The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 157
PT. 12 HŪD CH. 11 63. They said, 'O Ṣāliḥ, thouŠIGAIJE wast among us one in whom we هذَا أَتَتْهُنَا اَنْ نَّعْبُدَ مَا يَعْبُدُ بَاؤُنَا placed our hopes. Dost thou وَإِنَّنَا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُوْنَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? And we are surely in disquieting doubt concerning that to which thou callest us. '1443 countries. It is difficult to say whether the people to whom the above inscription refers lived before the Prophet Ṣāliḥ or after him, for possibly a section of the people of Hūd may have been left behind in southern Arabia. At any rate it is a proven fact of history that these people were part of Thamūd tribe and it was among them or among their brethren who had migrated to the north that Ṣāliḥ was raised. From 7:75 it appears that the Thamud ruled over plains and hills. Again, from 26:148, 149 we learn that their country abounded in springs and gardens wherein grew date-palms of excellent quality and that they also cultivated lands and grew corn. Thus the Quranic account of these people fully corroborated by inscription quoted above. is the Their decline seems to have begun soon after the time of Ṣāliḥ, for only a few centuries after his time their name fails to find mention among conquering and victorious nations. Arabia was invaded by an Assyrian king (722-705 B. C. ) and the name Thamūd is found mentioned among the conquered tribes in an inscription which he caused to be engraved in 1365 memory of his victory. Of the Greek historians, Didorus (80 B. C. ), Pliny (79 B. C. ) and Ptolemy make mention of the Thamūd. When Justinian, the Roman Emperor, invaded Arabia, his army included 300 Thamūd soldiers, but before the advent of Islam this tribe had become altogether extinct. 1443. Commentary: The people of Ṣāliḥ here complain that they had hoped that he, promising and talented as he was, would bring them prosperity and glory; but, quite contrary to their expectations, he was going to ruin them by forbidding them to worship what their fathers worshipped. This threw them into disquieting doubt about the truth of his mission. The above-mentioned expression of opinion by the people of Ṣāliḥ about him was no flattery. He really was the centre of their hopes, as are all Messengers of God who impress their people with their extraordinary talents and great righteousness of conduct from their very childhood, and such was the Holy Prophet of Islam. Abū Bakr, '‘Alī, Zaid and Khadijah all believed in him before they had any knowledge of the details