Surah Al-A‘râf 7:73

وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا ۗ

7:73 Thamûd ثَمُودَ were the successors to the culture and civilization of the ‘Âd عَاد. The tribe flourished more than two hundred years after ‘Âd and occupied the territory known as al-Hijr (15:80), or Agra by its Greek name, known also as Wadi-al-Qura, which forms the southern boundary of Syria and the northern of Arabia. In the ninth year of the Hijrah, when the Holy Prophet (pbuh) led his expedition to Tabûk, about 400 miles north of Madînah, against the Roman forces, he and his Companions came across the archaeological remains of the Thamûd. There is a tradition to the effect that some Muslims read a poetic inscription about the Thamûd during the reign of Muawîah. The inscription was rediscovered in 1834 A.D at Hisan al-Ghurab, a place near Aden.

هَـٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْضِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

Prophet Salihصَالِحً moved about with a she-camel for his mission of preaching. While he preached, his she-camel became a symbol of Salih. He told his people that placing obstacles in the way of the free movements of the she-camel or doing harm to her would be tantamount to obstructing the work with which Allâh had entrusted him and that it would invoke the punishment of Allâh. The animal became a symbol of the liberty of movement of Salih, although it was an ordinary she-camel. Neither the Holy Qur’ân nor any saying of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) lends any support to the numerous legends regarding its miraculous appearance and prodigious size. The Nabatean tribe of Thamûd descended from the tribe of ‘Âd and is therefore often referred to in pre-Islamic poetry as the “second ‘Âd”. At the time of which the Holy Qur’ân speaks, the Thamûd were settled in the northern Hijaz near the confines of Syria. Their rock-inscriptions can still be found in the region of the west of Al-Hijr.