(In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)
Prophet Hud (alaihim assalaam)
Hud was the Prophet sent to the Bani Ad for their reformation. His
lineage genealogy joins with the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him)
and his sons. The Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) belonged to the
Bani Ad. They were the descendants of Sam.
Outstanding Qualities of the Adites:
The Adites quarrelled with the children of Ham and left Babylon.
They peopled a district in southern Arabia contiguous to Umman,
Yaman and Hadramaut. There they built palaces, erected temples and
worshipped deities and stars. The names of their chief deities were
Saqi'ah, Salimah, Raziqah and Hafizun. The people belong to the
Bani Ad were tall in stature and were skilful masons. Allah had
given them abundance of wealth, cattle, children and gardens. They
had attained a considerable degree of civilisation. Among them flourished
the famous king Shaddad. He built a magnificent palace near Adal.
It was known as the Garden of Iram. He was mighty king and his conquests
extended to Syria, 'Iraq and the frontier of sub-continent of Indo-Pakistan.
These people were proud of their achievements and considered themselves
to be invincible. They were indulged in sins and committed acts
of injustice and violence. Instead of expressing a deep sense of
gratitude to the Almighty Allah for the favours He had bestowed
upon them, they became transgressors and showed disobedience to
Him.
The Prophet Hud appears
and Preaches:
The Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) appeared among them for their
guidance. He tried his best to bring them back to the worship of
One God. He directed them to give up evil practices. He advised
them to abstain from committing sins. They paid no heed to the teachings
and warnings of their Prophets. The Holy Qur'an says:
"And to the Ad
We sent their brother Hud. He said: 0' my people! Serve Allah, you
have no god other than Him. Will you not then keep away from evil
and be mindful of your duty to Him. The Chiefs of those who disbelieved
from among his people said: Most surely, we see you in folly and
indeed we think you to be of the liars. He said: O' my people! There
is no folly in me but I am an Apostle of the Lord of the Worlds.
I convey to you the message of my Lord and I am a sincere adviser
to you." (7:65)
The Deluge is Descended:
The people did not listen to him and disobeyed the Commandments
of Allah. For this disobedience the wrath of Allah came down upon
them. A drought of unusual severity and a violent storm nearly annihilated
the majority of the people of the Bani Ad. The Holy Qur'an describes:
"As to the Ad,
they were destroyed by a roaring violent blast which He made to
prevail over them for seven nights and eight days un-intermittingly
so that you mightest have seen the people therein prostrate as if
they were hollow trunks of palm tree." (69:6,7)
This storm had such
a devastating effect as all the proud and disobedient people were
completely destroyed but the Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) and
his followers remained safe and sound. The Holy Qur'an says:
"So We delivered
him and those with him by mercy from Us and We cut off the last
of those who treated Our Signs as lies and were disbelievers"
(7:72)
Afterwards the remnant
who survived established themselves in Yaman. The grave of the Prophet
Hud (peace be upon him) is in Hadramaut. It is visited by the Arabs
in the month of Rajab.
