{He said, 'This is a she-camel; she has a share of water, and you have a share of water on a known day'} [Qur'an 26:155]. She would drink the water one day, and they would drink it the next. When it was her day to drink, she would consume all their water, and when it was their day to drink, it was for them, their livestock, and their land. The reason for their slaughtering her was that she was harmful to their livestock; whenever the livestock saw her, they would flee from her. During the summer, the she-camel would spend the season on the highlands of the valley where it was cool and fertile, while their livestock would descend into the lowlands of the valley where it was barren.
﴿قَالَ هَذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَهَا شِرْبٌ وَلكم شرب يَوْم مَعْلُوم﴾ كَانَتْ تَشْرَبُ الْمَاءَ يَوْمًا وَيَشْرَبُونَهُ يَوْمًا؛ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ شِرْبِهَا شَرِبَتْ مَاءَهُمْ كُلَّهُ، وَإِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ شِرْبِهِمْ كَانَ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمَوَاشِيهِمْ وَأَرْضِهِمْ، وَكَانَ سَبَبُ عَقْرِهِمْ إِيَّاهَا: كَانَتْ تَضُرُّ بِمَوَاشِيهِمْ كَانَتِ الْمَوَاشِي إِذَا رَأَتْهَا هَرَبَتْ مِنْهَا؛ فَإِذَا كَانَ الصَّيْفُ صَافَتِ النَّاقَةُ بِظَهْرِ الْوَادِي فِي بَرْدِهِ وَخَصْبِهِ، وَهَبَطَتْ مَوَاشِيهِمْ إِلَى بَطْنِ الْوَادِي فِي جَدْبِهِ