Surah 91:14
Show Full Scripture Context (91:11-15) — 5 Verses
كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُودُ بِطَغۡوَىٰهَآ
Thamūd called (it) a lie by their insolent transgression,
إِذِ ٱنۢبَعَثَ أَشۡقَىٰهَا
when the most miserable (one) of them was raised up,
فَقَالَ لَهُمۡ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقۡيَٰهَا
and the messenger of God said to them, ‘The she-camel of God and her drink!’
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمۡ فَسَوَّىٰهَا
But they called (him) a liar and wounded her. So their Lord covered them over for their sin and leveled it.
وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقۡبَٰهَا
He was not afraid of its outcome.
{When their most wicked went forth.} A strong and mighty man who was invincible among his tribe, like Abu Zam'ah, went forth to her. This Hadith was recorded by Al-Bukhari in his Book of Tafsir, and Muslim in his Book of the Description of the Hellfire. At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasal both recorded it in their Sunans in their Books of Tafsir.
The Story of Salih’s She-Camel
Allah then says, {But the Messenger of Allah said to them} referring to Salih. {That is the she-camel of Allah!} meaning, “beware of touching the she-camel of Allah with any harm.” {and its drink!} meaning, ‘do not transgress against her in her drinking, for she has been allocated a day to drink and you have been allocated a day to drink, as is known to you.’ Then Allah says, {Then they denied him and they killed it.} which means they rejected what he came with. This resulted in them killing the she-camel that Allah had brought out of the rock as a sign for them and a proof against them. {So their Lord destroyed them because of their sin,} meaning, He became angry with them and He annihilated them. {Fasawwaha!} meaning, He made the punishment descend upon them all equally. Qatadah said, “It has reached us that the leader of tribe of Thamud did not kill the she-camel until their youth, their elderly, their males and their females all pledged allegiance to him. So when the people cooperated in killing her, Allah destroyed them all with the same punishment due to their sin.” Allah said, {And He feared not} it has also been recited as {So He feared not} {the consequences thereof.} Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Allah does not fear any consequences from anyone else.” Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Bakr bin ‘Abdullah Al-Muzani and others all said the same.
This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Ash-Shams, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.