Saleh

Saleh (/ˈsɑːlə/) or Salih (/ˈsɑːli/; Arabic: صالح‎ Ṣāliḥ, meaning "Pious") was a prophet of ancient Arabia mentioned in the Qur'an, who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud. He is mentioned nine times throughout the Qur'an and his people are frequently referenced as a wicked community who, because of their sins, were ultimately destroyed. Saleh is sometimes equated with Salah, a figure from the Hebrew Bible, although the two have little in common save for their names. The preaching and prophecy of Saleh is linked to the famous Islamic story of the She-Camel, which was the gift given by God to the people of Thamud when they desired a miracle to confirm the truth of the message Saleh was preaching.

Historical context

Thamud people are believed to have been the successors to the ancient tribe of ʿĀd. Their ancestral descendant may have been Eber, the great-grandson of Noah and their location is likely to have been in the Northwest corner of Arabia, between Madinah and Syria. In later Islamic history, when Muhammad led his expedition to Tabuk against the Romans, on a reported Roman invasion from Syria, the prophet and his companions walked past the land of Thamud. With the advance of material civilization, the people of Thamud became materialistic and arrogant as well as godless. Thus, God sent the prophet and seer Saleh, to warn them about the impending doom they would face if they did not mend their sinful ways.

Saleh (name)

Saleh, Salih, Sahlay or Çalih and other variants (Arabic: صالح‎‎, [sˤɑːleħ] or [sˤɑːlɪħ]) is a male given name of Arabic origin.

Given name

Surname

See also

Salih (crater)

Salih is a small crater near the sub-Saturnian point of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Salih was first discovered in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. It is located at 6.5° South Latitude, 0° West Longitude (IAU-defined longitude is 5° West Longitude) and is 4 kilometers across. Available images of this crater have too low resolution to determine anything about the geology of this crater.

Salih is named after the brother of Julnar in Arabian Nights.

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