Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Story of Creation (18 - B): Eram, The Lost city of Sand, Prophet Hud and People of A'd…



The early generations descended from Noah sons moved away from Ark's location in Southern Turkey, and  started to settle around the globe, but the main group who were mentioned in Quran and lived after Noah times, were people of A'd. They lived in southern part of Arabia where it was a wonderful place full of gardens, lakes and rivers.

But those people diverted again from worshiping God, and they were proud and arrogant because of their wealth and power that ALLAH gave to them:
فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ

As for 'Ad, they were arrogant in the land without right, and they said: "Who is mightier than us in strength?" See they not that Allâh, Who created them was mightier in strength than them. And they used to deny Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations)! (24:15)

Not only that, but it seems that their cities and lands were huge and wide too:

أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَثَارُوا الأَرْضَ وَعَمَرُوهَا أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوهَا وَجَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

Do they not travel in the land, and see what was the end of those before them? They were superior to them in strength, and they tilled the earth and populated it in greater numbers than these (pagans) have done, and there came to them their Messengers with clear proofs. Surely, Allâh wronged them not, but they used to wrong themselves. (30:9)

Let's review the following description of A'd story from Quran verses..

1- Being A'd, Thamoud after Noah times directly:

The following verses repeat that A'd and Thamoud came after Noah people directly:

وَإِن يُكَذِّبُوكَ فَقَدْ كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَثَمُودُ (22: 42)

And if they belie you (O Muhammad SAW), so did belie before them, the people of Nûh (Noah), 'Ad and Thamûd (their Prophets). (22: 42)

أَوَعَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَاءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِّنكُمْ لِيُنذِرَكُمْ وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَاء مِن بَعْدِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَزَادَكُمْ فِي الْخَلْقِ بَسْطَةً فَاذْكُرُواْ آلاء اللَّهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (7: 69)

"Do you wonder that there has come to you a Reminder (and an advice) from your Lord through a man from amongst you to warn you? And remember that He made you successors after the people of Nûh (Noah), and increased you amply in stature. So remember the graces (bestowed upon you) from Allâh, so that you may be successful." (7: 69)

Therefore according to this and as we discussed before that Noah times were around 60,000 years ago (i.e. the Time of Tuba volcano super-eruption), then A'd times will be within the next 10,000 years, because it will take time so they forget what Noah taught them, and since people during that times lived for 100's of years, therefore 10K years means around 10 generations only. So, A'd times will be in between 50-60,000 years ago.


2- Being A'd, Thamoud and Noah times close to each others, far from later generations:

The following verses clearly mention that Noah, A'd, and Thamoud times were close to each other before too many generations followed them (25:38) till the times of Ibrahim (verses 25:40):

أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَالَّذِينَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَرَدُّواْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَقَالُواْ إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ وَإِنَّا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَنَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ (14: 9)

Has not the news reached you, of those before you, the people of Nûh (Noah), and 'Ad, and Thamud? And those after them? None knows them but Allâh. To them came their Messengers with clear proofs, but they put their hands in their mouths (biting them from anger) and said: "Verily, we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent, and we are really in grave doubt as to that to which you invite us (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism)." (9:14)

وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَأَصْحَابَ الرَّسِّ وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا  (25 : 38)

And (We annihilated also the peoples of) ‘Ad and Thamud and the people of Rass, and many generations in between them. (38) To each (of them) We cited examples, and each of them We brought to utter ruin. (25:38-39)


3- Ad towns and cities in the Southern part of Arabian Peninsula:

The following verse clearly mentions the location of Ad towns:

وَاذْكُرْ أَخَا عَادٍ إِذْ أَنذَرَ قَوْمَهُ بِالأَحْقَافِ وَقَدْ خَلَتْ النُّذُرُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُوا إِلاَّ اللَّهَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ 46: 21

And remember (Hûd) the brother of 'Ad, when he warned his people in Al-Ahqâf (the curved sand-hills in the southern part of Arabian Peninsula). And surely, there have passed away warners before him and after him (saying): "Worship none but Allâh; truly, I fear for you the torment of a mighty Day." (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)." (21)

The following snapshot from Google Earth, shows the most possible location of A'd:


4- Description of their towns, cities, and Land Nature:

The following verses explain that A'd cities (or mainly the capital) "Eram" was a wonderful city which was never been built before, and it has many pillars, that was named after them as "Eram of the pillars".

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ 6 إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ 7 الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلادِ 8 وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ (89: 6-9)

Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with (the people) of ‘Ad (6) Of Iram of tall pillars, (7) The like of whom were never created in the lands, 3 (8) And (how He dealt) with (the people of) Thamud who had carved out the rocks in the Valley (of Qura), (9)

Also they describe the nature of their land where it was full of gardens, rivers and springs, and the weather was rainy, which is in contrary to the dry and eroded weather that covers South Arabia currently:

وَيَا قَوْمِ اسْتَغْفِرُواْ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُواْ إِلَيْهِ يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاء عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيَزِدْكُمْ قُوَّةً إِلَى قُوَّتِكُمْ وَلاَ تَتَوَلَّوْا مُجْرِمِينَ (11: 52)

"And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimûn (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh)." (52)

The following figure from NASA satellite shows what beneath the Empty quarter "Rube Al-Khali" which seems like an ancient river paths [1]:



Also, ALLAH says on the tongue of his messenger Hud (PBUH) to A'd people:

أَتَبْنُونَ بِكُلِّ رِيعٍ آيَةً تَعْبَثُونَ 128 وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ 129 وَإِذَا بَطَشْتُم بَطَشْتُمْ جَبَّارِينَ 130 فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ 131 وَاتَّقُوا الَّذِي أَمَدَّكُم بِمَا تَعْلَمُونَ 132 أَمَدَّكُم بِأَنْعَامٍ وَبَنِينَ 133 وَجَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ 134 إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ (26: 128-135)

Do you erect on every height a monument, having no sound purpose, (128) And take the objects of architecture as if you are going to live forever, (129) And when you seize (someone) you seize as tyrants? (130) So fear Allah and obey me. (131) And fear the One who has supported you with what you know. (132) He has supported you with cattle and sons, (133) And with gardens and springs. (134) In fact I fear for you the punishment of a horrible day.” (135) They said, “It is all equal for us, whether you give us advice or you do not become one of the advisors. (136) This is nothing but the practice of the ancient, (137) And we are not going to be punished.” (138)

This verse describes the monuments that people of A'd used to build over the high mountains, and structures for keeping the waters (named as Massanea), which till our days the people of Oman is building them and it seems it's an old habit since the days of A'd, the following figure shows that new structures these days, the figure taken from GE photos for the Omani desert:


The following images from GE, shows how the area was full of springs and rivers ways, but they all dried out, and it's important to note that their valleys are mostly directly toward the South shore which is the Arabian sea \ Indian Ocean.

Note, toward Marah mountains is the direction that A'd storm came from as mentioned in the Hadith.


5- Description of the destructive wind (Hurricane), its direction, and duration:

Now, the destruction wind that destroyed everything came from front of their valleys which clearly means that it came from Indian ocean:

وَفِي عَادٍ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّيحَ الْعَقِيمَ 41  مَا تَذَرُ مِن شَيْءٍ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ إِلاَّ جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيمِ (51: 41-42)

Then they rebelled against the command of your Lord; so the thunderbolt (of divine punishment) seized them, while they were looking on. (44) Then they were neither able to stand (before the punishment), nor could they defend themselves. (51:44-45)

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ عَارِضًا مُّسْتَقْبِلَ أَوْدِيَتِهِمْ قَالُوا هَذَا عَارِضٌ مُّمْطِرُنَا بَلْ هُوَ مَا اسْتَعْجَلْتُم بِهِ رِيحٌ فِيهَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ 24 تُدَمِّرُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ بِأَمْرِ رَبِّهَا فَأَصْبَحُوا لا يُرَى إِلاَّ مَسَاكِنُهُمْ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْقَوْمَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ 46: 24-25

Then, when they saw it as a dense cloud coming towards their valleys, they said: "This is a cloud bringing us rain!" Nay, but it is that (torment) which you were asking to be hastened — a wind wherein is a painful torment! (24) Destroying everything by the Command of its Lord! So they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings! Thus do We recompense the people who are Mujrimûn (polytheists, disbelievers, sinners)! (46:24-25)

Which is similar to Oman cyclone that hit Oman in year 2010 and caused huge damages and destruction, the following image taken by Nasa for Oman cyclone:


Duration of this deadly wind as mentioned in the following verse was 8 days and 7 nights:

وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِيحٍ صَرْصَرٍ عَاتِيَةٍ 6 سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَانِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُومًا فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ 7 فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُم مِّن بَاقِيَةٍ (69: 6-8)

And as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a violent windstorm (6) 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. (7)

The following shows an archive for Indian Oceans hurricanes (Wunderground.com), they range from few days to 2 weeks, so in average the time of 8 days and 7 nights could be the period of time when Cyclone hit A'd land, and it will be surely very destructive to stay that long, and it may be the main reason for weather change from green rainy areas to complete dry deserts !!


6- The destruction of A'd people except the few believers with Hud:

Of course, ALLAH didn’t destroy the whole people of A'd, still few of them (e.g. thousands) were saved with Hud by a mercy from ALLAH, that protected them from the wind.

Hud crave still in Yemen to South of Empty Quarter to the west to what is expected is the location of Eram land, this means that they had to run away from the cyclone path and covered by ALLAH mercy and leaft their land before the coming storm.

فَأَنجَيْنَاهُ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَقَطَعْنَا دَابِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا وَمَا كَانُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ (7: 72)

So We saved him and those who were with him by a Mercy from Us, and We cut the roots of those who belied Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations), and they were not believers. (72)

وَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا هُودًا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَنَجَّيْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ (11: 58)

And when Our Commandment came, We saved Hûd and those who believed with him by a Mercy from Us, and We saved them from a severe torment. (58)


The Question is: can we prove it scientifically?

Is there any clue that there was a civilization far away in history in that area from Arabia?

Let's see…

[Science]

Quoted from: Lost Civilization Under Persian Gulf?

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2010) — A once fertile landmass now submerged beneath the Persian Gulf may have been home to some of the earliest human populations outside Africa, according to an article published in Current Anthropology.

Evidence is also emerging that modern humans could have been in the region even before the oasis was above water. Recently discovered archaeological sites in Yemen and Oman have yielded a stone tool style that is distinct from the East African tradition. That raises the possibility that humans were established on the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula beginning as far back as 100,000 years ago or more, Rose says. That is far earlier than the estimates generated by several recent migration models, which place the first successful migration into Arabia between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago.

The Gulf Oasis would have been available to these early migrants, and would have provided "a sanctuary throughout the Ice Ages when much of the region was rendered uninhabitable due to hyperaridity," Rose said. "The presence of human groups in the oasis fundamentally alters our understanding of human emergence and cultural evolution in the ancient Near East."


[Summary]

Therefore, to summarize all the findings in the Article, and match what is mentioned in Quran and recently discovered or being under research by scientists:

-        That Arabia was green in pre-history times, full of gardens and rivers.
Scientifically: true, and old rivers traces can be seen easily from GE.

-        Archeology researches found many traces that people lived in that areas 50-60,000 years ago. In Quran: People lived there were strong and proud, but they were infidels and being destroyed by a heavy deadly wind.

-        It’s possible that Cyclon can pass through that areas similar to what occurred in year 2010, and the average of 7-8 days is almost the average period of a destructive hurricane.

Therefore, whenever scientists discover the real time when Southern Arabia changed from green area to become the "Empty quarter" then it’s the time of Prophet Hud (PBUH).

Note, what is mentioned over the net that Shisar or Ubar cave is Eram, is not totally accurate, Eram must be much wide and larger than the well found in the Ubar area, scientists must dig more in the desert to find real Eram.

Thanks to ALLAH, Lord of the Worlds

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