its wells or to draw water from them. They said, “We have already kneaded our dough with that water and filled our containers.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) therefore commanded them to discard that dough and to pour out the water.
In the ḥadīth of Jābir it is related that, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by al-Ḥijr, he said: “Do not enter upon these people who were punished unless you are weeping; if you are not weeping, then do not enter upon them, lest what afflicted them should befall you.”
Thus the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade entering the places of those who were punished except with tears, fearing that whoever entered might be struck by what struck them. He likewise prohibited making use of their water, to the extent that—despite the Muslims’ severe need during that expedition, which was the hardest they had ever faced—he told them to feed their draught camels with the dough made from that water.
It is also related from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he forbade performing the prayer in places where punishment had descended.
(1) In Sahih al-Bukhari the wording is min biʾriha (“from its well”); MS A reads abiyaraha (“its wells”), while the T edition has abaraha (“its wells”).
(2) See Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Prophets, chapter on the verse “And to Thamud their brother Salih,” hadith nos. 3378–3379 (Fath al-Bari 6:378).
(3) MS B adds the blessing “may Allah be pleased with him,” whereas MS A reads: “and in a hadith from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,” thereby omitting the name Jabir.
(4) This hadith is recorded by both Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn ʿUmar: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Prophets, under the verse “And to Thamud their brother Salih,” hadith no. 3380 (Fath al-Bari 6:378–379); Sahih Muslim, Book of Asceticism, chapter “Do not enter the dwellings of those who wronged themselves unless you are weeping,” hadith no. 2980 (4:2285).
(5) MSS A, B and T add the phrase: “and so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade it.”
(6) The printed edition further adds: “This was the Expedition of Hardship (Ghazwat al-ʿUsrah).”
(7) The printed text has al-nawadij, a misprint; the correct term is al-nawadih, the camels used for drawing water.