—that is, one resembling a Bactrian camel. If you do so, we will believe you and have faith in you.” Salih then took their solemn pledges that, if he did so, they would indeed believe him and have faith in him. They said, “Yes.” So Salih performed a two-unit prayer and called upon his Lord. The rock then heaved as a pregnant she-camel heaves with her young; then the hill shook and split open, revealing a ten-month-pregnant, deep-bellied, hairy she-camel exactly as they had described—so enormous that none but Allah knew the magnitude of what lay between her flanks—as they looked on. Then she gave birth to a young camel as great in size as herself.

Junda‘ ibn ‘Amr and a group from his people believed in him. The leading men of Thamud wished to believe in him and affirm him, but Dhu’ab ibn ‘Amr ibn Labid, al-Hubab, the keeper of their idols, and Rabab ibn Samghar, who was their soothsayer, prevented them. These men were among the chiefs of Thamud.

When the she-camel emerged, Salih said to them, “This is Allah’s she-camel. She has her allotted day of drinking, and you have your allotted day of drinking.” The she-camel and her young remained in the land of Thamud, grazing on the trees and drinking the water. She would come to the water every other day. On her day, she would lower her head into a well in al-Hijr known as the Well of the She-Camel, and would not raise it until she had drunk all the water in it, leaving not a single drop. Then she would raise her head and spread her legs wide for them, and they would milk as much as they wished. They would drink and store it, until they had filled all their vessels. She would then leave by a pass other than the one through which she had entered, for she could not leave by the same route, as it was too narrow for her.

Then, on the following day, it would be their turn; they would drink as much water as they wished and store as much as they wished for the she-camel’s day. Thus, they lived in comfort and ease. During the summer, when the heat was on the upper part of the valley, the she-camel would remain there, and their livestock—their sheep, cattle, and camels—would flee from her and descend to the bottom of the valley, with its heat and drought. During winter, she would remain at the bottom of the valley, and their livestock would flee to [the upper part] (1) of the valley, with its cold and barrenness. This harmed their livestock as a trial and a test. It became a great burden upon them, so they rebelled against their Lord’s command, and this drove them to hamstring the she-camel. They therefore unanimously resolved to hamstring her.

There were two women among Thamud. One was named ‘Unayzah bint Ghanm ibn Mijliz, whose kunyah was Umm Ghanm. She was the wife of Dhu’ab ibn ‘Amr, an elderly old woman with beautiful daughters and wealth in camels, cattle, and sheep. The other was named Suduf bint al-Mahya. She was beautiful and wealthy, with abundant livestock. They were among the most hostile people toward Salih, and they desired that the she-camel be hamstrung because of the harm it had caused them to their livestock (2). So they devised a plan to hamstring the she-camel.

Suduf summoned a man from Thamud named al-Hubab to hamstring the she-camel, offering herself to him if he would do so. But he refused her. She then summoned a cousin of hers named Musadda‘ ibn Muharrij ibn al-Mahya, and offered herself to him on condition that he hamstring the she-camel. She was among the most beautiful and wealthiest of people, so he agreed to it. ‘Unayzah bint Ghanm then summoned Qidar ibn Salif, a short, red-haired, blue-eyed man. They claimed that he was born of a prostitute and was not Salif’s son, though he had been born on Salif’s bed. She said, “I will give you whichever