An Arabic poem composed on the occasion when the she-camel mentioned in the Quran was created by Allah from a rock
ARABS, like other nations and tribes, preserved their history and remarkable occasions using poems. This article discusses a poem that was composed by an eye witness on the occasion when the famous she-camel mentioned in the Quran was, unprecedentedly, created by Allah from a rock.
It is a common observation throughout the ages that the force and momentum of extraordinary miracles wrought by God’s true Prophets wane with the passage of time. Little wonder there is a growing number of sceptics and naturalists among present-day Muslims who refuse to accept the historical facts about the miraculous creation of a live she-camel from a rock.
Principally for the fact that that extraordinary piece of evidence has not been categorically stated in the Holy Book. On the contrary, the Quran has strongly indicated the great possibility of its occurrence using Arabic words pregnant with meanings called I’ijaz that include Mubsirat (eye-witnessed), Bayyina (an extraordinary clear miracle), Aayat (a mighty divine sign). The sum total of the meanings of these three words is that the creation of the she-camel was not by the natural process of birth, but by some unusual and extraordinary process. If the Quran did not specify it then we have to find out from the history, since it occurred as an eye-witness event.
In effect, the availability of the poem composed some 5,000 years ago in the land of the Thamud serves as irrefutable evidence in support of the history behind the animal that she was indeed created from a rock by Allah.
When matters came to a head between the Thamud and their Prophet Salih, who was sent to them by God, the former challenged him to wrought an impossible miracle as evidence of him having been sent to them by God. If he should succeed in that assignment, then they would believe in him and follow him. They kept the miracle they wanted him to show them, secret to themselves.
Yet a day before the spiritual encounter between him and the Thamud, God revealed to him that secret, which was a she-camel (Quran 54:23-29). In fulfillment of that prophecy, their king, in the presence of the noblemen and the common people, made the following demand when the two parties met on the scheduled day:
“If you are able to bring from this rock a mighty she-camel that has a big-stomach (Batiin), is hairy (Wabraa), is a hybrid of an Arabian and Bactrian camel (Mukhtarja), and 10-month pregnant (Ashra), we will believe in you and follow you.”
A big stomach camel implies an exceptionally big she-camel. The condition of a pregnant she-camel about to deliver was only specified by them in order to make the fulfillment of their demand most impossible to Salih. Thus, apart from the perceived impossibility of creating a live she-camel from a hard rock, they added a second perceived impossibility of the she-camel becoming pregnant by itself without a male.
In the same vein, creating a hybrid she-camel that combines the characteristics of a one-hump Arabian and a two-humped Bactrian she-camel was most difficult and impossible than to create any of the two species, so they thought. You can easily infer from these demands that the Thamud were confirmed naturalists and great disbelievers in God who would never accept anything extraordinary besides the natural order.
Having assured Salih, on whom be peace, of victory in the encounter, Salih then offered two rackats of prayers. No sooner had he finished with the prayers than they heard from the rock the cries of a pregnant she-camel in labour. The rock began to shake till it cracked into two and out of which emerged the she-camel that perfectly conformed in every detail to their description and demand. Moments later, the baby she-camel (Fasil) dropped to the ground from the mother’s womb.
The King and some men from his tribe immediately believed. They in turn invited a cousin of the King called Shihaab to believe, but the chief priests of their idols—numbering three—convinced him not to, and he accepted their advice. On that note, the rest of the Thamud reneged and went back to their former faith.
A believing man who was an eye-witness then composed the following poem to depict what exactly occurred on that unprecedented and remarkable occasion:
- First line of poem: A strong party of men from the king fold of Amr invited Shihaab to the religion of the Prophet (Salih).
- Second line of poem: All the leaders of the Thamud then made up their mind to accept. If only they had accepted the invitation.
- Third line of poem: Salih would have become the leader (Aziz) amongst us. But Zuaab was not fair to his companion.
- Fourth line of poem: Subsequently, the erring men of the Thamud went back to their former faith after their guidance one after another, like the way flies fly away from some food source.
Interpretation of the poem:
The full name of the king was Jund’u Bin Amr Bin Jawaas that has been shortened to Amr in the first line of the poem. Having accepted Salih following the wonderful appearance of the animal from the rock, he and fellow Thamud then extended their invitation to Shihaab Bin Khalifa, a cousin. In the poem (first line) it has been shortened to Shihaab.
In the second line, it is clear that the rest of the leaders of the Thamud, besides the king and family members, also made up their mind to believe in Salih. Third line: If they had believed, then Salih would have won the day and become their leader (Aziz). But then Zu’aab Bin Amr, Khabaab and Rayab, their chief priests, convinced Shihaab and the rest of the Thamud not to. This is what is meant by “But Zu’aab was not fair to his companion (Salih)” in the third line.
In other words, by convincing them not to believe, he deprived Salih, the Prophet, of victory. Fourth line: Is an endorsement of the third line, namely, following their ill advice the rest of the Thamud, one after the other, failed to believe in Salih. The words “after their guidance” means after being guided to the true religion by the wonderful miracle which they saw with their eyes.
In a nutshell, all that the poem is conveying is that the king, some leaders of the Thamud, and some of the common people accepted the claims of Salih based on fulfillment of the miracle. Yet the greater majority failed to accept as a result of the retrogressive intervention by their chief priests. Mentioning the names of the principal personalities present on the occasion makes the poem and history of the coming into existence of the animal more credible.
To this poem we also add the following evidence by the Prophet of Islam on the occasion when the Muslim army reached Al-Hijr, their defunct capital, on their way to Tabuk. He showed them the marks of the footprints on a rock made by the baby she-camel as it struggled to enter into a cave in order to escape from the Thamud. After killing the mother, they tried to kill the baby who managed to escape. This statement of the Prophet, on whom be peace, goes to endorse the history of the animal that after emerging from the rock she delivered a baby she-camel.
Last but not the least, the Companion, Abu Musah Ashari, travelled all the way to Hijr to measure the dimension of the place in the rock from which the animal emerged. He obtained 60-cubic feet, meaning that it was an exceptionally long and huge animal (Al-Thalabi Araa’is Al Majalis).
In short, the history and the poem have vividly described the extraordinary process that occurred that day and which the Quran refers to as eye-witness (Mubsirat).
Conclusion:
The poem composed on the occasion of the spiritual contest between Salih and his opponents contains valuable details that shed further light on the true origin of the she-camel as narrated in the books of history. By joining the edges of the pictures of the rock from which the animal emerged, you get a rough picture of a camel in a sitting posture.
BY KHALID KOFI AHMAD
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