Surah Al-Mu'minun, Ayah 35

The Story of `Ad or Thamud

Allah tells us that after the people of Nuh, He created another nation. It was said that this was `Ad, because they were the successors of the people of Nuh. Or it was said that they were Thamud, because Allah says:

فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّيْحَةُ بِالْحَقِّ

(So, the Sayhah overtook them in truth.) Allah sent to them a Messenger from among themselves, and he called them to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate, but they belied him, opposed him and refused to follow him because he was a human being like them, and they refused to follow a human Messenger. They did not believe in the meeting with Allah on the Day of Resurrection and they denied the idea of physical resurrection. They said:

In the earlier verses the story of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was told who was sent to his people to guide them along the path of righteousness and the following verses contain a brief account of some other prophets without mentioning their names and the people for whose guidance they were sent. From certain references and allusions the commentators have concluded that the verses refer to Sayyidna Hud (علیہ السلام) or Sayyidna Salih (علیہ السلام) who were sent for the guidance of the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud respectively. In the present story both these tribes are reported to have perished as a result of صَیحَہ (Cry) from an unseen source, whereas in other verses it has been specifically mentioned that it was the tribe of Thamud which perished from صَیحَہ (Cry) and this had led some scholars to the view that the words قَرناً آخَرِینَ (another generation) refers to Thamud.

An alternative explanation is that the word صَیحَہ (Cry) has been used in the general sense of punishment from Allah in which case it would include the tribe of ` Ad also.

After being delivered in the Ark from the Great Flood, the generation of believers in Noah flourished, but again, with the passage of the centuries, they plunged into the same evils in which their predecessors had indulged. Here perhaps the community referred to is that which is known as the ‘Ad. These people had neglected and forgotton God and were preoccupied with serving entities other than God. Once again a prophet of God, in this case Hud, appeared among them and made them aware of the Truth. But, like their predecessors, the chiefs of the community ranged themselves against the prophet. These chiefs had assumed leadership of the people and were surrounded by plenty and prosperity. It is a common weakness of those who are fortunate enough to acquire wealth and power to presume that this is ample proof of their being on the path of Truth. This was also true of these chiefs. Their prosperity and power prevented them from thinking that they could be wrong. They observed that the Prophet was not surrounded by heaps of wealth, nor was he seated upon a throne of power. So they considered him to be a lowly person. Due to the importance they attached to worldly glamour, they failed to understand the spiritual mission of the Prophet.