Surah Al-Hijr 15:83

The Destruction of the Dwellers of Al-Hijr, Who are the People called Thamud

The Dwellers of the Al Hijr were the people of Thamud who rejected their Prophet, Salih. Whoever denies even one Messenger, then he has disbelieved in all of the Messengers, thus they are described as rejecting "the Messengers". Allah tells us that he (Salih) brought them signs to prove that what he was telling them was true, such as the she-camel which Allah created for them out of a solid rock in response to the supplication of Salih. This she-camel was grazing on their lands, and the people and the camel took water on alternate days that were well-known. When they rebelled and killed it, he said to them,

تَمَتَّعُواْ فِى دَارِكُمْ ثَلَـثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ

("Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise which will not be belied.") 11:65 Allah said:

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّواْ الْعَمَى عَلَى الْهُدَى

(And as for Thamud, We showed them and made the path of truth clear but they preferred blindness to guidance.) 41:17 Allah tells us that,

وَكَانُواْ يَنْحِتُونَ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا ءَامِنِينَ

(And they used to hew out dwellings from the mountains, (feeling) secure. ) meaning, they were without fear and they had no real need for those houses; it was merely a form of extravagance and work without a purpose. This could be seen from their work in the houses in the Al-Hijr through which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed on his way to Tabuk. He covered his head and urged his camel to go faster, saying to his Companions:

«لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ الْقَوْمِ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونُوا بَاكِينَ، فَإِنَّ لَمْ تَبْكُوا فَتَبَاكُوا خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مَا أَصَابَهُم»

(Do not enter the dwellings of those who were punished unless you are weeping, and if you do not weep then make yourself weep out of fear that perhaps what struck them may also strike you.)

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ مُصْبِحِينَ

(But the Sayhah (torment - awful cry) overtook them in the early morning.) meaning in the morning of the fourth day.

فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ

(And all that they used to earn availed them not.) meaning all of the benefits that they used to gain from their crops and fruits, and the water which they did not want to share with the she-camel that they killed so that it would not reduce their share of the water - all of that wealth would not protect them or help them when the command of their Lord came to pass.

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لآتِيَةٌ فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيلَ

Kaum Samud adalah kaum yang kuat dan perkasa tubuhnya. Mereka memahat gunung-gunung batu untuk dijadikan rumah-rumah mereka, sehingga kota mereka dinamakan "kota al-hijr" yang berarti kota pegunungan batu. Karena kemungkaran, Allah menimpakan kepada mereka azab berupa suara keras yang mengguntur dan menghancurkan mereka semuanya. Azab keras itu datang di waktu pagi pada hari keempat dari hari yang ditetapkan Saleh bagi mereka untuk berpikir. Tetapi mereka tidak mengindahkannya, sehingga mereka terkubur di dalam rumah-rumah mereka yang berupa gua-gua yang dipahat pada gunung-gunung batu itu. Keadaan mereka ini diterangkan Allah dalam firman-Nya yang lain:

Kemudian suara yang mengguntur menimpa orang-orang zalim itu, sehingga mereka mati bergelimpangan di rumahnya. Seolah-olah mereka belum pernah tinggal di tempat itu. Ingatlah, kaum Samud mengingkari Tuhan mereka. Ingatlah, binasalah kaum Samud. (Hud/11: 67-68)

Kaum Samud tidak dapat menghindarkan diri dari azab Allah sedikit pun. Tidak ada faedah keperkasaan tubuh mereka, kemampuan mereka memahat gunung untuk dijadikan rumah yang seakan-akan merupakan benteng yang kokoh, serta harta dan jumlah mereka yang banyak. Semua hancur lebur bersama mereka, seakan-akan negeri itu tidak pernah dihuni manusia.

Tentang kedahsyatan azab yang dialami kaum Samud, tergambar dalam hadis Nabi saw:

Dari Ibnu Umar r.a. bahwasanya Nabi saw telah lewat di kota Hijr dalam perjalanan beliau menuju perang Tabuk, lalu beliau menundukkan kepalanya dan mempercepat perjalanannya seraya berkata kepada para sahabatnya, "Janganlah kamu memasuki rumah-rumah kaum yang diazab (kaum Samud), kecuali kamu akan menangis. Jika kamu tidak menangis, maka hendaklah seakan-akan menangis karena kamu takut akan ditimpa azab nanti sebagaimana mereka telah ditimpa azab dahulu." (Riwayat al-Bukhari)