'Ad and Thamud: Mighty Nations That Rejected Their Prophets

Long before Islam, the Arabs told stories of two vanished peoples: ‘Ad and Thamud. Their names were proverbs for strength and for ruin. The Qur’an mentions them often, usually side by side, and the first people who heard it knew exactly whom it meant. Some of them had even travelled past the remains of their homes.

‘Ad: strength that forgot its Giver

God sent to ‘Ad one of their own people, the prophet Hud (peace be upon him). The Qur’an calls him their “brother”, a reminder that God’s messengers came from within their communities, speaking their language and knowing their lives:

۞ وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمْ هُودًۭا ۗ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ﴿٦٥﴾

And to the 'Aad [We sent] their brother Hud. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. Then will you not fear Him?"

‘Ad came after the people of Noah (peace be upon him) and were given great stature and strength (Qur’an 7:69). They used that power to build. Hud described their monuments and fortresses, and the harshness with which they treated others:

أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ ءَايَةًۭ تَعْبَثُونَ ﴿١٢٨﴾ وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ ﴿١٢٩﴾ وَإِذَا بَطَشْتُم بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ ﴿١٣٠﴾

¹²⁸Do you construct on every elevation a sign, amusing yourselves, ¹²⁹And take for yourselves palaces and fortresses that you might abide eternally? ¹³⁰And when you strike, you strike as tyrants.

Hud reminded them that everything they enjoyed, from livestock and children to gardens and springs, came from God (Qur’an 26:132-134). He asked for no reward. But the leaders mocked him, and the people’s answer was pride:

فَأَمَّا عَادٌۭ فَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا۟ مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً ۖ أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةًۭ ۖ وَكَانُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ ﴿١٥﴾ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًۭا صَرْصَرًۭا فِىٓ أَيَّامٍۢ نَّحِسَاتٍۢ لِّنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْخِزْىِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ أَخْزَىٰ ۖ وَهُمْ لَا يُنصَرُونَ ﴿١٦﴾

¹⁵As for 'Aad, they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, "Who is greater than us in strength?" Did they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting Our signs. ¹⁶So We sent upon them a screaming wind during days of misfortune to make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the worldly life; but the punishment of the Hereafter is more disgracing, and they will not be helped.

Their end came in a form they did not expect. They saw a cloud approaching their valleys and rejoiced, thinking it would bring rain; instead it was a destroying wind (Qur’an 46:24-25) that blew for seven nights and eight days (Qur’an 69:6-7). Yet God’s mercy was present even here: Hud and those who believed with him were saved (Qur’an 11:58).

Thamud: homes carved from mountains

After ‘Ad came Thamud. Their prophet was Salih (peace be upon him), also one of their own. God gave them a special sign, a she-camel, and reminded them of the land He had settled them in:

وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَٰلِحًۭا ۗ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُۥ ۖ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم بَيِّنَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ هَٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمْ ءَايَةًۭ ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِىٓ أَرْضِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءٍۢ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ ﴿٧٣﴾ وَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ عَادٍۢ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِن سُهُولِهَا قُصُورًۭا وَتَنْحِتُونَ ٱلْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًۭا ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ ﴿٧٤﴾

⁷³And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah 's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment. ⁷⁴And remember when He made you successors after the 'Aad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."

The she-camel was to share the water with them, drinking on her own day while the people drank on theirs (Qur’an 26:155). It was a simple test: would they respect a sign from God, even when it asked them to share?

The powerful leaders sneered at the poor and weak who had believed in Salih (Qur’an 7:75-76). Then they took the decisive step:

فَعَقَرُوا۟ ٱلنَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا۟ يَٰصَٰلِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ﴿٧٧﴾ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَٰثِمِينَ ﴿٧٨﴾ فَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَةَ رَبِّى وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُحِبُّونَ ٱلنَّٰصِحِينَ ﴿٧٩﴾

⁷⁷So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers." ⁷⁸So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone. ⁷⁹And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors."

Salih gave them three days (Qur’an 11:65). After that a mighty blast struck them, and their busy homes fell silent. But, as with Hud, God saved Salih and the believers by His mercy (Qur’an 11:66).

Notice how the Qur’an describes Salih’s last words: not gloating, but grief. He had delivered his message and counselled them sincerely, but they had closed their hearts to every word of good counsel.

Iram, al-Hijr and the question of places

One short passage brings both peoples together:

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ ﴿٦﴾ إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلْعِمَادِ ﴿٧﴾ ٱلَّتِى لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِى ٱلْبِلَٰدِ ﴿٨﴾ وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُوا۟ ٱلصَّخْرَ بِٱلْوَادِ ﴿٩﴾

⁶Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad - ⁷[With] Iram - who had lofty pillars, ⁸The likes of whom had never been created in the land? ⁹And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley?

Where did they live? The Qur’an places Hud’s mission in al-Ahqaf, “the sand dunes” (Qur’an 46:21), which classical scholars generally understood to be in southern Arabia, between Yemen and Oman. Iram is a harder question. Scholars differ over whether it was the name of a tribe, an ancestor, or a city. In modern times some writers have linked it to archaeological sites in southern Arabia, but no identification is certain, and it is wiser to leave it as the Qur’an leaves it.

Thamud is better attested. The Qur’an links them to al-Hijr (Qur’an 15:80-82), and Muslims have long associated this with the region of Hegra, also called Mada’in Salih, near al-‘Ula in north-west Arabia. Its famous rock-cut tombs are striking, though historians note that most of the monumental facades visible today were carved later by the Nabataeans. The name Thamud also appears in ancient records outside Arabia, including Assyrian inscriptions from the eighth century BCE, which suggests they were a well-known people of the region. The Qur’an itself tells its first listeners that the ruined dwellings of ‘Ad and Thamud were plain for them to see (Qur’an 29:38).

What their stories teach

The stories of ‘Ad and Thamud share the patterns found across the Qur’an’s accounts of past nations.

Power is not protection. ‘Ad asked who could be stronger than them, and forgot that the One who created them was stronger still. Strength used for oppression became the cause of their fall.

Blessings are a test. Both peoples were reminded again and again to remember God’s favours. Gratitude would have increased them; ingratitude destroyed them.

Arrogance blocks the truth. In both stories it was the proud elite who led the rejection, while the humble were the first to believe. True humility opens the heart to guidance.

God warns before He punishes, and He saves. Each people had a prophet who called them patiently, a clear sign, and time to reconsider. And in each story the believers, though few, were rescued. The Qur’an tells these accounts not to frighten for its own sake, but so that those who still have time will turn to a Lord who is merciful.