A Reminder of the Story of 'Aad and Thamud

A Reminder of the Story of 'Aad and Thamud

"And as fir Thamud, We showed them the path of truth"

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Abu Al-Aliyah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd said, "We explained to them." [At-Tabari 21:448 Surah Hud 11:94] Ath-Thawri said, "We called them." Allah's saying: "but they preferred blindness to guidance;" means, 'We showed them the truth and made it clear to them through the words of their Prophet Salih, but they opposed him and rejected him, and they slaughtered the she-camel of Allah which He had made a sign for them of the truth of their Prophet.'

"so the Sa`iqah of disgracing torment seized them"

means, Allah sent upon them the Sa`iqah, [See volume five, the Tafser of Surah Hud 11:94] earthquake, intense humiliation, punishment and torment. "because of what they used to earn" means, because of their disbelief and rejection.

"And We saved those who believed"

means, 'We saved them from among them, and no harm came to them;' Allah saved them along with His Prophet Salih, peace be upon him, because of their fear of Allah.

Islamic History: Aad And Thamud

The People of Thamud

The Thamud were the successors of the Aad. Even though we don’t know for sure how this succession took place, I like to think that perhaps there were a few survivors from that windstorm that wiped them out.
Perhaps these survivors were Prophet Hud (AS) and his followers.
Perhaps they wandered through the Arabian Peninsula for some time looking for a new home. And then perhaps they found a suitable place to settle in southern Arabia. And perhaps, using the knowledge, culture, and technology from the Aad, they established a new society.
And perhaps, over the generations, these people developed their own magnificent society with its own special hallmarks and characteristics.
And perhaps, just like the Aad before them, they forgot the faith of Tawheed practiced by their ancestors and slipped into worshiping idols.
Only Allah knows if this scenario really happened. But certainly, there is some possibility that something like this may have happened.
For one, Allah certainly mentions that the Thamud were successors to the Aad.
And remember when He made you successors after the Aad and settled you in the land?
Chapter 7, Verse 74.
Furthermore, there is also proof that they had some elements of true Islam in their faith.
But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Some sources say the time period of the Thamud, as mentioned in the Quran, was about four generations after the Aad. Of course, only Allah knows the truth.
Personally, I think that would be too soon. Four generations is only about eighty years and it’s unlikely, in my humble opinion, that they were able to establish a new society, invent a new religion, and forget all about their ancestors the Aad in such a short time.
I would rather think that the Thamud were more like two or three hundred years after the Aad.
Anyway, what’s really important is what led to their punishment.
They did worship Allah, which I’ll prove soon. However, they worshiped other deities along with Allah. This shouldn’t be surprising as the Quraish, and in fact most faiths, do the same thing.
They may believe in Allah and may even worship Him in some ways. But they almost always have some other deities included in their pantheon.
The most striking thing about the Thamud was the huge buildings and structures they built into the sides of mountains.
The Aad before them were pretty decent architects and built some fairly magnificent castles. But the buildings of the Aad are like Lego blocks compared to the Thamud.
These Thamud built gigantic castles, hundreds of feet high, and they literally carved them right into the sides of mountains. These things had huge doors, elaborate engravings, complex designs, and must have been an amazing sight in their time.
And they were also well-built because they still exist today. The fact that these structures are still around today, after nearly 4000 years is a testament to their quality and design.
Obviously, the Thamud were much more advanced technologically than the Aad. And this advancement led to a stratified society of haves and have-nots.
There were elites and the downtrodden.
Allah mentions how there were actually nine families that pretty much ran everything in this society. It was these nine families that cause much of the problems for Salih.
I’m also inclined to believe that these nine families were the direct descendents of those believers who escaped the land of the Aad with Hud.
It is very conceivable that those individuals who established this society became the pillars of the nation and their descendents took advantage of that and maintained a stranglehold on the wealth of the nation.
But the Thamud let their education and knowledge go to their heads. They mistreated the lower classes and worshiped others besides Allah.
When Allah sent their brother Salih (AS) to advise them of the true faith, they rejected him just like the Aad had rejected Hud before.
But the Thamud were more nuanced in their rejection.
They were more sophisticated than the Aad. The Thamud were scientists. They were craftsmen. They were elites.
And their responses reflected their advancement in knowledge.
They didn’t bluntly reject Salih like the Aad did to Hud. Instead, they tried to engage Salih in debate. They were a little more inquisitive (at least at first). They wanted to prove that (scientifically, of course) that Salih was not telling the truth.
Eventually, they demanded proof for what Salih was saying. They were scientists and technicians and craftsmen, so they wanted conclusive proof.
So Allah sent a camel with the simple command: Don’t harm her.
That’s it. That’s all the Thamud had to do. Just leave her alone.
But as a sign of their wickedness, they killed her. And when they did that, Allah’s wrath came on them.
According to the Quran, they were hit by a blast that destroyed them. Most scholars interpret this as an earthquake.
Of course there are lessons to be taken from the stories of these two nations.
One of the main lessons I see is that we must be very careful about mocking or challenging Allah. Most decent Muslims would never do such a thing, but there are many misguided people who do.
There are countless artists, pundits, and celebrities who mock Allah, His Messenger (pbuh), and Islam. In the worst cases, they may even go so far as to challenge Allah,
The second lesson is to watch out for the signs in our lives.
The Thamud demanded and received a sign from Allah. Perhaps they couldn’t understand the significance of receiving a camel. After all, camels were and still are pretty common in that part of the world.
There are some scholars who say a mountain split apart and the camel walked out. Such an amazing thing was supposed to be their sign.
Allah knows best if that really happened (this event is not mentioned in the Quran or Sunnah.)
But the fact that they spitefully killed an animal that had done them no harm and for no good reason is proof and a sign of their evil.
So you must also monitor your life for the signs that you’re receiving. Don’t ignore them.
Sometimes, they can be very important.
Finally, we should understand that Allah has no problem replacing one people with another.
He replaced the people of the Flood with the Aad and then replaced the Aad with the Thamud.
Don’t ever think you’re indispensable. Allah doesn’t need you.
The truth is, we need Allah.
If you keep that mindset, you’ll go far, Inshallah