It is related that the people of Ṣāliḥ lived exceedingly long lives. They would build their houses of sun-dried brick, yet the dwellings would collapse before a single inhabitant had died, so they resorted to carving homes for themselves in the mountains.
They also recount that when Ṣāliḥ—peace be upon him—was asked for a sign, Allah caused the she-camel to emerge for them out of a rock. Ṣāliḥ charged them to treat both her and the calf within her womb well, and he warned them of Allah’s wrath should they harm her. He foretold that they would in fact hamstring her and that this would bring about their ruin, and he even described the man who would do it: red-skinned, blue-eyed, and light-haired. Consequently they sent midwives throughout the land to kill any newborn exhibiting those features. They continued in that way for a long age; one generation passed away and another rose in its place.
In one of those periods a leading chieftain arranged for his son to marry the daughter of another man of equal rank. From that union was born the slayer of the she-camel—Qudār ibn Sālif. Because of the social standing of his parents and grandparents, the midwives could not kill him. He grew with unusual speed, maturing in a single week as others did in a month, until he emerged as an acknowledged leader among them. His soul prompted him to hamstring the she-camel, and eight other nobles followed him—those nine being the very ones who later sought to kill Ṣāliḥ, peace be upon him.
When the deed was done and the news reached Ṣāliḥ, he came to them weeping for her. They met him apologizing, saying, “This was not done with the consent of our elders; it was only these young men who acted.” It is said that he instructed them to bring back her calf so they might honor it in compensation. They pursued it, but the calf climbed a mountain; as they climbed after it, the mountain rose until even birds could not reach it, and the calf wept until its tears flowed.
Ṣāliḥ then faced his people and prayed three times. After that he proclaimed, “Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days; that is a promise that will not be denied” (Hūd 65). He told them that the next morning their faces would turn yellow, on the second day red, and on the third day black. When the fourth day dawned, a single Cry—containing the sound of every thunderbolt—overtook them, leaving them lifeless in their own dwellings.
Some elements of this narrative merit examination and differ from the apparent sense of the Qur’an concerning their story, as we have pointed out earlier. Allah knows best what is correct.