64 Preface وَيا قَومِ هٰذِهِ ناقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُم آيَةً فَذَروها تَأكُل في أَرضِ اللَّهِ وَلا تَمَسّوها بِسوءٍ فَيَأخُذَكُم عَذابٌ قَريبٌYusuf Ali“And O my people! This she-camel of God is a symbol to you:1 leave her to feed on God’s (free) earth, and inflict no harm on her, or a swift penalty will seize you!”Ṣālih does not merely take up a negative attitude, he puts forward the shecamel as a Symbol: see n. 1044 to 8:73. “Give up your selfish monopoly. Make God’s gifts on this free earth available to all. Give the poor their rights, including grazing rights on common lands. Show your penitence and your new attitude by leaving this she-camel to graze freely. She is a Symbol, and therefore sacred to you.” But their only reply was to defy the appeal and hamstring the camel. And so they went the way of all sinners?###to total perdition.