Prophet Hood
Prophet Hood
The followers of Prophet Nuh (A) were noble Muslims who settled down in Arabia and lived pious lives. But, as time went by, some of their children drifted away from the way of Islam.
They forgot the guidance of Allah and began worshipping idols, drinking alcohol, gambling, and cheating each other.One group of Nuh’s (A) descendants was called ‘Ad. Instead of Allah, the ‘Ad prayed to many different idols. They believed that each idol fulfilled a different need.
According to them, all the powers that really belong to Allah (SWT) were divided among these many gods. And instead of worshipping Allah (SWT) alone, they worshipped different gods all at the same time. They believed that their idols given them everything.
The people of ‘Ad were tall, handsome, and strong people. They were excellent architects and skilled engineers. They liked to build castles and magnificent buildings, and they planted beautiful gardens and orchards. But they didn't realize that their abilities and the natural resources around them were gifts . In spite of all these gifts from Allah(SWT), they denied His power. Even though the people of ‘Ad were great builders, they had no morals.
In the markets, many would use false weights to cheat people the poor people spent all of their money but still couldn’t get enough to eat. The rich people kept wealth to themselves and refused to listen to anybody’s advice.
Allah (SWT) chose one man from among them to be a Prophet. This man was named Hud (A). Prophet Hud (A) tried to teach the people of ‘Ad that there is only one God and that everything - rain and safety and food and health -is from Him. Hud (A) told them again and again to stop worshiping their idols.
He begged them to live according to Allah’s (SWT) will. He warned them about Allah’s (SWT) punishment of those disobeyed Him, and especially for those who worshiped false gods. He told them "0 my people! I am not asking for reward from you. I am simply sent by Lord of the worlds to warn you and call you back to the path of truth and goodness. If you ask forgiveness from Allah (SWT) and change your ways, He will make you stronger than you are now. He will give you plenty of rain and He will accept you. You must not continue your evil ways."
Most of the people of ‘Ad were not ready to listen to Prophet Hud (A). They told him, "You’re stupid! You’re just telling us old wives’ tales. We know that we are not going to be punished and destroyed like the people,of Nuh."However, Prophet Hud (A) knew that Allah’s (SWT) punishment would come to his people. After trying to convince them, he decided to leave the valley of Al-Ahqaf with people who listened to his message and were Muslims.As soon as Hud (A) left a village, a large cloud appeared in the sky. The people of ‘Ad were happy to see it, because they thought that it would bring rain to their desert land. Little did they know that Allah (swt) was sending a terrible wind-storm trough the cloud.
The clouds grew larger and larger as the wind howled louder and louder. The air was full of dust and sand.The wind blew so violently that the people ran into their big houses and beautiful castles to hide. But nothing could save them from the punishment of Allah (swt). The people ran into their big houses and beautiful castles to hide. The storm raged for eight days (69:6-7) and seven nights. Their houses were filled with sand and all the people were smothered. Then the wind blew all the sand back across the desert. There was nothing left except the big empty houses of ‘Ad which were useless against His will, and they now were broken and strewn over the dead land.
The only people people from ‘Ad who were saved from the storm were those who had left with Prophet Hud (A). The children of these believers grew up to become good Muslims who believed in Allah (swt) alone and lived honest lives.