102. That is, we cannot believe you to be a Messenger from God because you are just like us and we see no distinction in you. However, if you are true in your claim that God has appointed you as His Messenger, you should present such a clear miracle as should make us believe that you have really been sent by the Creator and Master of the universe.
103. From the context it appears that it was not a common she-camel, but it was brought about in a supernatural manner because it was presented in response to the demand for a miracle. Prophet Salih (peace be upon him) could not have produced before the people an ordinary she-camel as a proof of his Prophethood because that would not have satisfied them. At other places in the Quran it has been clearly referred to as a miracle. In Surahs Al-Aaraf and Houd it has been said: Here is Allah’s she camel, a sign for you. (Surahs Al-Aaraf, Ayat 73). In Surah Bani Israil the same thing has been stated more emphatically: And nothing has hindered Us from sending signs except that the former people refused to acknowledge them as such. (For example) We sent the she-camel as an open sign to Thamud but they treated her with cruelty; whereas We send signs only by way of warning. (verse 59). Moreover, the challenge given to the wicked people of Thamud, after presenting the she-camel before them, was such that it could only be given after presenting a miracle.
104. That is, one day the she-camel will drink water all alone at your wells and springs, and one day you and your animals will take water, and this arrangement will not be violated in any way. There could hardly be a greater challenge for the people of Arabia, for taking of water had been the foremost cause of feuds and fights among them, which mostly resulted in bloodshed, even loss of life. As such, the challenge given by Prophet Salih (peace be upon him) was indeed a challenge to the whole nation, which could not be acceptable unless the people were sure that the challenger had a great power at his back. But Prophet Salih (peace be upon him) threw this challenge all by himself without any worldly power behind him, and the whole nation not only received it quietly, but also abided by it submissively for quite some days.
In Surahs Al-Aaraf and Houd there is an addition to this: Here is Allah’s she-camel, a sign for you. So let her graze at will in Allah’s land, and do not touch her with an evil intention. (Surah Houd, Ayat 64). That is, the challenge was not only this that the she-camel would drink water all alone every alternate day, but, in addition, she would freely move about and graze at will in their fields and gardens and palm groves and pastures and was not to be touched with an evil intention.
105. This does not mean that as soon as they heard the challenge, they attacked the she-camel at once and hamstrung her. Actually, when the she-camel became a problem for the whole nation, the hearts of the people were filled with rage, and they began to hold lengthy consultations as to how to get rid of her. At last, a haughty chief undertook the task of putting an end to her, as mentioned in Surah Ash-Shams thus: When arose the most villainous of the people (verse 12), and in Surah Al-Qamar thus: They appealed to their companion; so he took up the responsibility and hamstrung her. (verse 29).
106. As stated at other places in the Quran, when the shecamel was killed, Prophet Salih (peace be upon him) declared: You have only three more days to enjoy yourselves in your houses. (Surah Houd, Ayat 65). When this time limit came to an end, a shocking explosion took place in the night at about dawn, followed by a violent earthquake, which destroyed the whole nation completely. In the morning their dead bodies lay scattered here and there like dry pieces of bush trampled down by animals around an enclosure. Neither their stony castles nor their rock-hewn caves could protect them against the calamity. We sent against them a single blast and they became as the trampled twigs of the fence of a fold-builder. (Surah Al- Qamar, Ayat 31). Consequently a shocking catastrophe overtook them and they lay lifeless in their dwellings. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 78). At last a violent blast overtook them with the approach of the morning, and all that they had achieved proved of no avail to them. (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 83, 84).