A Quranic Journal

Comment: This concludes the story of Thamud

But they defied the injunction and Uhaimir Thamud, to whom the people had taken an oath of allegiance, hamstrung it. This act of defiance invited the wrath of Allah and the people of Thamud were destroyed

The miraculous she-camel was born, without parent camels, from a rock. The prophet Salih told his people not to stop her from drinking water as there were turns for taking water, for the she-camel and for the people

The most wicked and the most wretched among them, Qidar ibn Salif, hamstrung the she-camel of the prophet Salih. Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported that once in the course of a sermon, the Prophet mentioned the she-camel and its killing and recited these verses

In these verses, Allah says that the people of Thamud, for their arrogance and wickedness, did not believe in the Messenger sent to them

Comment: The key to success is purification of the soul, while corruption of the soul leads to failure

The key to success is the righteous deeds. This is the purification of oneself. It is also said, "Indeed who purifies himself shall achieve success, and who remembers the name of his Lord and prays" (Surah al-Aala ayat 14-15)

This verse means that the evil and the good have been made clear to him, according to Ibn Abbas. Ibn Jarir reported from Abu'l-Aswad, "Imran ibn Husain asked me, 'Tell me if the acts done by people and the trouble they are facing are preordained for them by Allah or if they are doing them out of their own free will, since after the coming of the Messenger of Allah they have no place against Allah.' I said, 'No, it is foreordained for them by Allah.' Imran then said, 'Would it not then be an injustice if they were punished for their deeds?' I shuddered and said, 'The Creator and Master of everything is Allah. No one can question His actions, but He can call anyone to account.' This answer pleased him and he said, 'I asked you the question only to test you.' Then he added, 'Once, a Bedouin Arab asked the Prophet this question, and he gave the same answer you did. When he [the Bedouin] objected, the Prophet said, "One is bound to do deeds that lead him to his foreordained destination. If he is a dweller of Paradise, he will do such acts as will lead him to Paradise; if he is a dweller of Hell, he will do such acts as will lead him to Hell." Then he recited these verses.'"

Then Allah makes an oath upon the nafs or human soul, and says that He created man in perfect proportion and according to its nature. According to a hadith, the Prophet said, "Every man is born in his true nature, then his parents make him a Jew or a Christian. It is in the case of animals, each of their offspring is without a defect and you will not see any of them with a cut-off ear." (Bukhari and Muslim)

After these creations, Allah makes an oath upon the earth as it is spread out