‘Ad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ad (also called Aad) 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 Eram (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 he is said to have married 1,000 wives, had 4,000 sons, and lived 1,200 years^[1]. His descendants multiplied considerably, populating the southern-most part of the Arabian peninsula, spreading from modern day Oman to 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 the place to which the Islamic prophet Hud (هود) was sent 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, Eram as a capital city for the collective, and the rolling sand dunes of what is now called the empty quarter as the setting this instance.

"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"

Sura 89: verses 6-9

This city, Iram (إرم) has only two ancient historic references; the first being a sumerian cuniform tablet, and the other being the above referenced Qur'anic verse. An ancient city in the area known as Ubar is said to be in fact Eram.

It is said that Hud along with his closest family, escaped the region and resettled in and around the modern area of Hadramaut, Yemen. His grave is purported to be there till this day, even though this fact is difficult to verify. His descendants were the forerunners to the Pure Arabs (العرب العاربة).