THE PROPHET HUD (peace be upon him):
Ahmad Israr Kamal
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 quarreled with the children of Ham and left Babylon. They peopled a district in southern Arabia contiguous to Umman, Yemen 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 civilization. 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 favors 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 Quran 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 Quran 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 mightiest 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 Quran 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 Yemen. The grave of the Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) is in Hadramaut. It is visited by the Arabs in the month of Rajab.