Al-Hijr is named as the homeland of the people of Thamud; Surat al-Hijr takes its name from 15:80: "And the people of al-Hijr denied the messengers." The Quran relates that Thamud carved secure homes out of the mountains (15:82; al-A'raf 7:74) and were destroyed after defying the prophet Salih.
In Islamic tradition al-Hijr is identified with Mada'in Salih (today al-Hijr / Hegra) in north-western Arabia, between Medina and Tabuk. Its striking rock-cut tombs were largely made by the Nabataeans between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, so researchers stress that the visible monuments belong to a later period than Thamud.
In 2008 Hegra became Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.