Ala-Maududi
(46:21) Recount to them the story of (Hud), the brother of (the tribe of) Ad. Hud warned hispeople beside the sand-dunes[25] � and there have been other warners before him andsince his time � saying: “Serve none but Allah. Verily I fear that the chastisement of anawesome day shall come upon you.”
25. As the chiefs of the Quraish had a false pride of their superiority and exulted in theirwealth and prosperity, the story of Aad is being related to them about whom it was well knownthat they had been the mightiest people in Arabia.
Literally, Ahqaf (pl. of hiqf) are long dunes of sand less in height than mountains, buttechnically it is a name given to the southern-western part of the Arabian desert (Ar-Rubul-khali) which is wholly un-inhabited.
Ibn Ishaq says that the territory of Aad extended from Oman to Yaman, and the Quran tells us thatthey actually belonged to Al- Ahqaf from where they spread to the adjoining lands and subduedweak nations. 125 miles to the north of the present-day city of Makkah there is a place inHadramaut, where the people have built a tomb to the Prophet Houd, and the place is well knownas the grave of Houd. A religious festival is held there on the 15th of Shaban and thousands ofpeople from different parts of Arabia gather there annually. Although it is not historicallyestablished, the grave’s being built there and the southern Arabs’ visiting it in large numbersis at least a proof that local tradition regards this very territory as the land of Aad.Besides, there are several ruins in Hadramaut which the natives still call by the name ofDar-Aad (Abode of Aad).
From the present condition of Al-Ahqaf, no one can even imagine that this land might have beenthe home of a mighty people boasting of magnificent civilization. Probably it was a green andfertile land thousands of years ago, and then the change of climate might have turned it into asandy desert. Today it is a vast, wind-swept desert, and no one can dare go into its interior.In 1843 A.D. a Bavarian soldier was able to reach its southern edge. He says that if one looksdown from the northern plateau of Hadramaut one can see this desert about a thousand feet in thedepression. Here and there in it there are white areas where if a thing falls it goes on sinkinginto the sand and decays. The Arab Beduins fear this land and are never willing to step into itat any cost. Once when the Bedouins were not ready to take him there, he went by himself. Hesays that the sand there is very fine powder, and when he threw a plummet into it from adistance, it sank into it within five minutes and the end of the line to which it was attached,also decayed.
For detailed information, see:
Arabia and The Isles, Harold Ingrams, London, 1946.
The Unveiling of Arabia, R H. Kirnan, London, 1937.
The Empty Quarter. Philby. London, 1933.
Ala-Maududi
(46:22) They said: “Have you come to us to turn us away from our gods? Then, bring upon us thescourge that you threaten us with. Do so if you are truthful.”
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
Ala-Maududi
(46:23) He replied: “Allah alone knows about this.[26] I only convey to you theMessage that I have been sent with. But I see that you are an ignorant people.”[27]
26. That is, Allah alone knows as to when the torment will descend on you and for how long youwill be granted respite.
27. That is, you are taking my warning as a joke in your ignorance and are demanding the tormentfor fun. You have no idea of how dreadful is God’s torment and how near at hand it might haveapproached because of your misdeeds.
Ala-Maududi
(46:24) When they saw the scourge advancing towards their valleys, they said: “This is a cloudthat will bring much rain to us.” “By no means;[28] it is what you had sought tohasten � a wind-storm bearing a grievous chastisement
28. Here, there is no indication as to who gave them this answer. However, the style showsexplicitly that this was the answer they were given by the existing conditions. They thought itwas a cloud which was coming to give rain to their valleys, but in reality it was a windstormthat was coming on to completely exterminate them.
Ala-Maududi
(46:25) that will destroy everything by the command of its Lord.” Thereafter nothing was left tobe seen except their dwellings. Thus do We requite the wrong-doers.[29]
29. For the details of the story of Aad, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 65-72); (Surah Houd, Ayat 50-60); (Surah Al-Muminun, Ayat 31-41); (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayat 123-140); (Surah Al-Ankabut, Ayat 40); (Surah HaMim As-Sajdah, Ayat 15-16).
