88. For comparison, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayats 65-72); (Surah Houd, Ayats 50-60); and for further details of this story, see (Surah HaMim Sajdah, Ayats 13-16); (Surah Al- Ahqaf, Ayats 21-26); (Surah Az-Zariyat, Ayats 41,45); (Surah Al-Qamar, Ayats 18-22); (Surah Al-Haqqah, Ayats 4-8); and (Surah AI-Fajr, Ayats 6-8).

89. In order to understand this discourse of Prophet Houd fully, we should keep in mind the various details about the people of Aad which the Quran has given at different places: For instance, it says:

(1) After the destruction of the people of Noah (Peace be upon him), the Aad were given power and prominence in the world: Do not forget that after Noah’s people your Lord made you the successors. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 69).

(2) Physically they were very robust and powerful people: And made you very robust. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 69).

(3)They had no parallel as a nation in the world: The like of which was not created in the lands. (Surah Al-Fajr, Ayat 8).

(4) They were civilized and were well-known in the world for their great skill and art in erecting lofty buildings with tall columns: Have you not seen what your Lord did with Aad lram, of lofty columns? (Surah Al-Fajr, Ayat 6, 7).

(5) This material progress and physical power had made them arrogant and vain: As for Aad, they deviated from the right path and adopted an arrogant attitude in the land and said: Who is mightier than us in power? (Surah Ha Mim Sajdah, Ayat 15) .

(6) Their political power was in the hands of a few tyrants before whom none could dare raise his voice: And they followed and obeyed every tyrannous enemy of the Truth. (Surah Houd, Ayat 59).

(7) They were not disbelievers in the existence of Allah, but were involved in shirk; they only denied that Allah alone should be worshiped and none else: They said (to Houd), Have you come to us (with the demand) that we should worship Allah alone and discard those whom our elders have been worshiping? (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 70).

90. That is, you build grand buildings merely to show off your wealth and power, whereas they have no use and purpose except that they stand as monuments to your grandeur and glory.

91. That is, though you have built other buildings also for dwelling purposes, in order to make them grand, beautiful and strong, you expend your wealth and mental and physical abilities in a manner as if you were going to live forever, and there was no purpose of life except seeking of comfort and pleasure and nothing beyond this worldly life which might deserve your attention.

In this connection, one should bear in mind the fact that extravagance in architecture is not a solitary vice in a people. This happens as a result of a people’s becoming affluent and then crazy for selfish gains and materialistic pursuits. When a people reach such a stage, their whole social system becomes corrupted and polluted. Prophet Houd’s (peace be upon him) criticism of his people’s extravagant and luxurious architecture was not simply aimed at the high castles and monuments, but he was actually criticizing their corrupt civilization and social system, whose glaring symptoms could be seen everywhere in the land in the shape of castles and monuments.

92. That is, in order to meet the demands of your ever rising standards of life, you do not rest content with small living quarters but you build castles and fortresses, and yet being unsatisfied you erect lofty edifices unnecessarily just for ostentation. But as human beings you have become so depraved that there is no mercy in your hearts for the weak, no justice for the poor, and all people of lower social strata, living inside or around your land, are being oppressed tyrannically and none is safe from your barbarities.

93. This can have two meanings. (1) Whatever we are doing is not new but has been happening from the time of our elders since centuries: they had the same creed, the same way of life, the same morality and the same kind of dealings and yet they remained unharmed and safe from every calamity. If there was any evil in this way of life, we should have met the doom with which you are threatening us. (2) The things you are preaching have also been preached and said before by religious maniacs and so-called moralists, but they could not change the ways of the world. It has never happened that the world suffered a disaster only because people refused to listen to preachers like you.

94. According to the Quran, the people of Aad were destroyed by a violent windstorm. When they saw it advancing towards their valleys, they rejoiced with the hope that those were dense clouds which would bring much rain for them, but in reality it was Allah’s scourge. The windstorm continued to rage for eight days and seven nights and destroyed everything. The people were swept away like straw and everything on which the hot, dry wind blew was left rotting. The storm did not abate until the last man of the wicked tribe had met his doom. Only ruins of their habitations remained to tell the tale of their terrible fate, and today even the ruins have become extinct. The whole territory of Ahqaf has turned into dreadful desert dunes. For details, see (E.N. 25 of Surah Al-Ahqaf).