Animal stories in the Qur’an

God said :

And to Thamud, their brother Salih, he said, “O my people, worship God. You have no god other than Him. Clear proof has come to you from your Lord. This is the she-camel of God as a sign for you.” Leave it to eat in the land of God, but do not touch it with harm, lest a painful punishment overtake you.

Salih, peace be upon him, called on his people, Thamud, to worship God, but they rejected him and mocked him and the religion that he brought. The elders of the people of Thamud asked him to bring out a she-camel for them from one of the rocks near their usual sitting place where he used to call them, and they said to him: We will believe in you if you bring it out for us. From this rock is a she-camel whose description is such-and-such.

So Salih - peace be upon him - remained in his place of prayer, and began to pray to his Lord to grant their request. In order to prove to them the truth of what he had brought to them, God responded to His Prophet and commanded that rock that they had pointed to to break open and bring out the great she-camel, Ash’ara. The she-camel came as the people of Thamud had requested from Salih. When they saw her and were sure that she was in accordance with the characteristics they had requested, a group of them believed in Salih.

Most of them continued to disbelieve, and even increased in arrogance, misguidance, and stubbornness. At the head of those who believed was Junda bin Amr bin Mahalla, and he was one of the notables and rulers of the people.

After that, Saleh - peace be upon him - said to his people: (This is God’s she-camel for you as a sign of the truth of what I have brought to you, so leave her to eat in God’s land and do not touch her with harm), so they agreed with him that the she-camel would remain among them, grazing wherever she wanted, and eating from wherever she wanted. And water comes in day after day,

Provided that they do not want water on those days, they have other days other than the days of the camel, and that camel would drink all the water from the well if it received water.