قَالُوا تَقَاسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ لَنُبَيِّتَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ ...

They said: "Swear one to another by Allah that we shall make a secret night attack on him and his household...''

They took a mutual oath, pledging that during the night, whoever met the Allah's Prophet Salih, peace be upon him, he would assassinate him.

... ثُمَّ لَنَقُولَنَّ لِوَلِيِّهِ مَا شَهِدْنَا مَهْلِكَ أَهْلِهِ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ ﴿٤٩﴾

and thereafter we will surely say to his near relatives: `We witnessed not the destruction of his household, and verily, we are telling the truth.'''

But Allah planned against them and caused their plot to backfire.

Mujahid said,

"They took a mutual oath pledging to kill him, but before they could reach him, they and their people were all destroyed.''

Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Hatim said:

"When they killed the she-camel, Salih said to them:

تَمَتَّعُواْ فِى دَارِكُمْ ثَلَـثَةَ أَيَّامٍ ذلِكَ وَعْدٌ غَيْرُ مَكْذُوبٍ

"Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise (i.e., a threat) that will not be belied.'' (11:65)

They said: `Salih claims that he will finish with us in three days, but we will finish him and his family before the three days are over.'

Salih had a place of worship in a rocky tract in a valley, where he used to pray. So they set out to go to a cave there one night, and said, `When he comes to pray, we will kill him, then we will return. When we have finished him off, we will go to his family and finish them off too.'

Then Allah sent down a rock upon them from the mountains round about; they feared that it would crush them, so they ran into the cave and the rock covered the mouth of the cave while they were inside.

Their people did not know where they were or what had happened to them. So Allah punished some of them here, and some of them there, and He saved Salih and the people who were with him.