Stories of Prophets, - Prophet Huud (PBUH)

Huud was the Prophet sent to theBani Aadfor their reformation. His
lineage genealogy joins with theProphet Nuh(peace be upon him) and his
sons. The Prophet Huud (peace be upon him) belonged to the Bani Aad.
They were thedescendants of Sam.
Outstanding Qualities of the Adites
The Aadites quarreled with the children of Ham and left Babylon. They
peopled a district in southern Arabia contiguous to Oman, 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 Aad
weretall in stature and were skilful masons. Allah (SWT) had given
them abundance of wealth, cattle, children and gardens. They had
attained a considerable degree of civilization.
Among them flourished the famous kingShaddad. He built a magnificent
palace near Adal. It was known as theGarden of Iram. He was mighty
king and his conquests extended toSyria, 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 ofinjustice 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 Huud appears and Preaches
The Prophet Huud (peace be upon him) appeared among them for their
guidance. He tried his best to bring them back to theworship of One
God. He directed them to give up evil practices. He advised them
toabstain from committing sins. They paid no heed to the teachings and
warnings of their Prophet.
The Holy Quran says:
"And to the Aad We sent their brother Huud. 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." ( Surah 7: Verses 65-68)
The Deluge is Descended
The people did not listen to him and disobeyed theCommandments of
Allah(SWT). For this disobedience the wrath of Allah came down upon
them. Adroughtof unusual severity and aviolent stormnearly annihilated
the majority of the people of the Bani Aad. The Holy Quran describes:
"As to the Aad, 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." ( Surah 69:
Verses 6-7)
This storm had such a devastating effect as all the proud and
disobedient people werecompletely destroyedbut the Prophet Huud (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" ( Surah 7: Verse 72)
Afterwards the remnant who survived established themselves in Yemen.
The grave of the Prophet Huud (peace be upon him) is inHadramaut. It
is visited by the Arabs in the month of Rajab.