Thamud

 “This is not the first incident,” said one member. “Animals have been dying before and these helpless fools could not do anything.”

(7-76-75)

“Now the situation has changed, thanks to Saleh,” said another. “He is helping them. He says he is the messenger of God. Everyone must obey God’s laws because God is the only sovereign authority. Saleh, we were expecting something exceptional from him in our favor because he belongs to our class. Now you are saying that he is helping the other party.”

“Not only helping them; he is their leader,” said another member. “He is giving voice to their grievances.”

 “Have you tried to find out the views of his followers? What is their opinion about him?” asked another member of the conference.

“Yes, I did. I asked them a simple question: Do you think Saleh is a messenger of God? We have made them so weak that I was expecting a negative answer. However, Saleh has given them so much confidence that in my presence, without showing any regard for me, they said, ‘Saleh is a messenger of God. We believe in him and in his message.’”

“Oh these people have become so bold, they are telling us what they know we don’t believe in,” said one member.

“Let us schedule another meeting to reckon this issue for good.” They all agreed to this proposal and the meeting was adjourned.

 

Thamud

The Conference Room

        A big room in a lofty mountain was opened and decorated for the arrival of nine leaders of Thamud. The nation of Thamud was a mighty nation which ruled over the valley of Qurah in Arabia. This part of Arabia is very fertile; the nation of Thamud came into power after the destruction of Ad. In fact, they were the saved people with the prophet Hud ; gained power slowly in the guidance of prophet’s instruction.

        (89-9)(27-46-48)(92-12-15)(11-62)

        This conference room was situated in a tall mountain; the nation of Thamud  was well known for their skills and sculpture. They used to build strong forts and houses in the hills. This conference hall was a good specimen of their art. The nine seats were placed systematically along with eatable fruit on a stone table. The leaders were discussing a serious problem. One of them stood up and said, “Fellow countrymen, we are facing a grave problem, if we do not find a solution for it, we may have to face serious consequences from our neglect? “What is the problem? asked another member. “There are many poor people who cannot get water for their cattle because our shepherds stopped them, but this case was highlighted by many such wretched people and it became a crucial problem to be tackled immediately.”

The Lost City

The Lost City

The chiefs and common people both saw and understood the truth in Hud’s message, but preferred to follow their wishes. Their scientific knowledge and skills did not help them appreciate the truth when they decided to follow their own desires and ambitions. On the contrary, their wrong actions appeared wonderful to them because they were gratifying their wishes.

(51-41-42) (69-6-8)

There was no rain in the country; the severe drought was a great danger for gardens and crops. The lack of water was a constant worry for the leaders. The entire nation was longing for rain. One day they saw a small speck of cloud on the horizon advancing towards their land. The leaders thought that their troubles were going to end with the cloud which would bring rain and lead to bumper crops. However, the cloud was not a messenger of prosperity; it was the doom they were repeatedly asking for in the shape of a cyclone. The cyclone lasted for 8 days and 7 nights. The raging wind reduced the mighty nation into hollow trunks of palm trees. The nation of Hud deprived itself of the blessings of God and created an everlasting distance from them.

“What happened to Hud?”asked Amir, looking at his mother with sleepy eyes. “Do not sleep, we are going home,” said his mother. “Hud and his followers were saved from this calamity.” 

the Lost City

The Lost City

One chief said, “Hud has been talking against our gods; they have jinxed him and that is why he is talking nonsense.”  “Your gods are nothing else but few names that you and your forefathers have given to some lifeless objects. Your gods have created nothing; on the contrary, they are made by human hands. They cannot save you from the doom which is coming to you as the consequence of your deeds.” “Which deeds are you referring to?” asked one leader. “Your grip is very strong. Whenever anyone comes in it, you pulverized them without mercy.”

“Why can’t the wise leaders understand a simple thing like that?” asked Amir. “To be cruel and hurt people is not good.” “The nation of Ad was proud and selfish; not willing to leave the benefits which they were extracting from the weak. Moreover, they had built many buildings with fluted columns in ancient times which were a great achievement. Iram, the capital city, had numerous gardens and was known as the city of columns,” mother said.

(46-22-26)(11-51-61)

Hud told the chieftains, “the belief in one God will not belittle you in the eyes of other nations. If you defy his laws, he will bring your nation down and replace it with another nation.” All Hud’s advice fell on the deaf ears of his countrymen. They said, “we are not going to change our views. We are going to worship our gods as we have seen our ancestors worshipping them. The threat of doom is an old threat. People in the past have been frightening us with it, but nothing has happened so far and nothing will happen in the future. If you are serious, bring the doom on us.”

“Listen to me,” said Hud “I am not asking for any reward for my services; my reward is on Allah who is powerful enough to compensate me for my work. I am only trying to remove the obstacles from your society which are hindering progress.” No one played any heed to what Hud was saying; chiefs and politicians because they did not like his massage; common people saw that Hud was alone and without any power, so he was unable to do any good for them. The chiefs, with resources, were more attractive to follow.

 

Iram, the Ancient City with Columns

Iram, the Ancient City with Columns

One late evening Amir and his mother went for a walk. Amir was a stout boy of ten with black hair and black eyes. “Let us go back home,” he said. “I want to stay a bit longer,” replied his mother. “Why?” he said and opened his eyes wide. There was doubt in them because he knew that his mother usually went to bed early. “I like to stay in the star light for a while. I love to see the clear blue sky studded with shiny stars,” was the reply. “Alright, and then tell me the story of the City with Columns,” Amir demanded.

            (7-65-72) (26-123-135)

            The people of Ad were the descendents of Noah and the few believers who were saved. They established themselves in the land and became a nation. They keenly watched the nature, collected data, and deduced the laws from it. The scientific approach made them far advanced in the art of building on the mountains. They used to live in the hills; cutting them and transforming them in to comfortable homes. Moreover, they discovered how to be great horticulturists. This knowledge helped them to grow many gardens in the kingdom. The scientific skills made them very powerful and rich.

 No other nation was as powerful as they were. This made them very proud and unruly. In spite of scientific approach, they refused to appreciate Hud’s message when he came to them as a messenger of God. Hud’s opposition came from the leaders and chiefs who had an abundance of means. Hud’s first objection was that useless construction of big monuments only to show power was a waste of resources. Moreover, he told them, “I am a messenger from God, to tell you that there is only one God and you must follow his laws. For that, you have to follow me so that I can remove all the hindrances which are unbalancing your society. Otherwise, a great doom will fall on you”

 The chiefs were standing near the strong forts which they had built. They were intoxicated by the idea of power that they possessed. The leaders and chiefs could not think that anyone in the world was capable of doing any harm to them.

Noah and deluge

Noah refused to drop poor low class workers from his party. He said, “If I will not guide them, when they come to me seeking the right path, who will save me from the wrath of God?”

(Surah71, verse26-27)

Noah prayed to God and said, “I have explained to my nation, publically as well as privately, without making any difference in their behavior. They have left me and gone to a rich chief and sons. Their wealth and power have made them blind; they cannot see anything good and just. They have crossed every limit of decency. Do not leave them in this state or they will corrupt the coming generations. Their children will follow the path of their parents. Destroy all their wealth and power and don’t leave in the land a single dweller of the disbelievers.”

(Surah11, verse32)

The rich chieftains were snugly settled in society, they knew that the structure of the society was so powerful that Noah couldn’t do anything to dislodge them. One of the leading chief said to Noah,” You have argued and discussed unnecessarily with us, we don’t believe in what you are trying to preach .If you are true to your words, bring the doom on us.”

The rich chieftains were asking again and again for the doom, so eventually it came in the form of a storm. The rain started pouring heavily. Many fountains from the earth gushed forth. The level of the water rose quickly. It was appearing that a race was going on between earth and sky to fill the valley with water. God told Noah to keep two pairs of necessary animals, along with his family, and the few who believed, in the ark.

(Surah11, verse41-48)

People asked Noah,” Where are we going?” He said, “Do not waste time in   asking questions. Quickly settle down. This ark is moving under the guidance of God and He will not let any harm touch us.” The ark was moving unharmed in the mighty waves when Noah saw his son standing. He called for him and urged him to embark on the ark.  The son replied, “I do not care to join you, I will climb up the mountain which will protect me from the flood.” Noah said, “There is no protection today for anyone except those who join me in the ark.”  While the son and father were having their discussion, a great wave carried the son away and he drowned. Noah asked God, "Oh God you promised me that all those who belonged to me will be saved, but my son drowned.” God replied, “my promise is for those who belonged to you, and your son is your biological product, but he does not belong to you because he is not following my law.”

The earth gulped the water; the sky was clear and blue again. The ark stopped at the top of mountain Judi. God said to Noah, “go and settle down in the land with my blessings.”

Lo, and behold! The humble and weak owe the land of powerful and strong.   


  
continued    





 

The Story of Noah

I am writing about the key event of Quran, it is going to be a series for children, in simple language which will help them to understand the fundamental concept of Quran. I am starting with the story of Noah. Although the story is for children, but the central ideas are taken from Quran. The references from Quran are cited in the beginning of the paragraph.

The Story of Noah

Once upon a time nearly five or six thousand years ago, there was a green valley, surrounded by lofty mountains. A mighty and powerful nation was living there. In those ancient times, it was very difficult to travel. Modern transport was not available. Every tribe was a self -contained unit, living undisturbed in their own space. The land was fertile and the crops were yielding maximum results. The sun, in the morning and evening brought gold and purple images in the sky. The inexpressible pure air and clean fresh water from the mountains made the people strong and healthy. Their granaries were full and they were living in peace and security.

Warning of Allah

(Surah7, verse59) (Surah11, verse25, 26) (Surah23, verse23-29)

Noah, who was one of them, came to warn them about the consequences of their actions. “I am a messenger of God,” he declared, “the purpose of my mission is to tell you that there is only one God, therefore everyone must follow his laws”.

            The people of the valley were surprised to see the change in Noah: he was one of them, but he never spoke like this before. The real opposition came from the rich people. The rich chieftains said “Noah you are a man like us, you only want to show that you are superior to us, and for that you have concocted this story that you are a messenger from God. If God wants us to change, He could send an angle to guide us. We think you are a liar”

(Surah23, verse 25)

The other rich chieftain, who knew that Noah had been living a remarkably simple and pious life and it would not be easy to make people believe that he was a liar, changed his strategy. He said, “Noah had gone mad. Just wait for some time and everybody would realize it.”

(Surah11, verse 27-31)

Noah understood what game the rich chieftains were trying to play, so he said, “I am not mad. God had honored me with his revelation. I was not asking for any money; I wanted to work for you and remove the unfair ways from society. However, you were not willing to accept any reform. I couldn’t force it on you.” One of the rich chieftains pointed out that the people who followed Noah were the most abject members of the society and their following carried no weight in their eyes. The reality was that they had divided the society according to the work people did. Noah was against this discrimination. All human beings are equal; to discriminate among them on the basis of work is wrong.

Noah also declared that he was only a human like the rest of them. He had no treasures, no knowledge of the future, he was not an angel; he was a messenger of God to inform them that the result of wrong action would fall upon them.

            The rich chieftains excited the mobs by saying, “We must follow the footprints of our forefathers and worship our gods, Wadd, Suwa, Yaghuth Yauq,

and Nasr.” Most of the members of Noah’s nation followed the rich chieftain, who had accumulated a lot of wealth. “He had many sons to help him.” They said, “What can Noah give us? If we follow our chief he can help us in many ways.” So they left Noah and joined the chieftains.

            (Surah29, verse14)

            Noah lived with his people for a long time. According to the Bible and the Quran, he lived with his people and tried to mend their ways with no result.

During this long period, he explained to his nation the dire consequences of wrong doing. The unruly, proud, and stubborn nation paid no heed to his warnings, nor cared for his compassion. “If you don’t stop telling these low-class workers that all human beings are equal, we will stone you to death,” declared the chieftains.

(Surah11, verse36-39)  (Surah  ,verse  )

God revealed to Noah that he should stop worrying about these proud unreasonable people, and build an ark for himself and his followers. God also told him that all his family, with the exception of his son and wife, would be safe. Noah started to build an ark under the direction of God with nails and wood.  Whenever the chieftains passed by, they mocked and made fun of Noah. “Look at this fool; he is building an ark on the land without a drop of water. What is this tomfoolery? Instead of building an ark, why don’t you bring the doom upon us,” they mocked.

(Surah11, verse33)

“To bring the doom is not in my hands. Only God can do it, but be rest assured you cannot win and defeat his laws,” was the reply they got.   

continued