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"Do
ye wonder that there hath come to you a message from your Lord through a man of
your own people, to warn you? Call in remembrance that He made you inheritors
after the people of Noah, and gave you a stature tall among the nations, Call
in remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from God that so ye may
prosper."
(S: 7,V: 69)
These
people initially inhabited Yemen and then migrated towards Syria and Egypt and
occupied the Land of Ahqaf This area lied in the north of Hazr Mom and in its
east was Oman. Ahqaf in Arabic are the sand dunes. Now this area, which was
once a green land, has now turned into a desert and when the wind blows the
sands shifts from one place to another and forms dunes.
This
desert is about one thousand feet below the northern rugged terrain of Hazr
Mout: this desert has many white patches and anything dropped in that powdery
sand drowns and disappears. Once a researcher dropped his pendulum in the sand
in minutes and when he withdrew it he couldn’t retrieve it because the rope
that held the pendulum was eaten away in sand.
People
of Ad, with their large physiques and muscular built were stout and strong. God
had given them physical strength and they were prosperous because of the
fertile land. They were very good builders of buildings and monuments. They
were expert in constructing colossal structures with pillars. People of this
generation, with over seventy tribes, were the founders of the most ancient
civilization of the world and ruled the large area of southeast Arabia. When
they captured Egypt, Shadad; son of Ad was their king.
“Did ye not see, how did thy Lord
dealt with the people of Ad Eram, who built lofty buildings?"
(S: 89,V: 5-7)
After
the drowning of the people of Noah, these people were made the rulers on the
earth but they had not learnt their lesson from the destruction of the people
before them and strayed from the right path and became idol worshippers. They
had many gods after the names of the stars. Abundance of God’s favors had
misled them. Their hearts had hardened and their superstitions had obstructed
them from the right thinking. Satan had made them oblivious of God and they
had, built various gods for themselves and they worshipped them for their
various needs like health, sustenance, children and rain etc. They had separate
god for each need. They also worshipped the gods of the people of Noah. They
had fallen into such vices that life for weak and powerless people had become
very difficult. And, when the darkness of ignorance and transgression
overpowered them, God sent Hud for their guidance.
To
Ad ‘ the people (We sent) Hud, one of their (own) brethren: He said: O my
people! Worship God ye have no other god but Him, will ye not fear Him?"
(3; 7 V; 65)
Hud
was blessed with prophetic abilities from the very childhood. He expressed
aversion from idolatry, opposed the oppressors and helped the oppressed.
Humbleness and courtesy were his virtuous traits. He used to seek seclusion and
go out of the town to ponder and deliberate upon the signs scattered in the
universe. When his concentration developed and his conscious gradually
developed the ability of understanding the Unseen, Gabriel visited him and told
him that God had appointed him His Messenger.
Mention
Hud one of 'Ad’s own brethren: Behold, he warned his people about the winding
Sand-tracts: but there have been warners before him and after him:
"Worship ye none other than God. Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a
Mighty Day."
(S: 46,V: 2)
Hud
said to people; God, except whom no one is worthy of worshipping, has sent me
to you so that I could lead you towards the right path. So fear God and follow
me. How these idols, which you carve from wood and stones, could be your
rulers. How can the moon and the stars, which are duty bound to follow the
course appointed for them by God, govern your affairs. You have gone astray and
misled by Satan. You have no logical excuse for this infidelity. God has blessed
you with physical and mental abilities, so be grateful to God. And, if you did
not quit the high-headedness and show off and did not express gratitude for His
favors, then bear this in mind that he is strict in inflicting penalty.
People
of Hud expressing their surprise said, “Have you come to us to forbid
worshipping those whom our fathers have been worshipping since ages?”
He
said: "Punishment and wrath have already come upon you from your Lord:
dispute ye with me over names which ye have devised ye and your fathers,
without authority from God, then wait: I am amongst you, also waiting.”
(S:
7, V: 71)
Chiefs
of his people refused to listen to him and said; “We think you are trying to
mislead us by accusing our gods falsely and threatening us of penalties. We
will not quit following the path of our ancestors and you are true in your
words, let us see the wrath of your God.”
Hud
attempted to convince them by reasoning and said; “I am the prophet of God,
appointed to deliver the message of God. I am your well-wisher and you can
trust me. Why do you feel strange that God has appointed one of your own
people? If you think that I want some sort of reward from you for myself, then
that is not correct. I do not expect anything from you, my reward rests with
Him who has created me.”
His
people refused to listen to him and shunned him.
They
said: "It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among our
admonishers! This is no other than a customary device of the ancients. And, we
are not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties!"
(S: 26,V: I36-l38)
Hud
invited them to think of the blessings of God bestowed upon them and said:
“Think
of Him who gave all that you wanted, He gave you the cattle, children,
orchards, farms and the springs of water and you, instead of having gratitude
for Him, are joining such partners to Him that have no power to do good or harm
you. You spend all your energy and ability in amassing wealth and construct
these lofty structures of pillars just to show off and you have made all this
the purpose of your life and in spite of having all these you do not have any
peace of mind only because you consider this material world is everything for
you.”
When
his people did not pay any heed to his teachings and continued misusing the
favors of God, the nature turned its face on them, the water table dropped,
spring dried, wells too, dried up and the green pastures turned into deserted
fields. Famine raged for three years upon them.
Hud
advised them to repent for their misdeeds and ask the forgiveness of the Lord
God, His mercy would prevail upon you.
"And
O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance: He
will send you the skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your
strength: so turn ye not back in sin!”
(S: 11,V: 52)
They
said: "O Hud! No Clear Sign that hast thou brought us, and we are not the
ones to desert our gods on thy word! Nor shall we believe in thee!”
And,
his people transgressed beyond the limit; they refused to quit worshipping their
false gods and rejected Hud. Hud knew that God has also abandoned them and they
would not come to his terms and now they would be punished. So he warned them
and said, “ I have fulfilled my duty by delivering His Message to you and you
are still insisting upon your misconduct. Remember my Lord has all the power to
destroy you and replace you with other people.” But, his people did not listen
to him.
The
’Ad people too rejected Truth: then how terrible was My Penalty and My Warning?
For We sent against them a furious wind, on a Day of violent Disaster, plucking
out men as if they were roots of palm-trees torn up from the ground.
(S: 54,V: 18-20)
God’s
wrath appeared before them in the form of dark clouds. When they saw those
clouds they jubilated thinking that it would rain and the land would be once
again green as before. But it happened otherwise; the gusts of cold winds took
the form of a ferocious tornado, which demolished all their lofty buildings and
tore their structures as if they were made of paper and threw them into the air
like the cotton balls.
`The violent
whirlwinds blew extinction upon the great palaces. Roofs of the houses
were flying in the air; walls along with the foundations collapsed and their
debris were carried into the air by the windy gusts. Blustery winds were
busy in erasing all their signs. Whirlwinds picked up the bodies of those
disobedient people into the air and hit them mercilessly onto the ground
repeatedly, till their flesh left their bones; painful agony filled them up to
their bone marrows and they died a painful death. Their stout and strong bodies
were crushed to pieces.
And
the ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind, exceedingly violent; He made it
rage against them seven nights and eight days in succession: so that thou
couldst see the (whole) people lying prostrate in its path, as they had been
roots of hollow palm-trees tumbled down! Then see thou any of them left
surviving?
(S: 69,V: 6-8)
And
they were pursued by a Curse in this life, and on the Day of Judgment. Ah!
Behold! For the 'Ad rejected their Lord and Cherisher! Ah! Behold! Removed from
sight were 'Ad the people of Hud!
(S: 11,V: 60)
To
the 'Ad people, We sent Hua', one of their (own) brethren: He said: O my
people! Worship God, ye have no other god but Him will ye not fear God?”
The
leaders of the Unbelievers among his people said. “Ah! We see thou art an
imbecile!” and ”We think thou art a liar!" He said: "O my people! I
am no imbecile, but (I am) an apostle from the Lord and Cherisher of the
worlds!“ I but fulfill towards you the duties of my Lord's mission: I am to you
a sincere and trustworthy adviser. "Do ye wonder that there hath come to
you a message from your Lord through a man of your own people, to warn you?
Call in remembrance that He made you inheritors after the people of Noah, and
gave you a stature tall among the nations. Call in remembrance the benefits ye
have received from God that so ye may prosper.” They said: ”Comest thou to us,
that we may worship God alone, and give up the cult of our fathers? Bring us
what thou threaten us with, if so be that thou tell the truth!”
He
said: ”Punishment and wrath have already come upon you from your Lord: dispute
ye with me over names which ye have devised ye and your fathers, without
authority from God, then wait: I am amongst you, also waiting."
We
saved him and those who adhered to him. By Our mercy, and We cut off the roots
of those who rejected Our signs and did not believe.
(S: 7, V: 65-72)
To
the ’Ad People We sent Hud, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my
people! Worship God, ye have no other god but Him. Your other gods, ye do
nothing but invent! 0 my people! I ask of you no reward for this Message. My
reward is from none but Him who created me: Will ye not then understand? And, 0
my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance: He will
send you the skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your strength.‘
so turn ye not back in sin!"
They said:
"O Hud! No Clear Sign that hast thou brought us, and we are not the ones
to desert our gods on thy word! Nor shall we believe in thee! We say nothing
but that perhaps some of our gods may have seized thee with imbecility."
He said: "I call God to witness, and do ye bear witness, that I am free
from the sin of ascribing, to Him, Other gods as partners! So scheme your worst
against me, all of you, and give me no respite. I put my trust in God, my Lord
and your Lora’! There is not a moving creature, but He hath grasp of its
forelock. Verily, it is my Lord that is on a straight Path. If ye turn away, I
at least have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you. My Lord will
make another people to succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. For
my Lord hath care and watch over all things."
So
when Our decree issued, We saved Hud and those who believed with him, by
special Grace from Ourselves: We saved them from a severe penalty.
Such
were the ’Ad People: they rejected the Signs of their Lord and Cherisher;
disobeyed His apostles; and followed the command of every powerful, obstinate
'transgressor. And, they WW6 pursued by a Curse in this life, and on the Day of
Judgment. All.’ Behold! For the ’Ad rejected their Lord and Cherisher!
Ah! Behold! Removed from sight were ’Ad the people of Hud!
(S: 11,V: 50-60)
And
We sent to them an apostle from among themselves saying, "Worship God, ye
have no other god but Him. Will ye not fear Him?" And the chiefs of his
people, who disbelieved and denied the Meeting in the Hereafter, and on whom We
had bestowed the good things of this life, said. "He is no more than a man
like yourselves, he eats of that of which ye eat, and drinks of what ye drink.
If ye obey a ma‘ like yourselves, behold, it is certain ye will be lost. Does
he promise that when ye die and become dust and bones, ye shall be brought
forth again? Far, very far is that which ye are promised! There is nothing but
our life in this world! We shall die and we live! But we shall never be raised
up again! He is only a man who invents a lie against God, but we are not the
ones to believe in him!"
The
prophet said: ”O my Lord! Help me.‘ for that they accuse me of falsehood.”
God
said: ”In but a little while, they are sure to be sorry!” Then the Blast
overtook them with justice, and We made them as rubbish of dead leaves floating
on the stream of Time! So away with the people who do wrong!
(S: 23,V: 32-41)
Behold,
their brother Hud said to them." ”Will ye not fear God? I am to you an
apostle worthy of all trust: So fear God and obey me. No reward do I ask of you
for it: my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds. Do ye build a landmark
on every high place to amuse yourselves? And do ye get for yourselves fine
buildings in the hope of living therein for ever? And, when ye exert your
strong hand, do ye do it like men of absolute power? Now fear God, and obey me.
Yea, fear Him Who has bestowed on you freely all that ye know. Freely has He
bestowed on you cattle and sons, and Gardens and springs. Truly I fear for you
the Penalty of a Great Day.”
They said:
"It is the same to us whether thou admonish us or be not among our
admonishers! This is no other than customary device of the ancients, and we are
not the ones to receive Pains and Penalties! ”
So
they rejected him, and We destroyed them. Verily in this is a Sign: but most of
them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most
Merciful.
(S: 26.V: 124-141)
Mention
Hud one of 'Ad’s own brethren: Behold, he warned his people about the winding
Sand-tracts: but there have been warners before him and after him.‘
"Worship ye none other than God. Truly I fear for you the Penalty of a
Mighty Day. "
They
said: "Hast thou come in order to turn us aside from our gods? Then bring
upon us the calamity with which thou dost threaten us, thou art telling the
truth?”
He
said: ”The Knowledge, of when it will come, is only with God. I proclaim to you
the mission on whom I have been sent: But I see that ye are a people in
ignorance.
Then,
when they saw the Penalty in the shape of a cloud traversing the sky, coming to
meet their valleys they said, "This cloud will give us rain.
”Nay,
it is the Calamity, ye were asking to be hastened.’ A wind wherein is a
Grievous Penalty.’ Everything will it destroy by the command of its Lord!” Then
by the morning they - nothing was to be seen but the ruins of their houses!
Thus do We recompense those given to sin.’ And We had firmly established them
in a prosperity and power which We have not given to you and We had endowed
them with faculties of hearing, seeing, heart and intellect: but of no profit
to them were their faculties of hearing, sight, and heart and intellect, when
they went on rejecting the Signs of God, and they were completely encircled by
that which they used to mock at!
(S: 46,V: 21-26)
And
in the ’Ad (people) (was another Sign): Behold. We sent against them the
devastating Wind: It left nothing whatever that it Came up against, but reduced
it to ruin and rottenness.
(S:
51,V: 41-42)
The
’Ad people too rejected Truth: then how terrible was My Penalty and My Warning?
For We sent against them a furious wind, On a Day of violent Disaster, plucking
out men as if they were roots of palm-trees torn up from the ground. Yea, how
terrible was My Penalty and My Warning!
(S: 54,V: 18-21)
And
the 'Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind, exceedingly violent; He made it
rage against them seven nights and eight days in succession: so that thou
couldst see the whole people lying prostrate in its path, as they had been
roots of hollow palm trees tumbled down! Then see thou any of them left
surviving?
(S: 69, V: 6-8)
Seest
thou not how thy Lord dealt with the 'Ad people, of the city of Eram, with
lofty pillars, the like of which were not produced in (all) the land?
(S: 89,V: 6-8)
Shadad
had built his paradise in Hud’s times. Tremendous military power expansion of
the empire and abundance of resources went into Shadad’s head and became
haughty. He had a throne on whose both sides, two vultures spreading their
wings, were erected. His throne was embedded with precious stones and metals.
When
the news of Hud‘s preaching reached him he summoned Hud to his court and asked
him in front of his courtiers that if he would embrace the belief that Hud was
talking about, how would it benefit him? Hud said, “Your sins would be blotted
out and God will grant you Paradise where you would enjoy His blessings.”
“How
does the Paradise that you are talking about, looks like?” he wanted to know.
When
Hud described the Paradise and gave him the details of its blissful atmosphere,
he said, “Well we can built this Paradise with which you are tempting us, for
ourselves now and here then why should we go after the one which is not
certain. I do not require the Paradise of your Lord.”
And
to prove what he had said, he ordered to build a grand garden with those things
in it, which he had heard from Hud about Paradise using the resources that God
had given him.
It
is said that that garden was built between Sanaa and Hazr Mom and was spread
over an area equal to a large city, which had grand buildings. Canals, gardens,
springs and fountains. He named it Bram. When that ‘paradise’ completed, Shadad
came to see it with all his courtiers, chiefs and captains. At that time the
sky clouded and the inflicted calamity killed them all before they could enter
that paradise.
According
to one of the legends, Shadad prayed to God, “You know I am not a god and it
only befits Thou to be God, but I have claimed to be a god. You have blessed me
with everything, I beseech Thee to accede to my submission and give me death,
the way I suggest.” And, he suggested that he should die when he was not
standing, not sitting, not riding, not under the roof, not when he was on the
earth, not when he was lying... in short he mentioned every possible situation
in which one can die. God acceded to his request. When he was about to enter
the paradise that he had got built, the horse on which he was riding, halted
and refused to enter the paradise. When every effort to control the horse
failed, his courtiers suggested him to get down the steed. When he was
descending, his one foot was in the griddle and the other was in the hands of
his servant, Angel of Death seized his soul.
After
taking away his soul, the Angel of Death submitted to God, “Lord, what if Thou
had given Shadad only this much respite that he had looked at his paradise just
for once?”
God
asked the Angel of Death, "Do you know who he was? Look towards the
earth!”
He
saw that the pirates were slaying people of a ship, when (rod had told him to
put an infant on a wooden board and leave it in the ocean. Then God said. “This
was the Child that grew up to claim to be a god and built this paradise. We
protected him, provided him resources made him a king and he, instead of
' expressing his gratitude, claimed to be a god!”
We
do not have authority about the truth of this legend but it does hint God’s
grace. How did an infant survive on a wooden board in the middle of an ocean
how did he grew up how did he manage to become a king and how did he raised an
army of men‘?
A
helpless child whom God saved from every peril of the ocean and land and gave
him the strength and wisdom to become a king claimed to be a god and remaining
within the kingdom of God and then he rebelled against God and earned himself
punishment.
Twister
Tornado is a huge whirlwind or a cyclone in which winds circulate at a speed of
three hundred miles per hour and it moves with a speed of up to fifty miles per
hour. This is such a powerful storm that it blows away the tops of the houses
and building, it is so powerful that it can even rip away the structures of
concrete. Anything coming in its way is flown into the air and is thrown miles away.
Large animals like buffalos, cows, camels and elephants can be seen flying in a
tornado. Pebbles and stones circulating in a tornado with the winds are the
reason of destruction for anything hit by them. Usually rains follow these
stormy whirlwinds that converts the dust into mud. Sometimes they accompany
thunders and lightening with them.
Force
of lightening in a tornado is so severe and intense that anything hit by these
lightening is smashed and crumbles to ashes. It has been estimated‘ that in a tornado
this lightening flashes fifty to hundred times in an hour. Most of the
flashes occur within the clouds and flash for few seconds. Larger flash lasts
up to eight seconds and its thickness is of the size of a finger with miles of
length. An average tornado is as powerful as ten atomic bombs could be and it
contains so much electricity, which can meet the needs for one year.
One
lightening flash in tornado has a current of three thousand Amperes and its
flow creates heat of sixty thousand Fahrenheit degrees. With such tremendous
temperature the speed of circulating winds become supersonic. On one side of
the area where people of Ad inhabited, adjoins with Yemen and Hazr Moul and on
its back side is the desert of Raba al Zalli. European Researchers found many
meteors in this area. It is thought it was winter season when punishment of God
was inflicted upon them. And, a large meteor with many small ones hit the earth
near the inhabitation of Ad, which initially created an earthquake. Clouds of
dust rose, people sleeping in there homes got out in the open after feeling the
tremors of the quake.
When meteors enter the atmosphere of
the earth, its speed under the gravitation pull of the earth, increases and,
the friction resulting from its contact with air, heats it up and it starts
burning. Smaller meteors burn to ashes in the air but the larger ones hit the
ground with a bang while they are still burning. This collision produces
tremors like earthquake. These meteor may take many days to cool off according
to their size and mass. When, because of the heat of burning meteor, the air
around it becomes hot and rises above, the atmosphere pressure in that area
suddenly drops due to the vacuum so produces and the air from all sides rushes
to fill the gap.
Since, in the case of Ad people, it
had happened in the winter, therefore winds thus generated were cold. A meteor
normally takes a week to cool off; therefore the winds there blew for seven
days and eight nights. People of Ad were physically large, stout and strong but
the ferocious wind killed them in the air and smashed them into ground and
their bones scattered all over the area.
Then the Blast took-over them with
justice, and We made them rubbish of dead floating on the steam of Time! So
away with the people who do wrong! (S:
23, V: 41)
When we contemplate upon the
attributes of God like wisdom, prudence, grace, power, authority and mercy,
they become a source of insight and vision. God almighty is the Creator and
Lord of the entire universe. He has established the system of life and death in
such a manner that from the tiniest particle to the largest celestial body
nothing can escape His control. Every existence and creature is indigent to
Him. He creates and provides resources to survive.
From the very first day of one’s
creation in the womb of mother till one’s birth, and after the birth in
infancy, childhood, youth, old age, till death, it is he who bestows life,
protects it, ignores ones flaws and weaknesses and forgives the sins. Bur first
he offers them a chance to correct them and sends his tempts them with glad
tidings if they would do well. But, when they exceed the limit in their
transgression and do not refrain from infidelity and joining partners to him,
He issues warnings of painful consequence through His messengers. And, if even
then they reject to believe, He enforces His word and it is not difficult for
him to erase and blot out any number of people, if they refuse to adjust
themselves in His system.
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