Hud (prophet)

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This article is about the Islamic prophet. For other uses, see HUD.
Islamic prophet
Hud
هود
Hud and Ad prophet.jpeg
Hud with the ʿĀd tribe
Illuminated collection of Stories of the Prophets
Born sometime between 300 and 600 bc
ʿĀd
Resting place Kabr Nabi Hud
Other names Hud has been identified with עֵבֶר ʻĒḇer but this is debated in Islam
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"Allah" in Arabic calligraphy

Hud (/huːd/; Arabic: هود‎‎) is the name of a prophet of ancient Arabia, who is mentioned in the Qur'an. The eleventh chapter of the Qur'an, Hud, is named after him, though the narrative of Hud comprises only a small portion of the chapter.[1]

Historical context[edit]

Hud has sometimes been identified with Eber,[2] an ancestor of the Israelites who is mentioned in the Old Testament.

He is said to have been a subject of a kingdom named after its founder, ʿĀd, a fourth generation descendant of Noah (his father being Uz, the son of Aram, who was the son of Shem and a son of Noah.[3] The other tribes claimed to be present at this time in Arabia, were the Thamud, Jurhum, Tasam, Jadis, Amim, Midian, Amalek Imlaq, Jasim, Qahtan, Banu Yaqtan and others.[4]

While the Quran makes no reference to the location of ʿĀd, it is believed to have been in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, possibly in eastern Yemen and/or western Oman. In the 1980s, a settlement was discovered and thought to be Ubar, mentioned in the Qur'an as Iram, the capital of ʿĀd.

Narrative[edit]

This is a brief summary of Hud's narrative, with emphasis on two particular verses:

The people of ʿĀd were extremely powerful and wealthy and they built countless buildings[5] and monuments to show their power. However, the ʿĀd people's wealth ultimately proved to be their failure, as they became arrogant and forsook God and began to adopt idols for worship, including three idols named Samd, Samud and Hara.[6] Hud, even in childhood, remained consistent in prayer to God. It is related through exegesis that Hud's mother, a pious woman who had seen great visions at her son's birth, was the only person who encouraged Hud in his worship. Thus, the Lord raised up Hud as a prophet for the ʿĀd people.

When Hud started preaching and invited them to the worship of only the true God and when he told them to repent for their past sins and ask for mercy and forgiveness, the ʿĀd people began to revile him and wickedly began to mock God's message. Hud's story epitomizes the prophetic cycle common to the early prophets mentioned in the Qur'an: the prophet is sent to his people to tell them to worship God only and tells them to acknowledge that it is God who is the provider of their blessings[7] The Qur'an states:

We sent to the people of 'Ad their brother Hud, who said: "O my people, worship God; you have no other god but He. (As for the idols,) you are only inventing lies.
O my people, I ask no recompense of you for it: My reward is with Him who created me. Will you not, therefore, understand?
O my people, beg your Lord to forgive you, and turn to Him in repentance. He will send down rain in torrents for you from the skies, and give you added strength. So do not turn away from Him as sinners."
They said: "O Hud, you have come to us with no proofs. We shall not abandon our gods because you say so, nor believe in you.
All we can say is that some of our gods have smitten you with evil." He replied:" I call God to witness, and you be witness too, that I am clear of what you associate (in your affairs)
Apart from Him. Contrive against me as much as you like, and give me no respite.
I place my trust in God who is my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature that moves on the earth who is not held by the forelock firmly by Him. Verily the way of my Lord is straight.
If you turn away, then (remember) I have delivered to you the message I was sent with. My Lord will put other people in your place, and you will not be able to prevail against Him. Indeed my Lord keeps a watch over all things."

— Qur'an, sura 11 (Hud), ayah 50-57[8]

Hud preached to the people of ʿĀd for a long time. The majority of them, however, refused to pay any notice to his teachings and they kept ignoring and mocking all he said. As their aggression, arrogance and idolatry deepened, God, after plenty of warning, sent a thunderous storm to finish the wicked people of ʿĀd once and for all. The destruction of the ʿĀd is described in the Qur'an:

So when they saw it as a cloud advancing towards their valleys, they said: "This is just a passing cloud that will bring us rain." "No. It is what you were trying to hasten: The wind which carries the grievous punishment!
It will destroy everything at the bidding of its Lord." So in the morning there was nothing but their empty dwellings to be seen. That is how We requite the sinners.

— Qur'an, sura 46 (Al-Ahqaf), ayah 24-25[9]

In other religions[edit]

Judaism and Christianity do not venerate Hud as a prophet and as a figure he is absent from the Bible. However, there are several pre-Qur'anic references to individuals named Hud or possessing a name which is connected to Hud as well as references to the people of ʿĀd.[10] The name has been linked to several Biblical names. Ammi-Hud is the name of several figures in the Bible.[11] Abi-Hud is the name given for a grandson of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles.[12] A prince of the tribe of Asher is named Ahi-Hud.[13] The name Hud also appears various ancient inscriptions, most commonly in the Hadhramaut. A Palmyrene inscription, dated to 267-272 C.E., mentions a place or people called "Iyad" and Ptolemy refers to the "Adites".[14] The Book of Genesis also refers to the city of "Admah" as one of the cities of the plain[15] associated with Sodom and Gomorrah.[16] An Assyrian inscription of Sargon II, dated to 710 B.C.E., mentions the Arab tribe of "Ibb-Ad" and Sargon's conquest of "Adu-mu" in Arabia.[17]

Burial place[edit]

Several sites are revered as the tomb of Hud. The most noted site, Kabr Nabi Hud, is located in the deserted village of the Hadhramaut, around 90 mi (140 km) north of Al Mukalla and is a place of frequent Muslim pilgrimage. R.B. Serjeant (Hud, 129) verified on the spots the facts related by Harawi (Ziyarat, 97/220-1), who described, at the gate of the mosque, on the west side, the rock onto which Hud climbed to make the call to prayer and mentioned, at the bottom of the ravine, the grotto of Balhut.[18] Around the tomb and neighborhood, various ancient ruins and inscriptions have been found.[19] However, as is often the case with the graves of prophets, other locations have been listed. It is said, for instance, that a possible location for his grave is said to be near the Zamzam Well[20] or in the south wall of the mosque in Damascus.[21] Some scholars have added that the mosque in Damascus has an inscription stating: "This is the tomb of Hud";[22] others, however, suggest that this belief is a local tradition spewing from the reverence the locals have for Hud.[23]

See also[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Quran 11:50–60
  2. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  3. ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali,The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Note 1040: "The 'Ad people, with their prophet Hud, are mentioned in many places. See especially 26:123-140, and 46:21-26. Their story belongs to Arabian tradition. Their eponymous ancestor 'Ad was fourth in generation from Noah, having been a son of 'Aus, the son of Aram, the son of Sam, the son of Noah. They occupied a large tract of country in Southern Arabia, extending from Umman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to Hadhramaut and Yemen at the southern end of the Red Sea. The people were tall in stature and were great builders. Probably the long, winding tracts of sands (ahqaf) in their dominions (46:21) were irrigated with canals. They forsook the true God, and oppressed their people. A three years famine visited them, but yet they took no warning. At length a terrible blast of wind destroyed them and their land, but a remnant, known as the second 'Ad or the Thamud (see below) were saved, and afterwards suffered a similar fate for their sins. The tomb of the Prophet Hud (qabr Nabi Hud) is still traditionally shown in Hadhramaut, latitude 16 N, and longitude 491⁄2 E', about 90 miles north of Mukalla. There are ruins and inscriptions in the neighborhood."
  4. ^ Stories of the Prophets, Ibn Kathir, Story of Hud
  5. ^ Quran 26:128–129
  6. ^ Stories of the Prophets, Ibn Kathir, Story of Hud
  7. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  8. ^ Quran 11:50–57
  9. ^ Quran 46:24–25
  10. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  11. ^ 1 Chronicles 7:26, Numbers 34:20, Numbers 34:28, 2 Samuel 13:37, 1 Chronicles 9:4
  12. ^ 1 Chronicles 8:3
  13. ^ Numbers 34:27
  14. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  15. ^ Genesis 10:19
  16. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  17. ^ A-Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism, Brannon M. Wheeler, Hud
  18. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, C.H. Pellat, Hud
  19. ^ Hadramut. Some of its mysteries unveiled, D. van der Meulen and H. von Wissmann, 1932
  20. ^ Harawi, 86/98
  21. ^ Harawi, 15/38
  22. ^ Ibn Battuta, i, 205; ii, 203
  23. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, C.H. Pellat, Hud

Bibliography[edit]

References in the Qur'an[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Qur'anic Tafsir on chapters VII, XI, XXVI (cf. index: Hud)
  • Ibn Kutayba, Ma'arif, ed. Uka'sha, 28, 56
  • Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, I, 231
  • Thalabi, Tales of the Prophets, 1290, ed. 63ff.
  • Hamdani, Iklil, i, 37ff.
  • Ibn Kathir, Stories of the Prophets, Story of Hud
  • R.B. Sergeant, Hud and other pre-Islamic prophets of Hadramawt, Le Museon, xlvii, 1954

External links[edit]

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