Topic: Salih’s(as)
View Aspects
فَعَقَرُوا۟ ٱلنَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا۟ يَٰصَٰلِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
7:74.
اصل بات یہ ہے کہ اونٹنی سے ان لوگوں کو کوئی بغض نہ تھا۔ نہ اونٹنی کا مارنا کوئی اتنا گناہ ہے۔ صالحؑ اس اونٹنی پر چڑھ کر ملک میں تبلیغ کرتے تھے۔ انہوں نے اونٹنی کو اس لئے مارا کہ صالحؑ کی تبلیغ ختم ہو جائے اور لوگوں میں وہ بدنام ہو جائے۔ اس وجہ سے ان پر عذاب آیا۔
See 7:74.
See 7:74.
Important Words:
عقروا (hamstrung) is derived from عقر. They say عقره i.e. he wounded him, or he wounded him much; he hacked or hamstrung it (a beast); he struck or cut its (an animal’s) leg with a sword, etc.; he stabbed an animal, etc.; he killed, slew or destroyed. عقربی means, he detained or restrained me. عقر and عقرت mean, he or she was barren and produced no issue (Lane).
Commentary:
The reference in the pronoun "that" in the clause, bring us that, is to the punishment mentioned in 7:74 above. The she-camel was held out as a sign, and that sign was to be witnessed on her being obstructed by disbelievers. They not only hindered the free movement of the she-camel but even wounded and killed her which amounted to an open challenge to Salih to do his worst,—to call upon his God to send down the threatened punishment upon them.
d
7:74.
1
اصل بات یہ ہے کہ اونٹنی سے ان لوگوں کو کوئی بغض نہ تھا۔ نہ اونٹنی کا مارنا کوئی اتنا گناہ ہے۔ صالحؑ اس اونٹنی پر چڑھ کر ملک میں تبلیغ کرتے تھے۔ انہوں نے اونٹنی کو اس لئے مارا کہ صالحؑ کی تبلیغ ختم ہو جائے اور لوگوں میں وہ بدنام ہو جائے۔ اس وجہ سے ان پر عذاب آیا۔
a
See 7:74.
976
Important Words:
عقروا (hamstrung) is derived from عقر. They say عقره i.e. he wounded him, or he wounded him much; he hacked or hamstrung it (a beast); he struck or cut its (an animal’s) leg with a sword, etc.; he stabbed an animal, etc.; he killed, slew or destroyed. عقربی means, he detained or restrained me. عقر and عقرت mean, he or she was barren and produced no issue (Lane).
Commentary:
The reference in the pronoun "that" in the clause, bring us that, is to the punishment mentioned in 7:74 above. The she-camel was held out as a sign, and that sign was to be witnessed on her being obstructed by disbelievers. They not only hindered the free movement of the she-camel but even wounded and killed her which amounted to an open challenge to Salih to do his worst,—to call upon his God to send down the threatened punishment upon them.
a
See 7:74.
وَيَٰقَوْمِ هَٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ ءَايَةً فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِىٓ أَرْضِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ قَرِيبٌ
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
یعنی چونکہ حضرت صالحؑؑ علیہ السلام اسی اونٹنی پر سفر کرکے تبلیغ کرتے تھے اللہ تعالیٰ نے اسی کو ان کی قوم کے لئے نشان بنا دیا اور فرمایا کہ اس کو ہلاک کرنے کے یہ معنے ہوں گے کہ تم صالح ؑ کو تبلیغ سے روکتے ہو۔ جس فعل پر عذاب آنا مقدر ہے۔
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
Commentary:
Many legends have been woven round this ناقة (she-camel) of Salih. There is nothing in the Quran to lend support to these fanciful stories. One of these legends, for instance, is that she was miraculously born out of a rock in answer to a prayer of Salih when his people demanded from him a miracle and that she became pregnant at the time of her coming out of the rock, giving birth to a young one immediately after. The Quran, however, nowhere states that there was anything miraculous about her birth. On the contrary, it is clear from 26:154 & 159 that the birth of the she-camel was nothing out of the ordinary and that it was not her birth but the freedom of her movements that was held out as a sign. If the birth of the she-camel had been in any way miraculous, Salih, on the demand of his people for a sign, would have certainly referred them to that extraordinary happening. But, instead, he simply answered that the promised sign would be shown to them, if they interfered with her freedom.
There can be three answers to the question, in what sense was the she-camel a sign:
1. It was a custom in Arabia, as in some other countries as well, that a chief or king would let loose an animal as an emblem of his power and authority and would proclaim that any molestation with its free movements would be severely punished. In accordance with this ancient custom, Salih proclaimed, saying: "This she-camel is for you a sign. If you molest it, you will be held as defying the authority of God and will consequently be visited with Divine punishment."
2. Interference with a beast may mean interference with its rider. To prevent an animal from proceeding on its way amounts to preventing its rider from proceeding on his errand. So when Salih said, let her alone that she may feed in Allah’s earth, he meant that he himself should not be hindered from going about in Allah’s earth for the discharge of his duty of preaching his mission. Salih wanted to go about in the land preaching the word of God, but his people would not allow him to do so. So he told them that the she-camel on which he would go on the mission of preaching the Message of God must be allowed free movement and any interference with her would be regarded as defying God’s purpose and would be met with heavenly punishment.
3. Salih had learned to his sorrow that mixing with his people generally led to disturbance. So in order to avoid contact with them he decided to withhold his animals from the common pasture-lands and selected for himself another grazing ground, which did not belong to these people. Similarly, he abandoned the usual time when his people watered their animals and fixed another time for his own she-camel to drink. After having taken all possible precautions to avoid occasions for disturbance at great personal inconvenience, he told his people that if, even in spite of these precautions, there was any disturbance it would certainly be held as a sacrilegious act on their part which would bring down upon them Divine punishment. This interpretation is supported by the fact that old historical records contain references to a valley named فج الناقة (the valley of the she-camel) which is also mentioned in a book of geography written in 150 B.C. Old Greek historians give its name as Badanata which seems to be a corruption of (Fajjun-Naqqa). The name of this valley indicates that Salih fixed a valley for his she-camel to graze in, separate from the one used by his people, so that she might not mix with their herds and thus disturbance might be avoided.
It might be asked, why should a Prophet of God have behaved like worldly kings and potentates and let loose animals to go and graze where they chose. The present verse embodies an indirect answer to this question, for it is nowhere mentioned in the verse that Salih’s she-camel was to graze in other people’s fields. The verse only says, let her alone that she may feed in Allah’s earth, which obviously refers to land which was not the private property of any individual. So it was no private land in which, Salih’s she-camel was to graze but God’s waste, watered with rain from heaven and indebted to no human labour for its cultivation.
It may further be asked why a whole nation was destroyed for killing a mere she-camel. This objection is also based on a clear misconception, for the cause of Divine punishment was not the killing of the she-camel as such but the fact that the killing of the beast constituted an open challenge to threatening his life and declaring that his people were out to defy God’s authority. So it was not the killing of the she-camel, but the threat to Salih’s own life and the obstruction to his moving about freely in the land with a view to preaching God’s word that brought punishment on his people. See also 7:78.
b
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
1
یعنی چونکہ حضرت صالحؑؑ علیہ السلام اسی اونٹنی پر سفر کرکے تبلیغ کرتے تھے اللہ تعالیٰ نے اسی کو ان کی قوم کے لئے نشان بنا دیا اور فرمایا کہ اس کو ہلاک کرنے کے یہ معنے ہوں گے کہ تم صالح ؑ کو تبلیغ سے روکتے ہو۔ جس فعل پر عذاب آنا مقدر ہے۔
b
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
1445
Commentary:
Many legends have been woven round this ناقة (she-camel) of Salih. There is nothing in the Quran to lend support to these fanciful stories. One of these legends, for instance, is that she was miraculously born out of a rock in answer to a prayer of Salih when his people demanded from him a miracle and that she became pregnant at the time of her coming out of the rock, giving birth to a young one immediately after. The Quran, however, nowhere states that there was anything miraculous about her birth. On the contrary, it is clear from 26:154 & 159 that the birth of the she-camel was nothing out of the ordinary and that it was not her birth but the freedom of her movements that was held out as a sign. If the birth of the she-camel had been in any way miraculous, Salih, on the demand of his people for a sign, would have certainly referred them to that extraordinary happening. But, instead, he simply answered that the promised sign would be shown to them, if they interfered with her freedom.
There can be three answers to the question, in what sense was the she-camel a sign:
1. It was a custom in Arabia, as in some other countries as well, that a chief or king would let loose an animal as an emblem of his power and authority and would proclaim that any molestation with its free movements would be severely punished. In accordance with this ancient custom, Salih proclaimed, saying: "This she-camel is for you a sign. If you molest it, you will be held as defying the authority of God and will consequently be visited with Divine punishment."
2. Interference with a beast may mean interference with its rider. To prevent an animal from proceeding on its way amounts to preventing its rider from proceeding on his errand. So when Salih said, let her alone that she may feed in Allah’s earth, he meant that he himself should not be hindered from going about in Allah’s earth for the discharge of his duty of preaching his mission. Salih wanted to go about in the land preaching the word of God, but his people would not allow him to do so. So he told them that the she-camel on which he would go on the mission of preaching the Message of God must be allowed free movement and any interference with her would be regarded as defying God’s purpose and would be met with heavenly punishment.
3. Salih had learned to his sorrow that mixing with his people generally led to disturbance. So in order to avoid contact with them he decided to withhold his animals from the common pasture-lands and selected for himself another grazing ground, which did not belong to these people. Similarly, he abandoned the usual time when his people watered their animals and fixed another time for his own she-camel to drink. After having taken all possible precautions to avoid occasions for disturbance at great personal inconvenience, he told his people that if, even in spite of these precautions, there was any disturbance it would certainly be held as a sacrilegious act on their part which would bring down upon them Divine punishment. This interpretation is supported by the fact that old historical records contain references to a valley named فج الناقة (the valley of the she-camel) which is also mentioned in a book of geography written in 150 B.C. Old Greek historians give its name as Badanata which seems to be a corruption of (Fajjun-Naqqa). The name of this valley indicates that Salih fixed a valley for his she-camel to graze in, separate from the one used by his people, so that she might not mix with their herds and thus disturbance might be avoided.
It might be asked, why should a Prophet of God have behaved like worldly kings and potentates and let loose animals to go and graze where they chose. The present verse embodies an indirect answer to this question, for it is nowhere mentioned in the verse that Salih’s she-camel was to graze in other people’s fields. The verse only says, let her alone that she may feed in Allah’s earth, which obviously refers to land which was not the private property of any individual. So it was no private land in which, Salih’s she-camel was to graze but God’s waste, watered with rain from heaven and indebted to no human labour for its cultivation.
It may further be asked why a whole nation was destroyed for killing a mere she-camel. This objection is also based on a clear misconception, for the cause of Divine punishment was not the killing of the she-camel as such but the fact that the killing of the beast constituted an open challenge to threatening his life and declaring that his people were out to defy God’s authority. So it was not the killing of the she-camel, but the threat to Salih’s own life and the obstruction to his moving about freely in the land with a view to preaching God’s word that brought punishment on his people. See also 7:78.
a
7:74; 17:60; 26:156; 54:28; 91:14.
وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِٱلْءَايَٰتِ إِلَّآ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ ۚ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ ٱلنَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوا۟ بِهَا ۚ وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِٱلْءَايَٰتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا
17:95; 18:56.
17:95; 18:56.
Or, the meaning may be: Could the fact that former people rejected the Prophets be the reason that further Signs should not be sent, i.e. it could not be the reason for the withholding of heavenly Signs.
17:95; 18:56.
Important Words:
ظلموا بھا (unjustly rejected it). The word ظلم means, (1) he did wrong; or acted wrongfully, unjustly or tyrannically, (2) he put a thing in a wrong place or in a place not its own. They say من اشبه اباہ فما ظلم i.e. whoso resembles his father, he has not put the likeness in a wrong place; (3) he made him suffer loss as in وما ظلمونا ولکن کانوا انفسھم یظلمون i.e. and they made not Us to suffer loss or detriment but it was themselves they made to suffer loss or detriment. ظلم الارض means, he dug the ground in what was not the place of digging. ظلمه also means, he imposed upon him a thing that was above his power or ability. The word is also used transitively by means of ب as in the Quranic words فظلموا بھا i.e. and they disbelieved in them (the Signs) or unjustly rejected them (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:36, 52.
Commentary:
The verse beautifully states that heavenly signs will never cease to appear. It warns Muslims not to entertain such a foolish belief and proceeds to refute and demolish the only possible objection against the appearance of heavenly signs. The objection is: When the people to whom the signs were first shown did not profit by them, where was the warrant that their successors would do so? The arguments given in refutation of this objection are: (a) If the rejection of heavenly signs had been a reasonable ground, no Prophet after the very first Prophet—Adam––would have appeared. But this did not happen and fresh Prophets continued to appear in all ages and fresh signs continued to be shown at their hands, which showed that the rejection of signs never proved a barrier in the way of the appearance of new signs. (b) Prophets are sent in the world in order to warn wrongdoers of their transgressions and iniquities and of the impending Divine punishment in consequence of those iniquities. Any such punishment without a previous warning and without showing signs would be contrary to Divine mercy.
As an illustration of the claim that wrongdoers never go unpunished if they do not repent, special mention has been made of the tribe of Thamud because the Thamud were an Arab tribe and their history was a matter of common knowledge with pagan Arabs as well as with the Jews of Arabia.
a
17:95; 18:56.
a
17:95; 18:56.
1989
Important Words:
ظلموا بھا (unjustly rejected it). The word ظلم means, (1) he did wrong; or acted wrongfully, unjustly or tyrannically, (2) he put a thing in a wrong place or in a place not its own. They say من اشبه اباہ فما ظلم i.e. whoso resembles his father, he has not put the likeness in a wrong place; (3) he made him suffer loss as in وما ظلمونا ولکن کانوا انفسھم یظلمون i.e. and they made not Us to suffer loss or detriment but it was themselves they made to suffer loss or detriment. ظلم الارض means, he dug the ground in what was not the place of digging. ظلمه also means, he imposed upon him a thing that was above his power or ability. The word is also used transitively by means of ب as in the Quranic words فظلموا بھا i.e. and they disbelieved in them (the Signs) or unjustly rejected them (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:36, 52.
Commentary:
The verse beautifully states that heavenly signs will never cease to appear. It warns Muslims not to entertain such a foolish belief and proceeds to refute and demolish the only possible objection against the appearance of heavenly signs. The objection is: When the people to whom the signs were first shown did not profit by them, where was the warrant that their successors would do so? The arguments given in refutation of this objection are: (a) If the rejection of heavenly signs had been a reasonable ground, no Prophet after the very first Prophet—Adam––would have appeared. But this did not happen and fresh Prophets continued to appear in all ages and fresh signs continued to be shown at their hands, which showed that the rejection of signs never proved a barrier in the way of the appearance of new signs. (b) Prophets are sent in the world in order to warn wrongdoers of their transgressions and iniquities and of the impending Divine punishment in consequence of those iniquities. Any such punishment without a previous warning and without showing signs would be contrary to Divine mercy.
As an illustration of the claim that wrongdoers never go unpunished if they do not repent, special mention has been made of the tribe of Thamud because the Thamud were an Arab tribe and their history was a matter of common knowledge with pagan Arabs as well as with the Jews of Arabia.
b
17:95; 18:56.
1627
Or, the meaning may be: Could the fact that former people rejected the Prophets be the reason that further Signs should not be sent, i.e. it could not be the reason for the withholding of heavenly Signs.
قَالَ هَٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
Important Words:
شرب is infinitive noun from شرب (shariba). شرب الماء means, he drank the water. شرب (shirbun) means, water that one drinks; a draught; a share or portion of water that falls to one’s lot; the use of water for the purpose of watering sown fields or for beasts; turn of drinking; a watering place a time of drinking (Lane & Aqrab).
d
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
a
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
2783
Important Words:
شرب is infinitive noun from شرب (shariba). شرب الماء means, he drank the water. شرب (shirbun) means, water that one drinks; a draught; a share or portion of water that falls to one’s lot; the use of water for the purpose of watering sown fields or for beasts; turn of drinking; a watering place a time of drinking (Lane & Aqrab).
c
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 54:28; 91:14.
إِنَّا مُرْسِلُوا۟ ٱلنَّاقَةِ فِتْنَةً لَّهُمْ فَٱرْتَقِبْهُمْ وَٱصْطَبِرْ
7:74; 11:65; 17:60.
7:74; 11:65; 17:60.
e
7:74; 11:65; 17:60.
a
7:74; 11:65; 17:60; 26:156; 91:14.
4025
Important Words:
اصطبر means, he was patient or constant; he acquired patience; he was tried with patience. It is the intensive form of صبر(Lane & Aqrab).
b
7:74; 11:65; 17:60.
فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقْيَٰهَا
先知撒利 (صَالِح, Salih) 骑上母骆驼四方奔走, 传播安拉的启示。设置障碍阻挡骆驼自由行动就等于设置障碍阻挡撒利本人并使他不能完成安拉委托给他的职责。就某一方面来说, 撒利像每一位安拉的复兴者一样, 是安拉的母骆驼。
The Prophet Salih rode on his she-camel from place to place to preach the Divine Message. Putting obstacles in the way of the camel’s free movements was tantamount to placing impediments in the way of Salih himself and preventing him from discharging the sacred duty entrusted to him by God. In a sense Salih, like every Divine Reformer, was God’s she-camel.
Commentary:
The Prophet Salih kept the she-camel for travels. He rode on it from place to place to preach the Divine Message. Putting obstacles in the way of its free movements was tantamount to placing impediments in the way of Salih himself and preventing him from discharging the sacred duty entrusted to him. In fact, every Divine Reformer is ناقة الله (God’s she-camel).
1707
先知撒利 (صَالِح, Salih) 骑上母骆驼四方奔走, 传播安拉的启示。设置障碍阻挡骆驼自由行动就等于设置障碍阻挡撒利本人并使他不能完成安拉委托给他的职责。就某一方面来说, 撒利像每一位安拉的复兴者一样, 是安拉的母骆驼。
4747
Commentary:
The Prophet Salih kept the she-camel for travels. He rode on it from place to place to preach the Divine Message. Putting obstacles in the way of its free movements was tantamount to placing impediments in the way of Salih himself and preventing him from discharging the sacred duty entrusted to him. In fact, every Divine Reformer is ناقة الله (God’s she-camel).
3361
The Prophet Salih rode on his she-camel from place to place to preach the Divine Message. Putting obstacles in the way of the camel’s free movements was tantamount to placing impediments in the way of Salih himself and preventing him from discharging the sacred duty entrusted to him by God. In a sense Salih, like every Divine Reformer, was God’s she-camel.