It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by the valley of ‘Usfan during the journey of Hajj, he said: O Abu Bakr! Which valley is this? He said: This is the valley of ‘Usfan. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Hud, peace be upon him, and Salih, peace be upon him, passed by this valley. They were riding red camels, their reins were made of palm fibers, their lower garments were cloaks, their sheets were striped, and they were going to perform Hajj of this ancient House, proclaiming the Talbiyah.

Harith bin Yazid Bakri narrates: He says, I set out towards the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, to complain about Alaa bin Hadrami. When I passed by the place of Rabdhah, I saw an old woman from Banu Tamim there, whose means for travel had been cut off. She said to me, "O servant of Allah! I have a request from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Can you take me to him?" So I took her with me, and we reached Madinah Munawwarah. There I saw that the mosque was full of people, a black flag was waving, and Sayyiduna Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, was standing before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, with a sword hanging. I asked, "What is the matter with the people?" They said, "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, wants to send Sayyiduna Amr bin Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, on a military expedition." So I sat down, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered his house. Then I came to him and sought permission; he granted me permission, so I entered and greeted him with salam. He asked, "Is there any issue between you and Banu Tamim?" I said, "Yes." Then I (Harith) said, "We had dominance over them, and I passed by an old woman from Banu Tamim whose means for travel had been cut off. She requested me to take her to you; now she is at the door." Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, gave her permission, and she came inside. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! If you wish to set a boundary between us and Banu Tamim, then appoint the place of Dahna." Hearing this, the old woman became passionate and spoke so much that she took her full right. Then she said, "O Messenger of Allah! How far will you compel your own Mudar?" Hearing her words, I said, "My example is like the one about whom it was said before: 'The she-goat has carried her own death.' I brought this old woman, not realizing that she would start arguing with me. I seek refuge with Allah and His Messenger from becoming like the envoy of the people of 'Ad." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Yes, tell me, who was the envoy of the people of 'Ad?" The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, knew this better, but now wanted to hear it from him. I said, "The people of 'Ad were afflicted with drought, so they sent an envoy named Qayl. He passed by Muawiyah bin Bakr and stayed with him for a month. He would give him wine to drink, and two slave girls would sing for him; they were called Jaradatan. When a month had passed, the man set out towards the mountains of Tihamah and called out: 'O Allah! Surely You know that I have not come to treat any sick person, nor to free any captive. O Allah! Send down upon the people of 'Ad the same rain that You used to send before.' Then black clouds passed by him, and it was said to him, 'Choose one of these clouds.' He pointed to a black cloud, and it was said to him, 'Take it, for it is destruction with fire; it will not leave anyone from the people of 'Ad.' Then they said, 'It has reached me that such a wind was sent upon them that could pass through my ring, yet even that destroyed them.'" Abu Wa'il says: Harith spoke the truth. For this reason, when any woman or man would send their envoy, they would say, "Do not be like the envoy of the people of 'Ad."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the city of the people of Thamud, Al-Hijr, during the expedition of Tabuk, he said: Do not ask for signs like miracles, as the people of Salih (peace be upon him) asked him about them. (Thus, their demand was fulfilled in the form of the she-camel.) She would come from one path and leave by another, but they rebelled and hamstrung her. She would drink their water in one day, and they would drink her milk on another day, but they hamstrung her. Because of this, a cry overtook them, and Allah Almighty destroyed all of them beneath the lowest layer of the sky, except for one man who was in the sanctuary of Allah. Someone asked: Who was that man, O Messenger of Allah? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He was Abu Righal. When he left the sanctuary, he was afflicted with the same calamity that befell his people.

Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) were companions in the expedition of Dhat al-‘Usheirah. Then he narrated an incident, in which it was also mentioned that both of them slept on the ground, and on that day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) by the nickname“Abu Turab,”because dust was visible on his body. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Shall I not inform you of the two most wretched men?”We said:“O Messenger of Allah! Of course.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The red one of Thamud, who hamstrung the she-camel, and the man who (O Ali!) will strike your head until your (beard) is soaked with blood.”

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zam’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon and mentioned the she-camel and the one who hamstrung her, and said: When the most wretched man of that people stood up… a wicked, evil, chief, and obeyed by his people stood up, like Ibn Zam’ah. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned women and admonished and advised men regarding them… .

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by the valley of ‘Usfan during the journey of Hajj, he said: O Abu Bakr! Which valley is this? He said: This is the valley of ‘Usfan. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Hud (peace be upon him) and Salih (peace be upon him) passed by this valley. They were riding red camels, their reins were made of palm fibers, their lower garments were cloaks, their cloaks were striped, and they were going to perform Hajj of this ancient House, proclaiming the Talbiyah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the year of Tabuk, along with his companions, stopped at the place of Hijr, which was near the houses of Thamud. The people took water from the wells from which the people of Thamud used to drink. They kneaded dough with that water and started cooking meat in the pots. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them, so they poured out the pots and fed the dough to the camels. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from there until he camped near the well from which the she-camel used to drink. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the people from entering the area of the nation upon whom punishment had been sent, and said: I fear that you may be afflicted with the same punishment with which they were afflicted, so do not enter upon them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the stone dwellings, he said: Do not enter the area of the people who wronged themselves, except in a state that you are weeping, lest you be afflicted by the same punishment as them. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) covered himself with his cloak while he was mounted on his ride. In another narration, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you are not in a state of weeping, then do not enter upon them, lest you be afflicted by the same punishment.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Kabsha Anmari (may Allah be pleased with him) that during the journey of the Battle of Tabuk, people hurried towards the dwellings of (Thamud) Hijr and began to enter them. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to know of this, he announced among the people: "As-Salatu Jami‘ah (the prayer is congregational)." He says: When I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while he had stopped his camel and was saying: "Why do you enter upon a people upon whom Allah’s wrath has descended?" A man said: "O Messenger of Allah! We are amazed by them, that is why we go to them." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have I not warned you of a matter more astonishing than this? Among you is a man who informs you of matters that have passed before you and of matters that will happen after you. So remain upright and continue upon the right path, for indeed Allah will not care about your punishment, and soon there will come people who will not be able to avert anything from themselves."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man asked the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "O best among the creation?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "That was my father Ibrahim."