followed him survived.

The story is expanded upon in the surah an-Naml. Whilst the she-camel is not mentioned explicitly in this chapter, it states that nine men plotted to kill Salih and his whole family, a crime for which they were struck down by God three days later.

According to some Islamic scholars, the mother of Ismail, Hajar, was a granddaughter of Saleh.

A similar tradition is related in an eighth-century commentary on Islam by John of Damascus and is also mentioned in the works of Ibn Kathir.

In the Baháʼí Faith

The founder of the Baháʼí Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, briefly mentioned the story of the hamstrung she-camel in the Lawh-i-Burhán, and commented also upon Saleh's ministry in the Kitáb-i-Íqán. 'Abdu'l-Bahá states that the she-camel symbolizes the holy spirit of Saleh and the camel's milk refers to the spiritual food that he offered to his people.

In the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Saleh is referred to as "the holy person of Sálih, Who again summoned the people to the river of everlasting life." Like other Prophets of God, the people of the time turned away from Him: "His admonitions, however, yielded no fruit, and His pleading proved of no avail....All this, although that eternal Beauty was summoning the people to no other than the city of God."

See also

  • Selah (biblical figure)
  • Methuselah
  • Biblical and Quranic narratives
  • List of notable Hijazis
  • Prophets and messengers in Islam
  • Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ ("Stories of the Prophets")
  • Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude)

References

  • Maqam Nebi Saleh (Acre), one of the purported locations of prophet Saleh's burial