(In Surah Al-Hijr) where it is said «كذب أصحاب الحجر‏» "The people of Al-Hijr denied the messengers." Al-Hijr was the city of the people of Thamud, but (in Surah Al-An'am) where «حرث حجر‏» has come, there «حجر‏» means forbidden and prohibited. The Arabs say «حجر محجور» meaning forbidden and prohibited, and they also call «حجر‏» a building, and any land that is enclosed (by a wall or fence). From this, the Hatim of the Ka'bah is called «حجر‏» . «حجر‏» is derived from «محطوم» , «محطوم» means broken. Previously, it was inside the Ka'bah, but it was broken and placed outside, so it began to be called «محطوم» (as in «قتيل» from «مقتول» ), and «مادبان» is also used for a mare. «حجر‏» also means intellect, just as «حجى‏.‏» also means intellect (in Surah Al-Fajr it is «هل في ذالك قسم لذي حجر» ), and «حجر اليمامة» is the name of a place (between Hajjaj and Yemen).

Narrated `Abdullah bin Zam`a: I heard the Prophet while referring to the person who had cut the legs of the she-camel (of the Prophet Salih), saying, "The man who was appointed for doing this job, was a man of honor and power in his nation like Abu Zam`a."