What did Ibn Kathir say about Prophet Ṣāliḥ and Thamūd?
Thamūd, the people of Ṣāliḥ, asked for a miraculous she-camel — and then hamstrung it. Ibn Kathir tells the story with the classical detail of the tafsir tradition.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
Ibn Kathir relates that Thamūd, the people of Ṣāliḥ, demanded a miraculous sign, so Allah brought forth a she-camel as a clear sign. Ṣāliḥ told them, "This is the she-camel of Allah," attributing it to Allah Himself, but they wronged and hamstrung it. In his Stories of the Prophets, drawing on Surah an-Naml, he recounts how Allah sent Thamūd their brother Ṣāliḥ, and how their defiance brought their destruction.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Ghazali, and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"day, similar to the she-camel of Salih providing milk. Allah then instructed Jesus to limit"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"And he said, And we sent the Thamud the she-camel as a clear sign, but they wronged it."
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"Salih, peace be upon him, said to them, This is the she-camel of Allah, attributing it"
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"says in Surah an-Naml. And we certainly sent to Thamud, their brother Salih, saying,"
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"Salih Salih peace be upon him for a sign Allah brought forth a she camel from the"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"So Salih recited, Every time they wish to get away from it, they will be forced back into it. The man fell dead."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"Among them also is Shaykh Imam al-Salih Abdulrahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abdulrahman al-Najidi."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"refused to help with my burdens when my she-camel fell, and denied my servant water when thirsty."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"she-camel and was offered 300 dinars for it. He asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"support the truth. As for the conditions of the deniers, such as the people of Ad and Thamud and"
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