The She-Camel of God ( ar, نَـاقـة الله) in
Islam was a miraculous female
camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...
sent by
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
to the people of
Thamud
The Thamud ( ar, ثَمُوْد, translit=Ṯamūd) were an ancient Arabian tribe or tribal confederation that occupied the northwestern Arabian peninsula between the late-eighth century BCE, when they are attested in Assyrian sources, and th ...
in
Al-Hijr,
after they demanded a
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
from the
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
Salih
Salih (; ar, صَالِحٌ, Ṣāliḥ, lit=Pious), also spelled Saleh (), is an Arab prophet mentioned in the Quran who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of Muhammad. The story of Salih is linked to th ...
. The narrative and story of the she-camel is recorded in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
.
Quranic mention
Amongst the many narrations in the Quran, one historical story deals with the people of Thamud, who lived after the people of
ʿĀd
ʿĀd ( ar, عَادٌ, ') is an ancient tribe mentioned frequently in the Qurʾān.
The tribe's members, referred to as ʿĀdites, formed a prosperous nation until they were destroyed in a violent storm. According to Islamic tradition, the s ...
in
pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia ( ar, شبه الجزيرة العربية قبل الإسلام) refers to the Arabian Peninsula before the emergence of Islam in 610 CE.
Some of the settled communities developed into distinctive civilizations. Information ...
. As the people of the community were heavily indulgent in
idolatry, besides other issues, God sent the prophet and
oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The wor ...
Saleh to warn them of the impending doom that they would face if they did not mend their fraudulent ways.
[ Quran 91:11-15]
See also
*
Animals in Islam
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...
*
Arabian Peninsula
*
Dromedary
The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus '' Camelus'', with one hump on its back.
It is the tallest of the three species o ...
*
Hejaz
*
List of characters and names mentioned in the Quran
This is a list of things mentioned in the Quran. This list makes use of ISO 233 for the Romanization of Arabic words.
Supernatural
* Allāh (" God")
** Names and attributes of Allah found in the Quran
Angels
'' Malāʾikah'' (, Angels):
* ...
References
{{Characters and names in the Quran
Individual camels
Islamic legendary creatures
Islamic miracles
Quranic figures