Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:65
But they hamstrung her, so he said, "Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. That is a promise not to be denied."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: فَعَقَرُوهَا فَقَالَ تَمَتَّعُوا فِي دَارِكُمْ ثَلاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ (65) (But they hamstrung her. Then he said: Enjoy yourselves in your dwelling place for three more days; this is a promise that is not belied.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted here says: Thamūd hamstrung the she-camel of Allah. In the wording something has been omitted that is left unspoken, because it is clear from the context, namely: "they rejected him" and "they hamstrung her." Then Ṣāliḥ said to them: تَمَتَّعُوا فِي دَارِكُمْ ثَلاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ — that is to say: enjoy your life in the worldly life for three more days. ذَلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ — that is to say: this term which I have set for you is a promise from Allah, by which, after its expiry, destruction and the descent of the punishment upon you are promised. غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ — he who conveyed this to you has not deceived you in it.
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18286. Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words: فَعَقَرُوهَا فَقَالَ تَمَتَّعُوا فِي دَارِكُمْ ثَلاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذَلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ — it has been related to us that Ṣāliḥ, when he informed them that the punishment had come upon them, clothed them in leather, with leather patches and cloaks as shrouds. They were told: its sign is that your complexion will turn yellow on the first day, red on the second day, and black on the third day. It has been related to us that, after they had hamstrung the she-camel, they regretted it and said: "Take care of her calf!" The calf climbed up the Qāra — that is a mountain — and on the third day the calf turned toward the qibla and cried out three times: "O Lord, my mother! O Lord, my mother! O Lord, my mother!" Then the cry (ṣayḥa) was let loose.
Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: If you had climbed the Qāra, you would have seen the bones of the calf. The dwelling places of Thamūd lay in al-Ḥijr, between Syria and Medina.
18287. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: تَمَتَّعُوا فِي دَارِكُمْ ثَلاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ — he said: the remainder of their lifespan.
18288. Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, that Ibn ʿAbbās said: If you had climbed the Qāra, you would have seen the bones of the calf.
