Saleh
An imagining of Saleh inviting his people to see the She-Camel, from an illuminated manuscript version of Stories of the Prophets.
Prophet, Seer, Apostle to Thamud
Born	Thamud
Honored in	Islam Bahá'í Faith[1]
Major shrine	Nabi Salih
Influenced	Many Muslim saints

This article is part of a series on:
Islam
Beliefs Oneness of God Prophets · Revealed books Angels · Predestination Day of Resurrection
Practices Profession of faith · Prayer Fasting · Alms · Pilgrimage
Texts & laws Quran · Sunnah · Hadith Fiqh · Sharia · Kalam
History & leaders Timeline · Muhammad Ahl al-Bayt · Sahaba Rashidun · Imamate Caliphate · Spread of Islam
Denominations Sunni · Shia Sufi · Ibadi · Ahmadiyya · Quraniyoon · NOI · Liberal
Culture & society Academics · Animals · Art Calendar · Children Dawah · Demographics Festivals · Mosques Philosophy · Politics Science · Women
See also Other religions · Glossary Islam portal This box: view talk edit

Saleh or Șāliḥ (Arabic: صالح‎; meaning Pious) was an Arabic prophet of ancient Arabia mentioned in the Qur'an, who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud.^[2][3] He is mentioned nine times throughout the Qur'an and his people are frequently referenced as a wicked community who, because of their sins, were ultimately destroyed.^[4] Saleh is sometimes equated with the Shelah of the Hebrew Bible, however there is almost nothing in common between the Qur'anic narrative of Saleh and the Biblical narrative of Shelah. The preaching and prophecy of Saleh is linked to the famous Islamic story of the She-Camel, which was the gift given by God to the people of Thamud when they desired a miracle to confirm the truth of the message Saleh was preaching. Chronologically, scholars believe Saleh's prophesying to have been post-Antediluvian^{[clarification needed]} but pre-Abrahamic.

Historical context[link]

Thamud people are believed to have been the successors to the ancient tribe of ʿĀd. Their ancestral descendant may have been Eber, the great-grandson of Noah^[5] and their location is likely to have been in the Northwest corner of Arabia, between Madinah and Syria. In later Islamic history, when Muhammad led his expedition to Tabuk against the Romans, on a reported Roman invasion from Syria, the prophet - and his companions - came across the remains of Thamud. With the advance of material civilization, the people of Thamud became materialistic and arrogant as well as godless. Thus, God sent the prophet and seer Saleh, to warn them about the impending doom they would face if they did not mend their sinful ways.

Thamud cannot be equated with the Edomites at Petra. Salih was born before Abraham and the Edomites were a Semitic race. Historic Petra had several places of worship, and the main mountain at the site - Jebel al-Madhbah - is topped by two stone obelisks, suggesting the worship of deities via stone phallic symbols. The narrow gorge leading to the site - known as the Siq - can sometimes channel the wind to produce a loud trumpet-like sound, and it is known by local Bedouin as the trumpet of God. The Edomite occupants of Petra were, however, not obliterated, but instead just migrated to the Negev; neither were the subsequent Nabataean occupants of Petra destroyed by divine command, but instead were weakened by the Roman Emperor, Trajan, and reduced to mere peasants. The name of Saleh may originate in the name of the city, as it was historically known as Sela, a word deriving from the Hebrew term Se'lah, meaning rock; the Greek name Petra has the same meaning.

The prophet Saleh is not mentioned in any other Abrahamic scripture or contemporary historical text, and his account is only found in the Qur'an. However, the account of Thamud's destruction was well-known in Pre-Islamic Arabia and among the Arabic tribes and their poets that they mentioned them (and the people of ʿĀd) in some of their poetry, as a moral lesson and a bad end. Arab Jews knew about the stories of Thamūd and ʿĀd from the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, but mostly as an Arabian tradition, and not as a matter of belief and faith, because they were not mentioned in the Jewish sources, nor in the contemporary Roman or Christian ones. Prophet Saleh has remained as one of the lesser-known prophets and the story about Thamud is not as well known as the stories about Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities that have faced the wrath of God.

Narrative[link]

Saleh's life in his community had been so righteous that the people of Thamud virtually relied upon him for support.^[6] In fact, he might have been chosen as their leader or king if he had too followed their idolatrous ways. But Saleh was chosen by God as a prophet and he was born for a higher mission - to preach against the selfishness of the wealthy and to condemn the practice of idolatry. Although Saleh preached the message for a sustained period of time, the people for Thamud refused to hear his warning and instead began to ask Saleh to obtain a miracle for them.

Saleh kept telling his people to look around them and remember the numerous miracles God had bestowed upon them. In monologues of preaching, Saleh reminded his people of the countless castles and palaces they built,^[7] and of their technological superiority over neighboring communities. Furthermore, he told them about their ancestors - the ʿĀd tribe - and how they too were destroyed for their sins. As usually happened in such events, the poor and needy were the steadfast believers from the community^[8] and the suppressive were the rich and arrogant townsfolk. As Saleh took the side of the underprivileged, the chieftains of the tribe reviled the prophet and mocked his words.

Although Saleh had told his people about God's mercy, they argued and demanded that he obtain a miracle. This showed a weakness on the part of Thamud people, and represents in them a childish reliance on visual miracles rather than spiritual faith. Thus, God gave Thamud tribe a she-camel, to provide them with sustenance, as both a blessing and a test. Pasture was considered a free gift of God, and this camel would be a trial to see if the arrogant and greedy would let the camel graze peacefully or whether they would slay her.^[9] The rich and wealthy, instead of accepting the test of God, hamstrung the innocent she-camel and gruesomely slew her.

The people of Thamud had three more days for further repentance to God.^[10] But in the next three days, the people of Saleh asked for no repentance. Thus, a terrible earthquake came by night^[11] on the third day, preceded by a mighty blast in the sky. The explosion stuck their community and, in a matter of minutes, the people were buried in the ruins of their own homes.^[12] While the majority of the people perished, Saleh and the believers were saved, being just and righteous people. Saleh left them lamenting over the destruction of his people for their sinning against God.^[13]

See also[link]

• Thamud
• She-Camel of God
• Biblical narratives and the Qur'an
• Legends and the Qur'an
• Prophets of Islam
• Stories of The Prophets

References[link]

External links[link]

• prophets (a.s.) - when & where : While this page presents some non-accurate information, including the dates and revealed books, the majority of information regarding the prophets is correct.

Nabi Saleh
Born	Nabi Saleh Iran
Residence	Australia
Education	Masters degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
Occupation	Chief Executive Officer
Employer	Gloria Jean's Coffees
Known for	Tea & Coffee Industry
Term	1996 - Present
Successor	Incumbent
Religion	Pentecostal
Spouse	Angela
Children	Nicole, Danielle

Nabi Saleh (born ?) is an Australian businessman and commodities trader, known for his role for founding Gloria Jean's Coffees. He also currently serves as an elder of the Hillsong Church.^[1]

Biography[link]

Saleh was born on the same day of the same year as Gloria Jean's co-owner Peter Irvine.^[2] He was born in Iran and grew up in various countries including India. His family background in involved in the tea business (from his mother's side). He is married to Angela with daughters Nicole and Danielle, both of whom also work for Gloria Jean's.^[3] He holds a masters degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics^[2] from ?

Saleh followed his wife-to-be Angela to Australia in 1973. Lacking local work experience, he went to Papua New Guinea to help establish tea plantations^[2] with Australian New Guinea (ANG) Holdings. He oversaw the marketing and manufacturing of tea and coffee in Papua New Guinea and continues to consult with the Australian and PNG governments.^[4]

From 1978, Saleh developed Asco, a medium-sized coffee company from revenues of $250,000 to $15 million. Asco was then acquired by Burns Philp.^[4] He then started Columbia Coffee and Tea^[4] in 1983, Tea and Coffee Traders in 1986, and in 1989 established Maranatha Import Exports, representing ConAgra Foods in Australia.^[2] Maranatha supplied supermarket chains Woolworths, Coles, Franklins and David's Holdings.^[3]

Saleh also worked for Traveland International, where he was responsible for the procurement of hotel rooms on a worldwide basis.

In 1995, he started Gloria Jeans.^[3] In 1996, he formed Jireh International Pty Ltd, which now holds the global rights to Gloria Jeans franchising.^[5]

• Buys direct from growers, pays a fair price, supports Rainforest Alliance because he believes all companies should be socially minded for the benefit of humanity.^[6]
• traded commodities (coffee, tea and cocoa)^[2]
• grows own coffee trees in backyard^[2]

Saleh became a Christian in 1978 at a Kenneth Copeland convention,^[2] is a Pentecostal Christan,^[4] and is a board member of Hillsong Church.

Gloria Jean's history[link]

• offered master franchise for Australia in 1993^[6]
• 1995 had a dream which led to the vision, mission and values of the company; bought the master franchise for Australia^[6]
• November 1996 - opened first two stores (Miranda & East Gardens); losing money, ineffective model (china and crockery oriented)^[6]
• Changed model over next 18 months^[6]
• in 2000 bought the NZ franchise
• in 2004/2005 bought global brand
• now in more than 50 nations with 30 operational
• Original founder was Gloria Jean Kvetko (hairdresser but passionate about coffee)^[6]
• built it to just under 150 stores and sold to Brothers Gourmet Coffee for $40M^[6]
• Saleh's wife Angela and daughter, Nicole, own equal shares in Tea & Coffee Traders, which owns 50% of Jireh (the owner of Gloria Jean's).

Other leadership roles[link]

• Director of Southern Cross College of the AOG
• Director of Jerry Savelle Ministries International
• Director of Kenneth Copeland Ministries Eagle Mountain International Church
• Gourmet Foods Australia
• Petra Gourmet Coffee
• Brothers Gourmet Coffees
• Maranatha Import Export (which sells private-label coffee to supermarkets)
• Director of Tea & Coffee Traders

External links[link]

• The coffee kings; Sunday, 24 April 2005; http://businesssunday.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=47402

References[link]