“And remember when He made you successors after ‘Aad and settled you in the land: you build palaces on its plains and carve homes out of the mountains. So remember Allah’s blessings, and do not spread corruption throughout the land.” (74)

The eminent ones among his people who were arrogant said to those deemed weak—to those among them who believed—“Do you know that Salih has been sent by his Lord?” They replied, “We believe in that with which he has been sent.” (75)

His saying, Most High: “And to Thamud We sent their brother Salih.” Thamud was the son of ‘Abir, son of Iram, son of Shem, son of Noah; what is meant here, however, is the tribe.

Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’ said: “They were called Thamud because of the scarcity of their water; thamd means a small amount of water.” Their dwellings were at al-Hijr, between the Hijaz and Syria, extending to Wadi al-Qura. “Their brother Salih” means: We sent to Thamud their brother in lineage, not in religion, Salih—Salih son of ‘Ubayd, son of Asif, son of Mashih, son of ‘Ubayd, son of Khadir, son of Thamud. “He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him. A clear proof has come to you from your Lord’”—that is, evidence from your Lord proving my truthfulness. “This she-camel of Allah”: He attributed her to Himself as an attribution of honor and distinction, just as one says, “the House of Allah.” “As a sign for you” is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier. “So leave her to graze”—that is, upon the grass—“in Allah’s land, and do not harm her”: do not subject her to hamstringing, “lest a painful punishment seize you.”

“And remember when He made you successors after ‘Aad and settled you”: that is, He gave you dwellings and established you. “In the land, you build palaces on its plains and carve homes out of the mountains.” They would hollow out houses in the mountains; thus, in summer they lived in houses of clay, and in winter in mountain dwellings. It was also said that they carved houses into the mountains because houses of clay would not endure for the span of their lives, owing to their long lifespans. “So remember Allah’s blessings, and do not spread corruption throughout the land.” ‘Ayth is the most severe form of corruption.

“The eminent ones”: Ibn ‘Amir recited it with the conjunction, “and the eminent ones said.” “Those who were arrogant among his people” means the nobles and leaders who considered themselves too great to believe in Salih. “To those deemed weak” means the followers, “to those among them who believed”