‘Ad
Encyclopedia
Ad is the great-grandson of Shem
, son of Noah
(Arabic: sam ibn Nuh سام بن نوح) who came from the northeast and was the progenitor of the Adites. Noah is said to be Ad's 3rd grandfather, he being the son of Awadh
(عوض), who was the son of Iram
(إرم), who was the son of Shem (سام) the son of Noah (نوح).
The Adites are among the first inhabitants of the country of the Arabians. They belong to what is known as the perished Arabs (العرب البائدة).
According to the Atlantean
mythology of Ignatius L. Donnelly, Ad is said to have married 1,000 wives, had 4,000 sons, and lived 1,200 years. His descendants multiplied considerably, populating the southernmost part of the Arabian peninsula, spreading in modern day Hadramout in Eastern Yemen
. After Ad's death, his sons Shadid and Shedad reigned in succession over the Adites. Ad then became a collective term for all those descended from Ad.
Iram
(إرم) is the place to which the prophet
Hud
(هود) was sent in order to guide its people back to the righteous path of Islam
. The citizens continued in their idolatrous ways, and Allah
destroyed their city in a great storm. The Qur'an
mentions Ad as a collective, Iram as a capital city for the collective, and the rolling sand dunes of what is now called the Empty Quarter
as the setting of this event as related in Surah
89:6-9.
Iram has only two ancient historic references; the first being a Sumerian cuneiform
tablet, and the other being the above referenced Qur'anic verse. An ancient city in the area known as Ubar is in fact said to be Iram.
It is said that Hud along with his closest family escaped the region and resettled in and around the modern area of Hadramaut in Yemen. His grave is traditionally said to be located there till this day. The descendants of Hud were the forerunners to the Pure Arabs (العرب العاربة).
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
, son of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
(Arabic: sam ibn Nuh سام بن نوح) who came from the northeast and was the progenitor of the Adites. Noah is said to be Ad's 3rd grandfather, he being the son of Awadh
Awadh
Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh...
(عوض), who was the son of Iram
Iram
Iram or IRAM may refer to:*Iram of the Pillars , a lost city located on the Arabian Peninsula*Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique, or IRAM, the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique cofunded by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , Max Planck Gesellschaft , and Instituto...
(إرم), who was the son of Shem (سام) the son of Noah (نوح).
The Adites are among the first inhabitants of the country of the Arabians. They belong to what is known as the perished Arabs (العرب البائدة).
According to the Atlantean
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
mythology of Ignatius L. Donnelly, Ad is said to have married 1,000 wives, had 4,000 sons, and lived 1,200 years. His descendants multiplied considerably, populating the southernmost part of the Arabian peninsula, spreading in modern day Hadramout in Eastern Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. After Ad's death, his sons Shadid and Shedad reigned in succession over the Adites. Ad then became a collective term for all those descended from Ad.
Iram
Iram of the Pillars
Iram of the Pillars , also called Aram, Iram, Irum, Irem, Erum, Wabar, Ubar, or the City of a Thousand Pillars, is a lost city on the Arabian Peninsula.-Introduction:Ubar, a name of a region or a name of a people, was mentioned in ancient records, and was spoken of in folk...
(إرم) is the place to which the prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
Hud
Hud (prophet)
Hud 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.-Historical context:...
(هود) was sent in order to guide its people back to the righteous path of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The citizens continued in their idolatrous ways, and Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
destroyed their city in a great storm. The Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
mentions Ad as a collective, Iram as a capital city for the collective, and the rolling sand dunes of what is now called the Empty Quarter
Empty Quarter
The Rub' al Khali or Empty Quarter is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including most of Saudi Arabia and areas of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The desert covers some The Rub' al Khali or Empty Quarter...
as the setting of this event as related in Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
89:6-9.
- "Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with Ad
- (The people of) Iram, possessors of lofty buildings
- The like of which were not created in the (other) cities"
Iram has only two ancient historic references; the first being a Sumerian cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
tablet, and the other being the above referenced Qur'anic verse. An ancient city in the area known as Ubar is in fact said to be Iram.
It is said that Hud along with his closest family escaped the region and resettled in and around the modern area of Hadramaut in Yemen. His grave is traditionally said to be located there till this day. The descendants of Hud were the forerunners to the Pure Arabs (العرب العاربة).
External links
- http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/exhibits/ubar/ubar_1.html
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ubar/