The Causes of the Destruction of the Disbelievers from the People of Hud (peace be upon him);
Insolence/Recklessness
Selections from the Book Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) And the Causes for the Demise of the Civilization of the People of Aad…
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (23)
One of the crimes for which nations are punished is Insolence. Recklessness refers to tyranny, polytheism, and ingratitude for blessings. Allah says: {And how many a city have We destroyed that was insolent in its [way of] living, and those are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them except briefly. And it is We who were the inheritors.} [Al-Qasas: 58].
The people of 'Aad exhibited aggression towards others. They were a people whom Allah had given strength and power. Allah mentions the blessings He bestowed upon them through His prophet Hud (peace be upon him): {And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively.} [Al-A'raf: 69].
The term "extensively" refers to perfection in both height and breadth, meaning Allah made them taller and more robust than the people of Noah, granting them strength over their predecessors. However, these people used this strength for tyranny over others, as Allah says: {And when you strike, you strike as tyrants.} [Ash-Shu'ara: 130]. This describes them as powerful, harsh, and tyrannical.
The verse narrates the habitual acts of these people, which included aggression towards others by killing with swords, whipping, oppression, arrogance, and boasting. They were accustomed to recklessness and ingratitude for blessings, and they did not use Allah’s blessings in His obedience but in His disobedience.
Blessings are a means to fulfill the purpose of human life on earth; they should be a ladder to goodness. Whoever thanks Allah for them will receive more, but whoever does not, and instead uses them for evil and recklessness, will face punishment. Nations are destroyed by their recklessness, arrogance, negligence of the truth, and their immersion in worldly desires without contemplation or reflection. This is one of the causes of their destruction.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) And the Causes for the Demise of the Civilization of the People of Aad, pp. 518-520.
- Reasons for the destruction of previous nations, p. 180.
- Ibn Kathir’s interpretation, 3/354.
- The Sunnahs of Nature and Society in the Holy Qur’an, Bakkar Mahmoud, p. 302.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) And the Causes for the Demise of the Civilization of the People of Aad on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
