Kabar Karim: THE STORY OF THE PROPHET HUD - The Ungodly Ad People and Their Civilization

Ad is one of the oldest people after the people of Noah. They are big and strong people. They live in green grass areas. The Ad is blessed with fertile land complete with good irrigation facilities. Rain falls in each season. Water emanates from all directions that flows and irrigates their agricultural and plantation lands. Therefore, their lands are full of date palms, grapes, and other plants. They also have very large gardens.

Ad people have livestock that can make their lives progress. Thanks to the grace of Allah SWT, Ad people can live prosperously, even they are able to make magnificent and beautiful buildings. The community in its time really paid attention to the construction of houses. They are experts in building castles and other large buildings. They were able to develop rapidly and became the largest and strongest tribe among the other tribes. Ad civilization has been explained in the Holy Qur'an.

Surah Ash-Shu'ara verses 128-129:

أَتَبۡنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ ءَايَةٗ تَعۡبَثُونَ ١٢٨ وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَخۡلُدُونَ ١٢٩

128. Do you construct on every elevation a sign, amusing yourselves,

129. And take for yourselves palaces and fortresses that you might abide eternally?

Surah Ash-Shu'ara verses 133-134:

أَمَدَّكُم بِأَنۡعَٰمٖ وَبَنِينَ ١٣٣ وَجَنَّٰتٖ وَعُيُونٍ ١٣٤

133. Provided you with grazing livestock and children

134. And gardens and springs.

Surah Al-Fajr verses 6-8:

أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ ٦ إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلۡعِمَادِ ٧ ٱلَّتِي لَمۡ يُخۡلَقۡ مِثۡلُهَا فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ ٨

6. Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad -

7. [With] Iram - who had lofty pillars,

8. The likes of whom had never been created in the land?

Humans tend to be negligent indeed. Ad people who have achieved prosperity and luxury become forgetful and always obey their unsatisfied desires. Allah SWT has given many blessings to the Ad people, but the Ad themselves have never felt grateful and worshiped Allah SWT, they worshiped idols themselves. The idol was named Shamud, Shada, and Hira. The Ad felt that the idols that could not do anything were able to provide protection, help, happiness, and refuse reinforcements and evil. They built temples and placed idols in there. According to them every idol has the ability or their respective fields. When a disaster strikes, they come to the idols. Even though it was a big mistake. The idols were made with their own hands and they worshiped too. It is already absurd that humans make "god". However, warnings that reached them were also ignored.

The Ad people was the most ungodly people at that time. They live in the land of Ahqaf, which is north of Hadramaut, between Yemen and Oman. That's where they lived in the dunes with a valley called Mughith. If you look carefully at the satellite map of the Arabian peninsula, you can find a vast desert area on the east side. It is the area of Ar Rub Al Khali which is now an empty area with no plants or water. However, it is indeed different from thousands of years ago. This is the place of residence of the Ad in ancient times which was a fertile and green area. There are archaeologists who discovered the city debris buried in sand. Amazingly, the Qur'an can explain their civilization.

At that time, the Ad people had built a large city called Iram. A city full of palaces and gardens. Shaddad, an idol worshiper, ordered the city to be built, the city as a park.

The Ad likes to commit crime and immorality at that time. They boast of the power God has given them. The teachings of Prophet Idris and Noah were no longer carried out. The arrogance of the Ad people is explained in Surah Fussilat verse 15:

فَأَمَّا عَادٞ فَٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَقَالُواْ مَنۡ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةًۖ أَوَ لَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِي ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَهُمۡ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنۡهُمۡ قُوَّةٗۖ وَكَانُواْ بِ‍َٔايَٰتِنَا يَجۡحَدُونَ ١٥

15. As for 'Aad, they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greater than us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs.

They always thought that it was their gods who had given pleasure, such as fertile land and many livestock. In addition, they oppress weak innocent people and punish people who do not follow their beliefs and habits. They are big but have rock-hard hearts.Therefore, Allah SWT sent one of the Ad's people namely Prophet Hud to re-establish the true teachings of religion. He is a pious person. He has a good heart and loves kindness. This is his asset as an Messenger chosen by God. He invited people to only worship Allah SWT and prevent his people from worshiping idols. He said that idols are just useless stones.

Hud is a brave man who is not afraid to fight evil. He was not afraid of the powerful idol worshipers. It's okay for Ad people to have a giant body, but Prophet Hud has the determination and faith that is far stronger than any falsehood. He only surrenders himself to Allah SWT, the God who gave His creatures, life, and sustenance. And Allah is All-Powerful over all things. Good people believe what Prophet Hud brought, but they are only a little.

Ad arrogance and strength made them not pay attention to what the Prophet Hud said and always taunted him with inappropriate words. But it has become the duty of Prophet Hud to call upon the Ad people to have faith in Allah SWT, to advise them, to remind them that the progress of their nation is a favor from Allah SWT. The Ad's thinking about the existence of gods was only their own imagination which Allah did not teach them. And Prophet Hud kept trying so that the Ad people did not live in disbelief. So based on faith, Ad people are divided into two groups. The first is those who believe in Allah and the last day. The second is those who do not believe in what the Prophet Hud said. Hud had no hope of improving them, because they insisted on living in error.

Surah Al-A'raaf verse 69:

أَوَعَجِبۡتُمۡ أَن جَآءَكُمۡ ذِكۡرٞ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٖ مِّنكُمۡ لِيُنذِرَكُمۡۚ وَٱذۡكُرُوٓاْ إِذۡ جَعَلَكُمۡ خُلَفَآءَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ قَوۡمِ نُوحٖ وَزَادَكُمۡ فِي ٱلۡخَلۡقِ بَصۜۡطَةٗۖ فَٱذۡكُرُوٓاْ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ ٦٩

69. Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. So remember the favors of Allah that you might succeed.

Those who are ungodly are destroyed because of Allah's punishment which begins with a long dry season and is destroyed by very strong winds. So they lost their civilization.

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