Thamud

The Thamūd (/ˈθɑːmʊd/; Arabic: ثـمـود‎‎) is the name of an ancient civilization in the Hejaz known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. The Thamud civilization was located in the north of the peninsula. Although they are thought to have originated in Southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh.

Numerous Thamudic rock writings and pictures have been found on Mount Ath-lab and throughout central Arabia.^[1]

History

The oldest known reference to Thamud is a 715 BC inscription of the Assyrian king Sargon II, which mentions them as being among the people of eastern and central Arabia subjugated by the Assyrians. They were living here much earlier, well before Abraham when we compare the family tree of Prophets, as their Ancestors were Iram and Ars.^[2]

They are referred to as ‘Tamudaei’ in the writings of Aristo of Chios, Ptolemy, and Pliny.^[3]

The Qur’an

Like the ʿĀd, the Qur’an mentions the Thamud in Surah Al-A'raf in the context of several prophets who warned their people of coming judgment. The verses advise Thamud to take warning from the destruction of ʿĀd.

To the Thamud people (We sent) their brother Salih. He said, “O my people! worship Allah: you have no other deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of God sent to you as a Sign. So leave her to eat within God's land, and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.
And remember when He made you successors after ʿAd and settled you in the land, and you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of God and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.”

— Qur'an, Surah 7 (Al-A'raf), ayat 73-74^[4]

This verse suggests some kind of relationship between ʿĀd and Thamud, and ʿĀd may even have been a part of Thamud's history and culture. Just as Nuh's (Noah) people were seen as the ancestors of ʿĀd, it seems ʿĀd were seen in a similar relation to Thamud.

The ʿĀad were a people living in southern Arabia. Some remains of the Thamud were found in the region where the ʿĀd had lived, especially around the region where capital city of the Hadramites, the descendants of ʿĀd, stood.

A bit further on from the passage quoted above, the Qur'an says,

So they hamstrung the she-camel, and were insolent toward the command of their lord and said, “O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers.”
So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home (corpses) fallen prone.

— Qur'an, Surah 7 (Al-A'raf), ayat 77-78^[5]

In Surah Al-Qamar it says “Indeed, we sent upon them one shriek (i.e, blast from the sky), and they became like the dry twig fragments of an (animal) pen.”^[6]

Historians

The historian ‘Ali ibn al-Athir mentions the Thamud in his book The Complete History (Arabic: الـكـامـل في الـتـاريـخ‎‎) (al-Kamil fi at-tarikh) composed ca. 1231.

Ibn Khaldun

Historian and scholar, Ibn Khaldun also mentions the Thamud several times in his universal history al-Kitābu l-ʻibar (Arabic: الـكـتـاب الـعـبـر‎‎) (the Book of the Evidence) written in the late 14th century, but only in passing, seldom giving much information.

This can be illustrated by what happened among the nations. When the royal authority of ʿĀd was wiped out, their brethren, the Thamud, took over. They were succeeded, in turn, by their brethren, the Amalekites. The Amalekites were succeeded by their brethren, the Himyar. The Himyar were succeeded by their brethren, the Tubba's, who belonged to the Himyar. They, likewise, were succeeded, by the Adhwa'.130 Then, the Mudar came to power.

— Muqaddimah ("Introduction"), Chapter II ^[7]

The Yemen, al-Bahrayn, ‘Oman, and the Jazirah have long been in Arab possession, but for thousands of years, the rule of these areas has belonged to different (Arab) nations in succession. They also founded cities and towns (there) and promoted the development of sedentary culture and luxury to the highest degree. Among such nations were the ‘Ad and the Thamud, the Amalekites and the Himyar after them, the Tubba‘s, and the other South Arabian rulers (Adhwa) . There was a long period of royal authority and sedentary culture. The coloring of (sedentary culture) established itself firmly. The crafts became abundant and firmly rooted. They were not wiped out simultaneously with (each ruling) dynasty, as we have stated. They have remained and have always renewed themselves down to this time, and they have become the specialty of that area. Such (special Yemenite) crafts are embroidered fabrics, striped cloth, and finely woven garments and silks.

— Muqaddimah Chapter V ^[8]

Script

A script graphically similar to the Semitic alphabet (called Thamudic) has been found in southern Arabia and up throughout the Hejaz.^[9] The script was first identified in a region in north central Yemen that is known as Thamud, which is bound to the north by the Rub' al Khali, to the south by the Hadhramaut and to the west by Shabwah. The script was named after the place where it was first discovered, not for the people. Inscriptions in Thamudic come mostly from northern Saudi Arabia, but can be found throughout the Arabian peninsula.^[10]

Identity

Very little information is known about the identity or the nationality of Thamud, but they are referred to as Arabs (‘àrabes’) in the records of the Greek Historian Diodorus Siculus.^[11]

The title and description given by Photius to the Thamud indicates that they had a status similar to Qedarites who have been identified as Arabs.^[12]

In 2003, Professor Jan Retsö^[13] in a research in his book The Arabs in Antiquity^[14] concluded that Thamudic people were Arabs.^[12]

Use of the Name

After the disappearance of the original people of Thamud, Robert Hoyland suggested that their name was subsequently adopted by other new groups that inhabited the region of Mada'in Saleh.^[15]

This suggestion is supported by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar and Ibn Kathir who report that people called the region of Thamud Al-Hijr, while they called the province of Mada'in Saleh as Ardh Thamud (Land of Thamud) and Bayt Thamud (house of Thamud).^[16][17] The conclusion that can be taken from the evidences above is that the term ‘Thamud’ was not applied to the groups that lived in Mada'in Saleh, such as Lihyanites and Nabataeans,^[18][19] but rather to the region itself.

According to Classical Arabic sources, it was agreed upon that the only remaining group of the native people of Thamud are the tribe of Banu Thaqif which inhabited the city of Taif south of Mecca.^[20][21][22]

Disappearance

As it was told in the Qur’an how the original people of Thamud were vanished,^[23][24] it is suggested that the story mentioned in the Qur’an can be explained like “they may have been destroyed by one of the many volcanic outbreaks that have formed the far-reaching Arabian lava fields.”^[25]

See also

• Atlantis of the Sands

References

External links

• Media related to Thamud at Wikimedia Commons
• Retsö, Jan (2003). The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. RoutledgeCurzon. 
• The story of the Prophet Salih