اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْد عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
The torment of the people of Aa’d
After the people of Aa’d ignored the divine invitation of the prophet Hood and called the promise of torment a repetitive and false statement and explicitly told him: سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَوَعَظْتَ أَمْ لَمْ تَكُنْ مِنَ الْوَاعِظِينَ؛ إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا خُلُقُ الْأَوَّلِينَ؛ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ They said, ‘It is the same to us whether you exhort us or not. These are nothing but the traditions of the ancients; and we will not be punished.’ (Sho’ara: 136 – 138), So God willed that the punishment of the people of Aa’d to happen:
كَذَّبَتْ عَادٌ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ؛ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحاً صَرْصَراً فِي يَوْمِ نَحْسٍ مُسْتَمِرٍّ؛ تَنْزِعُ النَّاسَ كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ مُنْقَعِرٍ
[The people of] ‘Ad impugned [their apostle]. So how were My punishment and warnings? Indeed We unleashed upon them an icy gale on an incessantly ill-fated day, knocking down people as if they were trunks of uprooted palm trees. (Ghamar: 18 – 20)
The storm, which was the divine torment of the people of Aa’d, prevailed over the people for seven nights and eight days and completely destroyed them:
وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ؛ سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُوماً فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ؛ فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُمْ مِنْ بَاقِيَةٍ؟
And as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a fierce icy gale, which He clamped on them for seven gruelling nights and eight days, so that you could see the people there lying about prostrate as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees. So do you see any remaining trace of them? (Haghe: 6 – 8)
The holy Qur’an speaks of this severe divine punishment in various chapters, and emphasizes its greatness:
وَفِي عَادٍ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّيحَ الْعَقِيمَ؛ مَا تَذَرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيمِ؛
And in ‘Ad when We unleashed upon them a barren wind. It left nothing that it came upon without making it like decayed bones. (Zariyat: 41 – 42)
He also points to the more severe punishment for the people of Aa’d in the hereafter and says:
فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحاً صَرْصَراً فِي أَيَّامٍ نَحِسَاتٍ لِنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا، وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَخْزَى وَهُمْ لَا يُنْصَرُونَ.
so We unleashed upon them an icy gale during ill-fated days, in order that We might make them taste a humiliating punishment in the life of the world. Yet the punishment of the Hereafter will be surely more disgraceful, and they will not be helped. (Fosselat: 16)
The fate of Hood and his believers among the people of Aa’d
The report that the holy Qur’an narrates about the fate of the prophet Hood and the people of Aa’d who believed in him, considering the greatness of the divine punishment inflicted on the Aa’d people, shows the special divine care for that divine prophet and the believers in him. The holy Qur’an speaks of this miraculous destiny in different verses and chapters with different expressions:
فَأَنْجَيْنَاهُ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَّا وَقَطَعْنَا دَابِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَمَا كَانُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ؛
Then We delivered him and those who were with him by a mercy from Us, and We rooted out those who denied Our signs and were not faithful. (A’raf: 72)
وَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا هُوداً وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنَّا وَنَجَّيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ؛
When Our edict came, We delivered Hud and the faithful who were with him, by a mercy from Us, and We delivered them from a harsh punishment. (Hood: 58)
It is not possible to save the prophet Hood and his believers from such a burning storm, except with special divine care. There is a great miracle and support of the eternal divine power in this great rescue.
A lesson from the story of the people of Aa’d and the prophet Hood
The Qur’an is certainly not a storybook, and it has a guiding purpose for each of the stories it narrates. Therefore, the repetition of the story of the people of Aa’d in different chapters and verses shows its importance in guiding human beings. The holy Qur’an emphasizes the instructiveness of this story and says:
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ؛
So they impugned him, whereupon We destroyed them. There is indeed a sign in that; but most of them do not have faith. (Sh’ara: 139)
The story of the divine prophets in the holy Qur’an has a more guiding effect in this direction. The personality of the prophets, the attitude of the believers and the infidels towards their people, and the fate of each of these two groups are instructive points of the life of the prophets in the Qur’an.
Qur’an states the prophets’ lives, the neat creatures of the divine sea
Read it and consider the acceptable verses of the prophets and saints
As you fled the truth in the Qur’an, you mingled with the souls of the prophets
The souls that have released from the cages, they are the prophets and worthy leaders
You can hear them from the religion, that this is your way of life
The people of Aa’d were descendants of those who, after believing in the mission of Noah, boarded his ship with him and were saved. They were able to create a great civilization on earth with blessings and successes that came to them from God. These worldly blessings and possessions led them to pride and misguidance, and according to the holy Qur’an, they were cursed by God in both the world and the hereafter, and turned away from the God:
وَتِلْكَ عَادٌ جَحَدُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَصَوْا رُسُلَهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ؛ وَأُتْبِعُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا لَعْنَةً وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ. أَلَا إِنَّ عَاداً كَفَرُوا رَبَّهُمْ. أَلَا بُعْداً لِعَادٍ قَوْمِ هُودٍ.
Such were [the people of] Ad: they impugned the signs of their Lord and disobeyed His apostles, and followed the dictates of every obstinate tyrant. So they were pursued by a curse in this world and on the Day of Resurrection. Behold! ‘Ad indeed defied their Lord. Now, away with ‘Ad, the people of Hud! (Hood: 59 – 60)