Stories
Hud, Salih and Shu'ayb
Prophets sent to Arabia
4 min, Intro
Before Muhammad, the Qur'an names three prophets sent to Arab peoples: Hud to 'Ad, Salih to Thamud, and Shu'ayb to Madyan. Each was "their brother", one of them. Each story warns against a different kind of arrogance.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
Before Muhammad, the Qur'an says, three Arab peoples each had a prophet who was "their brother". 'Ad trusted their power. Thamud failed the test of one camel. Madyan cheated at trade. Each was warned by one of their own. Each refused. Each was destroyed.
Hud and the people of 'Ad
The story starts in southern Arabia, among the sand dunes (al-ahqaf). The people of 'Ad lived there. They were strong and wealthy, and built monuments on every high place. Who is stronger than us? they asked. Surah al-Fajr mentions "Iram, with lofty pillars".
The Qur'an says God sent to 'Ad "their brother Hud". He was one of them.
They called Hud a fool and a liar. Then they saw a cloud coming towards their valleys, and said it was bringing them rain. It was the wind. A furious, freezing wind struck them for seven nights and eight days. It left them like hollow palm trunks. The warning is about the arrogance of power.
۞ وَإِلَىٰ عَادٍ أَخَاهُمۡ هُودࣱاۚ قَالَ يَٰقَوۡمِ ٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنۡ إِلَٰهٍ غَيۡرُهُۥٓۚ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ٦٥
65 To the people of ‘Ād We sent their brother Hūd. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him. Will you not then fear Him?”
وَأَمَّا عَادࣰ فَأُهۡلِكُواْ بِرِيحࣲ صَرۡصَرٍ عَاتِيَةࣲ ٦ سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ سَبۡعَ لَيَالࣲ وَثَمَٰنِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومࣱاۖ فَتَرَى ٱلۡقَوۡمَ فِيهَا صَرۡعَىٰ كَأَنَّهُمۡ أَعۡجَازُ نَخۡلٍ خَاوِيَةࣲ ٧
6 And as for ‘Ād, they were destroyed by a furious windstorm
7 which He unleashed against them for seven successive nights and eight days, so you would see the people lying dead as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.
The power of 'Ad did not protect them.
Salih and the she-camel
Next, the north-west of Arabia. The people of Thamud lived there, and carved houses out of the mountains.
God sent them Salih. They told him they had had hopes in him, before this. He brought a she-camel as a sign, with a simple instruction: leave her to graze on God's earth, and share the water with her. She had her day to drink, and they had theirs.
The leaders hamstrung her and killed her. Then they dared Salih to bring the punishment. Enjoy your homes for three days, he told them. A shaking blast seized them.
Tradition links Thamud with al-Hijr, also called Mada'in Salih, in Saudi Arabia. The grand carved tombs visible there today were made later, by the Nabataeans.
وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمۡ صَٰلِحࣱاۚ قَالَ يَٰقَوۡمِ ٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنۡ إِلَٰهٍ غَيۡرُهُۥۖ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُم بَيِّنَةࣰ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡۖ هَٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَكُمۡ ءَايَةࣱۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأۡكُلۡ فِيٓ أَرۡضِ ٱللَّهِۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءࣲ فَيَأۡخُذَكُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمࣰ ٧٣
73 And to the people of Thamūd [We sent] their brother, Sālih. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him. There has come to you a clear proof from your Lord: this is a she-camel of Allah, as a sign to you. So leave her to graze in Allah’s land, and do not harm her in any way, or else a painful punishment will seize you.
وَتَنۡحِتُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡجِبَالِ بُيُوتࣱا فَٰرِهِينَ ١٤٩
149 carving out houses in the mountains with great skill?
Thamud were tested by one camel, and failed.
Shu'ayb and honest trade
The third people lived by trade, and cheated at it. They were Madyan, near the Gulf of Aqaba.
Their prophet Shu'ayb told them: give full measure and weight, do not cheat people of what is theirs, and do not spread corruption in the land.
Their answer was a question. Did his prayers tell him to abandon what their fathers worshipped, and how they ran their money? Business, they said, was not religion's concern. They told him he was weak among them. If not for his clan, they said, they would have stoned him. Shu'ayb asked whether his clan counted for more with them than God.
They were destroyed too. Musa later found refuge in Madyan.
۞ وَإِلَىٰ مَدۡيَنَ أَخَاهُمۡ شُعَيۡبࣱاۚ قَالَ يَٰقَوۡمِ ٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنۡ إِلَٰهٍ غَيۡرُهُۥۖ وَلَا تَنقُصُواْ ٱلۡمِكۡيَالَ وَٱلۡمِيزَانَۖ إِنِّيٓ أَرَىٰكُم بِخَيۡرࣲ وَإِنِّيٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ عَذَابَ يَوۡمࣲ مُّحِيطࣲ ٨٤ وَيَٰقَوۡمِ أَوۡفُواْ ٱلۡمِكۡيَالَ وَٱلۡمِيزَانَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِۖ وَلَا تَبۡخَسُواْ ٱلنَّاسَ أَشۡيَآءَهُمۡ وَلَا تَعۡثَوۡاْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُفۡسِدِينَ ٨٥
84 And to the people of Midian We sent their brother Shu‘ayb. He said, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no god besides Him. Do not give short measure or weight. I see that you are in prosperity, but I fear for you the punishment of an encompassing Day.
85 O my people, give full measure and weight with justice and do not defraud people of their dues, nor go about spreading corruption on earth.
To the Qur'an, honest trade is part of faith.