The Destruction of the Dwellers of Al-Hijr, Who are the People called Thamud

The Dwellers of the Al Hijr were the people of Thamud who rejected their Prophet, Salih. Whoever denies even one Messenger, then he has disbelieved in all of the Messengers, thus they are described as rejecting "the Messengers". Allah tells us that he (Salih) brought them signs to prove that what he was telling them was true, such as the she-camel which Allah created for them out of a solid rock in response to the supplication of Salih. This she-camel was grazing on their lands, and the people and the camel took water on alternate days that were well-known. When they rebelled and killed it, he said to them,

تَمَتَّعُواْ فِى دَارِكُمْ ثَلَـثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ

Commentary

Aikah means a dense forest. There are other views too. Some commentators say that there was a dense forest near Madyan, therefore, Aikah is actually the title of the people of Madyan. Others have said that the people of Aikah and the people of Madyan were two different people. It was after the destruction of one of them that Sayyidna Shu'ayb (علیہ السلام) was sent to the other.