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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.
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