Page 316 - Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

Allah's Miracles in the Qur'an

The people of Thamud are a tribe mentioned in the Qur'an about
whom a substantial amount is known. Historical sources confirm that

a people known as the Thamud existed many years ago. It is believed
that the people of al-Hijr referred to in the Qur'an are actually the same
people as Thamud, because another name for Thamud is "Ashaab al-
Hijr." That being the case, the word "Thamud" may be the name of a
people and al-Hijr one of the cities they founded. In fact, this is exactly
what is suggested by the descriptions of the Greek geographer Pliny,
who wrote that Thamud lived in places called Domotha and Hegra, the
present-day city of Hijr. 250
The oldest known historical source to refer to Thamud are the
Babylonian state records. They relate the details of the victory of King
Sargon II of Babylon over that people in the 8th century B.C. Sargon
defeated them in a war in Northern Arabia. The Greeks also mention
this people and Aristotle, Ptolemy and Pliny refer to them as the
"Thamudaei" i.e. "Thamud." 251 All trace of them vanished before the
time of our Prophet (saas) in around 400-600. (See Harun Yahya,
Perished Nations, Ta-Ha Publishers, UK, 2001; Global Publishing,
Istanbul, 2002)
Today, one can see the finest examples of these peoples' stonework

in the ancient city of Petra, in southwest Jordan. Indeed, the Qur'an
refers to their expertise in stonework thus:
[Salih said to his people,] "Remember when He appointed you succes-
sors to 'Ad and settled you in the land. You built palaces on its plains
and carved out houses from the mountains. Remember Allah's blessings
and do not go about the earth, corrupting it." (Qur'an, 7:74)

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