THE PROPHET HUD (peace be upon him)
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.
Copied from 'THE ISLAMIC SCHOLAR'