Prophets Hūd, Ṣāliḥ and Ibrāhīm: The Ruins of the Mighty
Section 4 of 25 · Lives of the Prophets
A Furious Wind in Days of Evil Omen
فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا صَرْصَرًا فِىٓ أَيَّامٍ نَّحِسَاتٍ لِّنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْخِزْىِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَخْزَىٰ ۖ وَهُمْ لَا يُنصَرُونَ
“So, We let loose a wild wind on them in unlucky days to make them taste the humiliating punishment in the present life. And of course, the punishment of the Hereafter will be much more humiliating, and they will not be helped.” (41:16)
Allah (swt) says: fa-arsalnā ʿalayhim rīḥan ṣarṣaran fī ayyāmin naḥisātin — so We sent upon them a furious wind in days of evil omen for them. Rīḥan ṣarṣarā: ṣarṣar is explained as cold — severely cold — and a very ringing and loud voice, and very furious. This is the wind Allah (swt) sent on them.
The closest thing that we have today similar to that is what? The tornado. Because the tornado, if you have seen it, is very fast wind, and it has a very loud voice. I mean, if you heard — if you saw it on TV — it has an unbelievably loud sound. And it could be very cold. Fī ayyāmin naḥisāt: in evil omen days on them.
Tornadoes: it starts as a funnel in the cloud, and then it makes a touchdown, and it starts moving. And it would stay in one place only for a few minutes, and then it would keep on moving. It doesn't stay for long in the same place — just a few minutes, and it keeps on moving. But it's leaving behind it a trail of destruction. In those few moments, in those few minutes, it destroys everything that it passes over. It just rolls over everything and destroys it. And we've seen that in a few minutes a tornado can make a touchdown, and travel for a few miles, and destroy everything.
This wind that Allah (swt) sent on the people of ʿĀd: Allah besieged them. So imagine a tornado coming down and besieging the whole nation, surrounding it from every side. And it did not stay there for a few minutes; it stayed there slamming them for seven nights and eight days. Imagine a tornado besieging the whole nation of ʿĀd, surrounding them from every side. And this wind is violently turning with high speed, slamming their bodies against walls, and against trees, and against their homes, and destroying everything. And Allah (swt) put them under that siege for eight days and seven nights.
وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا۟ بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَـٰنِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى ٱلْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَىٰ كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ
“And as for ‘Ād, they were destroyed by a violent windstorm that He imposed on them for seven nights and eight consecutive days; so you could see them thrown on the ground, as if they were trunks of hollow palm-trees.” (69:6–7)
And Allah (swt) says: ḥusūmā. Ḥusūman means continuously, without giving them a break — giving them no break, no chance to even breathe. Allah (swt) says: sakhkharahā ʿalayhim sabʿa layālin wa thamāniyata ayyāmin ḥusūmā — and as for ʿĀd, they were destroyed with a furious, violent wind, which Allah imposed on them for seven nights and eight days in succession, with persistence, and giving them no break. That's the punishment of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) is shadīd al-ʿiqāb: His punishment is severe. It is serious.
Allah (swt) says: li-nudhīqahum ʿadhāba al-khizyi fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā, wa la-ʿadhābu al-ākhirati akhzā wa hum lā yunṣarūn. Allah says: that We might give them a taste of disgracing torment in this present world; but surely the torment of the Hereafter will be more disgracing, and they will never be helped. This is the punishment of this world, but the punishment of the ākhirah is even more severe.