The Thamud were an early Arabian people. Their name is mentioned in Assyrian annals (Thamud) in a Greek temple inscription from the northwest of Hejaz in 169 AD in a 5th-century Byzantine source and in Old North Arabian graffiti around Tayma as well as (arguably) an Eblaite tablet; from these sources, it seems that the Thamud were a tribe living somewhere between Makkah and Tayma. They mentioned in the Qur'an as rejecting their Prophet Saleh and destroyed by God as a result. After the destruction of Ad, the tribe of Thamud succeeded them in power and glory. They also fell to idol worshipping. As their material wealth increased, so as their evil ways while their virtue decreased. Like the people of Ad, they erected huge buildings on the plains and hewed beautiful homes out of the hills. Tyranny and oppression became prevalent as evil men ruled the land.
One of the oldest historical source that indicated to Thamud are the historical records of the King of Babylon Sergio Alakdi II who lived in 715 BC, which indicate that he defeated people of Thamud in one of his military campaigns on the north Arabian Peninsula. Greeks mentioned them the people of Thamud as mentioned by Aristotle and Ptolemy. The period elapsed after the destruction of Thamud estimated 2,800 – 3,000 years.
Although Thamud tribe emerged in Yemen in south Arabian Peninsula, a great part of them fled to the north Arabian Peninsula where they settled in Al-Hijr and Al-Ula until Petra to the south of Jordan.
Some researchers indicate the existence of the effects of Thamud in south Arabian Peninsula. There is still a province in Yemen, Hadramawt that still called “Thamud” bordering the Empty Quarter desert, which indicates that there is a strong relationship between the people Thamud and the people of Ad. In addition to the writings and inscriptions discovered in the south of Arabian Peninsula, which indicates that Thamud had existed there. Qur’an linked between them and the people of Ad where Allah the Almighty, says in Surat Al-Araf: “And remember when He made you successors after Ad and settled you in the land-- you make mansions on its plains and hew out houses in the mountains-- remember therefore Allah's benefits and do not act corruptly in the land, making mischief.” Successors here mean that there were in the same place and the expression “settled you in the land” indicates that Allah enabled and spread them in the vast land, as mentioned in Surat Al-Fajr: “Have you not considered how you’re Lord dealt with Ad, the people of Aram, possessors of lofty buildings. Like of which were not created in other cities. And (with) Thamud who hewed out the rocks in the valley.”
Always in the Qur’an, the mentioning of the people of Noah, Ad and Thamud, is repeated sequentially and successively, which indicates that there is a close link between these nations and they may be serialized i.e. each nation inherited the other or perhaps there was an overlap between their times.
Ad was an ancient Arabian nation mentioned in the Qur'an as being the place where the Prophet Hud was sent to by Allah to guide its people back to the righteous path of believing in Allah. The citizens did not heed his warnings and God destroyed the town in a great storm. An Arab tribe preceded Thamud. It has a Sura in the Qur’an called “Hud”.
History books say that Ad, Thamud, Tsam and Geddis are one of the oldest Arab races and they are known as perished Arabs. After the destruction of the people of the Prophet Noah (PBUH), ‘Ad, the people of Hud (PBUH) emerged and its influence expanded to large areas outside the Arab lands. After their destruction in the Arabian Peninsula, Thamud settled to the North Arabian Peninsula while Geddis settled to the east of the Arabian Peninsula and known today as Najd and Al-Yamamah.
For more information on the expansion of Thamud and to Ad people, refer to historical sources for the Perished Arabs, Interpretations of the Holy Qur’an and explanations of Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) that included some news about Thamud. Thamud story mentioned the Holy Qur’an 26 times and many of these verses linked between Noah, ‘Ad and Thamud in sequence. Surat Hud Verses 66-68 shows how Thamud, the people of Saleh (PBUH) ended where Allah the Almighty says: “So when Our decree came to pass, We delivered Saleh and those who believed with him by mercy from Us and We saved them from the disgrace of that day; surely your Lord is the Strong, the Mighty. And the rumbling overtook those who were unjust, so they became motionless bodies in their abodes, as though they had never dwelt in them; now surely did Thamud disbelieve in their Lord; now surely, away with Thamud.”
Back to Madain Saleh |