Perished nations in Quran
Razed to the ground: A horrible sandstorm annihilated the people of 'Ad as if they had "never existed". A considerably light sandstorm in Iraq. Picture: De Vallrigamer
Friday, May 16, 2008
'AD IS among the people frequently mentione-d in the Holy Quran, as examples of stuborness in denying the Truth. They were perished by their own acts and decisions.
'Ad is mentioned after the people of Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him.
Being sent to 'Ad, Prophet Hud, peace be upon him, summoned his people, just like all the other prophets had done, to believe in Allâh without ascribing partners to Him and to obey him, the prophet of that time.
The people reacted to Prophet Hud with animosity. They accused him of imprudence, untruthfulness, and attempting to change the system their ancestors had established.
In surah Hud, all that passed between Prophet Hud and his people is told in detail (translation of the Quran, surah Hud: 50-60):
"And to 'Ad (people We sent) their brother Hûd. He said, 'O my people! Worship Allâh! You have no other Ilâh (God) but Him. Certainly, you do nothing but invent (lies)! O my people I ask of you no reward for it (the Message). My reward is only from Him, Who created me. Will you not then understand? And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh).
"They said: 'O Hûd! No evidence have you brought us, and we shall not leave our gods for your (mere) saying! And we are not believers in you.'
"All that we say is that some of our gods (false deities) have seized you with evil (madness)." He said: 'I call Allâh to witness and bear you witness that I am free from that which you ascribe as partners in worship, --With Him (Allâh). So plot against me, all of you, and give me no respite.
"I put my trust in Allâh, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).
"So if you turn away, still I have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you. My Lord will make another people succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. Surely, my Lord is Guardian over all things."
"And when Our Commandment came, We saved Hûd and those who believed with him by a Mercy from Us, and We saved them from a severe torment.
"Such were 'Ad (people). They rejected the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers, and followed the command of every proud obstinate (oppressor of the truth, from their leaders).
"And they were pursued by a curse in this world and (so they will be) on the Day of Resurrection. No doubt! Verily, 'Ad disbelieved in their Lord. So away with 'Ad, the people of Hûd."
The people who showed animosity to Prophet Hud and rebelled against Allâh, were indeed destroyed. A horrible sandstorm annihilated Ad as if they had "never existed".
The most important evidence showing that 'Ad were buried by a sand storm, is the word "ahqaf" used in the Quran to signify the location of 'Ad. Ahqaf means "sand dunes" in Arabic and it is the plural form of the word "hiqf" which means a "sand dune".
The destruction that befell 'Ad from a sandstorm must have annihilated the entire people in a very short time, people who were until then living by cultivating fertile lands and building dams and irrigation channels for themselves.
All of the fertile and cultivated fields, irrigation canals and dams of the community living there were covered by sand, and the whole city and its inhabitants were buried alive under the sand. After the people were destroyed, desert spread there in time and covered them leaving no trace.
The excavations made in Ubar where the remains of a city was recovered from under a layer of sand metres thick. In this region, it is very well known that a catastrophic sand storm can cause a huge amount of sand to accumulate in a very short time. This can happen suddenly, and in a very unexpected way. Through later research, the remains of these people have been recovered from the sands.
What one should do in looking at those remains buried in the sands, is to take warning just as the Quran stresses. The Quran states that 'Ad went astray of the right path because of their arrogance and said: "Who is superior to us in strength?".
In the rest of the verse, it is said: "What! did they not see that Allâh, Who created them, was superior to them in strength?" (surah Fussilat: 15)
The unchangeable fact all the time is: the greatest and the most honoured is always Allâh. One can only prosper by adoring, worshipping and obeying Allâh.
Harun Yahya International
'Ad is mentioned after the people of Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him.
Being sent to 'Ad, Prophet Hud, peace be upon him, summoned his people, just like all the other prophets had done, to believe in Allâh without ascribing partners to Him and to obey him, the prophet of that time.
The people reacted to Prophet Hud with animosity. They accused him of imprudence, untruthfulness, and attempting to change the system their ancestors had established.
In surah Hud, all that passed between Prophet Hud and his people is told in detail (translation of the Quran, surah Hud: 50-60):
"And to 'Ad (people We sent) their brother Hûd. He said, 'O my people! Worship Allâh! You have no other Ilâh (God) but Him. Certainly, you do nothing but invent (lies)! O my people I ask of you no reward for it (the Message). My reward is only from Him, Who created me. Will you not then understand? And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh).
"They said: 'O Hûd! No evidence have you brought us, and we shall not leave our gods for your (mere) saying! And we are not believers in you.'
"All that we say is that some of our gods (false deities) have seized you with evil (madness)." He said: 'I call Allâh to witness and bear you witness that I am free from that which you ascribe as partners in worship, --With Him (Allâh). So plot against me, all of you, and give me no respite.
"I put my trust in Allâh, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).
"So if you turn away, still I have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you. My Lord will make another people succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. Surely, my Lord is Guardian over all things."
"And when Our Commandment came, We saved Hûd and those who believed with him by a Mercy from Us, and We saved them from a severe torment.
"Such were 'Ad (people). They rejected the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers, and followed the command of every proud obstinate (oppressor of the truth, from their leaders).
"And they were pursued by a curse in this world and (so they will be) on the Day of Resurrection. No doubt! Verily, 'Ad disbelieved in their Lord. So away with 'Ad, the people of Hûd."
The people who showed animosity to Prophet Hud and rebelled against Allâh, were indeed destroyed. A horrible sandstorm annihilated Ad as if they had "never existed".
The most important evidence showing that 'Ad were buried by a sand storm, is the word "ahqaf" used in the Quran to signify the location of 'Ad. Ahqaf means "sand dunes" in Arabic and it is the plural form of the word "hiqf" which means a "sand dune".
The destruction that befell 'Ad from a sandstorm must have annihilated the entire people in a very short time, people who were until then living by cultivating fertile lands and building dams and irrigation channels for themselves.
All of the fertile and cultivated fields, irrigation canals and dams of the community living there were covered by sand, and the whole city and its inhabitants were buried alive under the sand. After the people were destroyed, desert spread there in time and covered them leaving no trace.
The excavations made in Ubar where the remains of a city was recovered from under a layer of sand metres thick. In this region, it is very well known that a catastrophic sand storm can cause a huge amount of sand to accumulate in a very short time. This can happen suddenly, and in a very unexpected way. Through later research, the remains of these people have been recovered from the sands.
What one should do in looking at those remains buried in the sands, is to take warning just as the Quran stresses. The Quran states that 'Ad went astray of the right path because of their arrogance and said: "Who is superior to us in strength?".
In the rest of the verse, it is said: "What! did they not see that Allâh, Who created them, was superior to them in strength?" (surah Fussilat: 15)
The unchangeable fact all the time is: the greatest and the most honoured is always Allâh. One can only prosper by adoring, worshipping and obeying Allâh.
Harun Yahya International
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