Thamud were a famous Arab tribe who came after the people of Prophet Hud that were taken by idol-worship. They were named after their ancestor Thamud who was the brother of Jadis - their father being Athir, son of Iram, son of Shem, son of Noah. The tribe lived between Hijaz and Tabuk. Our Prophet Muhammed ﷺ passed by this area when travelling to Tabuk.
Allah sent a prophet from amongst their community to warn against the Thamud's idolatry - Prophet Saleh. He was the son of Ubaid, son of Maseh, son of Ubaid, son of Hadir, son of Thamud, son of Athir, son of Iram, son of Noah (so you can see that generation by generation the people were overcome by the ways of Satan). Saleh warned his people to abandon their false beliefs and turn to their One Creator, alone. Some of his people took heed of his guidance, accepting the truth whilst the majority rejected him.
And to the people of Thamûd We sent their brother Ṣâliḥ. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah—you have no other god except Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord: this is Allah’s she-camel as a sign to you. So leave her to graze ˹freely˺ on Allah’s land and do not harm her, or else you will be overcome by a painful punishment.7:73
Remember when He made you successors after ’Âd and established you in the land—˹and˺ you built palaces on its plains and carved homes into mountains. So remember Allah’s favours, and do not go about spreading corruption in the land.”7:74
His people were skilled at carving houses out of mountains. He told them to be grateful to Allah for this and not let it be a means for them to be arrogant. He told them to act according to the guidance of Allah, who gave them such skills.
The people of Thamûd rejected the messengers26:141
I am truly a trustworthy messenger to you.26:143
So fear Allah, and obey me.26:144
I do not ask you for any reward for this ˹message˺. My reward is only from the Lord of all worlds.26:145
Do you think you will be ˹forever˺ left secure in what you have here:26:146
amid gardens and springs,26:147
and ˹various˺ crops, and palm trees ˹loaded˺ with tender fruit;26:148
to carve homes in the mountains with great skill?26:149
He reminded his people that it is Allah who created them and allowed them to inhabit earth, providing them with all sorts of blessings of crops and fruit, homes and He is The Provider and Sustainer; so He alone deserves your worship. They should therefore abandon the fabricated ways of their forefathers and root back to the truth of this world.
And to the people of Thamûd We sent their brother Ṣâliḥ. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. He ˹is the One Who˺ produced you from the earth and settled you on it. So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Lord is Ever Near, All-Responsive ˹to prayers˺.”11:61
But his people responded saying they had high hopes for him, they regarded him highly before the coming of the message. They said they were disappointed that he was abandoning their old ways and refuted the idea of worshipping one God. This tells us that whenever one says the truth and it is not what people want to hear, they will belittle the one who spoke the truth or conveyed the Divine message.
They argued, “O Ṣâliḥ! We truly had high hopes in you before this. How dare you forbid us to worship what our forefathers had worshipped? We are certainly in alarming doubt about what you are inviting us to.”11:62
He responded, “O my people! Consider if I stand on a clear proof from my Lord and He has blessed me with a mercy from Him. Who could help me against Allah if I were to disobey Him? You would only contribute to my doom.11:63
From this, Saleh suggested they reconsider and invited them to the way of Allah. To put what he said into other words, he warned his people and asked them what would happen if what he was saying came true. If it was, who would rescue them from Allah, what would their excuse be? He continues that, if he was to do as they said in abandoning the truth, then who would rescue him? He concludes saying that it is Allah alone who can judge between them so they should worship Him and let Him decide the outcome.
