Editing Thamud (section)

===Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry===
Thamud is mentioned in [[pre-Islamic Arabic poetry]]. Though they may have survived as late as the fourth century CE, they are already referred to by the poets as a long-lost tribe. For the poets, the name of Thamud was an attestation of the transience of all things.{{sfn|Hoyland|2001|p=224}} One poem attributed to [[Imru' al-Qais]] observes and compares a site of massacre to the peoples of Thamud.{{Sfn|Mackintosh-Smith|2019|p=29}}

Another poem, attributed to [[Umayya ibn Abi as-Salt]], a contemporary of [[Muhammad]], describes the story of the camel and Thamud. In Umayya's account, there is no Salih. Instead, the camel is killed by a certain "accursed Aḥmar", and the camel's foal stands upon a rock and curses Thamud, leading to the tribe's annihilation except for a single lame woman who is spared to spread the message of the destruction.{{sfn|Sinai|2011|p=407}} The authenticity of the poem is disputed.{{sfn|Sinai|2011|pp=407–410}}