How were 'Ad ruined?
In the Qur'an, 'Ad are said to have perished through a
"furious wind". In the verses, it is mentioned
that this furious wind lasted for seven nights and eight
days and destroyed 'Ad totally.
The 'Ad (people) (too) rejected (Truth): then how terrible
was My Penalty and My Warning? For We sent against them
a furious wind, on a Day of violent Disaster, Plucking
out men as if they were roots of palm-trees torn up (from
the ground). (Surat al-Qamar: 18-20)
And the 'Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind, exceedingly
violent. He made it rage against them seven nights and
eight days in succession: so that thou couldst see the
(whole) people lying prostrate in its (path), as they
had been roots of hollow palm-trees tumbled down! (Surat
al-Haaqqa: 6-7)
Though warned previously, the people had paid no attention
to the warnings whatsoever and continuously refused their
messengers. They were in such delusion that they could not
even understand what was happening when they saw the destruction
approaching them and continued with their denial.
Then, when they saw the (Penalty in the shape of)
a cloud traversing the sky, coming to meet their valleys,
they said, "This cloud will give us rain!".
Nay, it is the (Calamity) ye were asking to be hastened!-
A wind wherein is a Grievous Penalty! (Surat al-Ahqaf
: 24)
In the verse, it is stated that the people saw the cloud that
would bring them calamity, but could not understand what it
was and thought that it was a rain cloud. This is an important
indication as to how the calamity was as it drew near to the
people, because a cyclone proceeding along whipping up the
desert sand also seems like a rain cloud from a distance.
It is possible that 'Ad were deceived by this appearance and
did not notice the calamity. Doe gives a description of these
sand storms (which seems to be from personal experience);
"The first sign (of a dust or sandstorm) is an approaching
wall of dust-laden air which may be several thousand feet
in height lifted by the strong rising currents and stirred
by a fairly strong wind."1
Thought to be the remains of 'Ad, "the Atlantis of
the Sands, Ubar" has been recovered from under a layer
of sand metres thick. It seems that the furious wind lasting
for "seven nights and eight days" by the Qur'an's
description, accumulated tons of sand on top of the city
and buried people under the earth alive. Excavations made
in Ubar point to the same possibility. The French magazine,
Ça M'Interesse states the same as follows "Ubar was
buried under a sand of 12 metres thickness as a result of
a storm"2
The most important evidence showing that 'Ad were buried
by a sand storm, is the word "ahqaf" used in the
Qur'an to signify the location of 'Ad. The description used
in the 21st verse of Surat al-Ahqaf is as follows;
Mention (Hud) one of 'Ad's (own) brethren: Behold,
he warned his people about the winding Sand-tracts: but
there have been warners before him and after him: "Worship
ye none other than Allah: Truly I fear for you the Penalty
of a Mighty Day."
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Today, the region
where Ad lived is full of sand dunes. |
 |
| The excavations
made in Ubar where the remains of a city was recovered
from under a layer of sand metres thick. In this region,
it is very well known that a catastrophic sand storm
can cause a huge amount of sand to accumulate in a very
short time. This can happen suddenly, and in a very
unexpected way. |
Ahqaf means "sand dunes" in Arabic and it is the
plural form of the word "hiqf" which means a "sand
dune". This shows that 'Ad lived in a region full of
"sand dunes", which provided the most logical
ground possible for the fact that they were buried by a
sand storm. According to one interpretation, ahqaf lost
its meaning of "sand hills" and became the name
of the region in south Yemen where 'Ad lived. This does
not change the fact that the root of this word is sand dunes,
but just shows that this word has since become peculiar
to this area because of the abundant sand dunes in the region.
The destruction that befell 'Ad from a sand storm which
"plucked out men as if they were roots of palm-trees
torn up (from the ground)", must have annihilated the
entire people in a very short time, people who were until
then living by cultivating fertile lands and building dams
and irrigation channels for themselves. All of the fertile
and cultivated fields, irrigation canals and dams of the
community living there were covered by sand, and the whole
city and its inhabitants were buried alive under the sand.
After the people were destroyed, desert spread there in
time and covered them leaving no trace.
As a consequence, it can be said that historical and archaeological
finds indicate that 'Ad and the city of Iram existed and
were destroyed as described in the Qur'an. By later research,
the remains of these people have been recovered from the
sands.
What one should do in looking at those remains buried in
the sands, is to take warning just as the Qur'an stresses.
The Qur'an states that 'Ad went astray of the right path
because of their arrogance and said "Who is superior
to us in strength?". In the rest of the verse,
it is said "What! did they not see that Allah, Who
created them, was superior to them in strength?" (Surah
Fussilat: 15)
What a person has to do is bear this unchangeable fact
in mind all the time and understand that the greatest and
the most honoured is always Allah and that one can only
prosper by adoring Him.
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