"O young man, give thanks for the blessings of Allah upon you which you are about to hear. O nation of Muhammad (ﷺ), you are the best and most noble of the nation of Allah. Allah does not punish this nation for its disobedience and sins in the way that He punished the previous nations. He will not cause its destruction with a single overwhelming punishment as happened to ’Ad, when they were destroyed by the violent wind which He unleashed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession so that they were left lying like the hollow trunks of palm trees - do you see any remnants of them? He will not destroy it with the like of the punishment of Thamud who were seized by the terrible shout and the earthquake so that they lay prostrate corpses in their homes. And He will not destroy it with the like of the punishment of the people of Lot, against whom Allah sent a violent wind and stones from the sky and turned their homes upside down, " said the tailor to the young wayfarer.
Then he continued, "O young man, Allah, from His Wisdom and His Mercy, punishes this nation for its sins and disobedience by setting some part of it upon the others so that they destroy one another and take each other prisoner. From Khabbaab ibn al-Aratt, radhiyallaahu 'anhuma, narrated from his father, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed Salat, making it long. They said, 'O Messenger of Allah! You have performed Salat in a manner which you do not ordinarily perform it.' He said, 'Yes, It was a prayer of hope and fear. In it I asked Allah for three things. He granted me two, and withheld one from me. I asked him that my Ummah not be destroyed by drought. He granted that. I asked him that they not be overcome by enemies from other then them. He granted that. And I asked him that some of them not suffer from the harm of others, and He withheld that." This hadeeth is reported by Imam Ahmad, an-Nasa’i and at-Tirmidhi, there is also in Sahih Muslim, narrated by 'Amr ibn Sa'd.
In the Noble Quran, Allah tells us about these nations who disbelieved in their Messengers, and how He destroyed them and sent various kinds of punishments and vengeance upon them. ‘Ad, the people of Hud, used to live in the Ahqaf (curved sand-hills), near Hadramawt, in the Yemen. Thamud, the people of Salih, lived in Al-Hijr, near Wadi Al-Qura. The Arabs used to know their dwelling place very well, and they often used to pass by it. Qarun was the owner of great wealth and had the keys to immense treasures. Fir'awn, the king of Egypt at the time of Musa, and his minister Haman were two Coptics who disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him." said the Tailor to the young wayfarer. Then he said, "Do you know, there were nations that completely destroyed by Divine punishment? Before the time of Moses, peace be upon him, among the nations who were destroyed by Allah are the people of 'Ad, Thamud, Madyan and Aykah, the people of al-Rass, the people al-Qaryah, the people of Lot, people of Tubba', the Sabbath breaker, and many generations between them. The Noble Quran does not relate historical facts merely for the sake of telling a story which is of historical value. Its main aim in relating happenings is to draw attention to the results, conclusions and deductions from these incidents so that they become a source of guidance for men and prove to be lessons for them that appeal to their minds and emotions that from these historical events, lessons should be derived. These lessons should convince them that the existence of Allah is an undeniable fact and that His Mighty Hand is playing a major role in the affairs of men. It should also bring to their notice that to follow the stipulations of His deen brings success and leads to salvation and is the way towards all progress. That is what Islam is about."
The wayfarer said, "Tell me about the people of al-Rass!" The tailor said, "If you read surah Ya-Sin, in verses 13-30, you will find this story. The word 'Rass' devotes as ancient well and as such the As-Habul Rass are "those who resided in the vicinity of the ancient well." The Qur'an tells and makes reference to the disobedience of these people and the punishment meeted out to them in the form of destruction. the Ashaabul Ras is mentioned in the Quran among these peoples who rejected the messengers of Allah and nocked at them and as a result were made to face destruction." The wayfarer asked, "Why are they called the companions of the Rass?" The tailor said, "Ibn Katheer states that some Mufassireen say that in the area of Azarbaijan, there was an ancient well called Rass. The people who lived in that valley were called the Companions of Rass.
The people of ar-Rass had a well from where they collected water from their needs and also irrigated their lands from it. Those people had a king over them who was just and kind. When he passed away, they mourned over him greatly and mourned for a long time. After some days, Shaytân approached them in guise of that king and said, “I did not die but only disappeared so that I could watch what you do after me.” The people became very happy. He then ordered them to erect a barrier between him and them and said that he will never die. Most of the people believed him, and then became a fitna for them.
They then started worshipping him. So, Allah sent to them a Prophet who informed them that the one speaking to them from behind the barrier was actually Shaytân. He forbade them from worshipping him and ordered them to worship Allah Alone, Who has no partner. The Prophet used to receive revelations during his sleep and that his name was Handhalah ibn Safwân. However, his people became his enemy and subsequently killed him and threw him in a well. The water of that well then dried up, thus the people became short of water to irrigate their lands or to drink from. Their town started ruining slowly to such an extent that after sometime, they were destroyed, completely, with no one remaining alive.
Ibn Asâkir mentioned in the beginning of his book of history along with the mention of the building of Damascus, that Allah sent a Prophet to the people of ar-Rass called Handhalah ibn Safwân. The people belied and killed him. So ‘Âd ibn Aws ibn Eram ibn Sam ibn Nooh and his son left ar-Rass and descended in al-Ahqâf. After that, Allah destroyed the people of ar-Rass and the descendants of these other people spread all over Yemen and other parts of Earth. Then Jabroon ibn Sa’d ibn ‘Âd ibn Aws ibn Eram ibn Sâm ibn Nooh went to Damascus and built a city there, which he named Jabroon. This is the same city which is referred to in the Qur’an as “Eram of the pillars”. Then Allah sent Hood ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Rabah ibn Khâlid ibn Jalood ibn ‘Âd. This is referred to the descendants of ‘Âd, who had descendants in al-Ahqâf. They had subsequently rejected and belied him and so Allah destroyed them. All this prove that the people of ar-Rass came before the people of ‘Âd by many generations.
From this incident we know that for anyone with an eye to take warning and an ear to listen to a warning, it is enough to know that anyone who disregards Allah's commands and go against his commands committing sins and disobedience, after having given them time to reform and repeat, and if they still persist in their rebellious ways, then Allah's punishment will come over them with destruction for them. And Allah knows best."
The wayfarer asked, "And tell me about Ashabul Qaryah!" The tailor said, "The story is mentioned in the Quran, Surah Ya-sin[36], verses 13-29. There was a city, in which there was a king, called Antiochus the son of Antiochus, who used to worship idols. Allah sent to him and his people, three Messengers, whose names were Sadiq, Saduq and Shalum, and they disbelieved in them. At first, Allah sent to them two Messengers, they denied them both. Then Allah supported and strengthened them with a third Messenger. and they said to the people of that city, "Indeed, we are messengers from your Rabb Who created you and Who commands you to worship Him Alone with no partners or associates" But the people of the city said, "You are not but human beings like us, how could you receive revelation when you are human beings and we are human beings, so why do we not receive revelation like you? If you are Messengers, you should be angels." The messengers said, "Allah knows that we are His Messengers to you. If we were lying, He would have taken the utmost vengeance against us, but He will cause us to prevail and will make us victorious against you, and you will come to know whose will be the happy end in the Hereafter. All we have to do is to convey to you the Message with which we have been sent; if you obey, then happiness will be yours in this world and the Hereafter, and if you do not respond, you will soon know the consequences of that."
The people said, "Indeed, we consider you a bad omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and there will surely touch you, from us, a painful punishment." The messengers said, "Your omen is with yourselves. Is it because you were reminded? Rather, you are a transgressing people."
The people of the city resolved to kill their Messengers, then a man came running to them from the farthest part of the town, to help them against his people. His is name was Habib An-Najjar, and he used to work with ropes. He was a sickly man who suffered from leprosy, and he was very charitable, giving half of his earnings in charity. He urged his people to follow the Messengers who had come to them. He said, "O my people, follow the messengers. Follow those who do not ask of you any payment for the Message which they convey to you, and they are rightly-guided in what they are calling you to, then worship of Allah Alone with no partner or associate. On the Day of Resurrection, when He will requite you for your deeds: if they are good then you will be rewarded and if they are evil then you will be punished. Shall I take besides Him gods? These gods whom you worship instead of Him possess no power whatsoever, if Allah wills me some harm. These idols can neither cause any harm nor bring any benefit, and they cannot save me from the predicament I am in. Then verily, I should be in plain error If I were to take them as gods instead of Allah."
The people started to stone him while he was saying, ‘O Allah, guide my people for they do not know," and the people kept stoning him until he died a violent death, and he was still praying for them and he had no one to protect him from that. They stamped on him until his intestines came out of his back passage.
Allah said to him, "Enter Paradise." So, he entered it with all its bountiful provision, when Allah had taken away from him all the sickness, grief and exhaustion of this world. When he saw with his own eyes how Allah had honored him, he said, "I wish my people could know of how my Rabb has forgiven me and placed me among the honored." He wished that his people could know about what he was seeing with his own eyes of the honor of Allah. If they could see the great reward and everlasting blessings that he had attained, this would lead them to follow the Messengers. May Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him, for he was so keen that his people should be guided.
So, Allah destroyed that tyrant king, and destroyed the people, and they disappeared from the face of the earth, leaving no trace behind. Allah says, 'And We did not send down upon his people after him any soldiers from the heaven, nor would We have done so. It was not but one shout, and immediately they were extinguished.' Allah tells us that He took revenge on his people after they had killed him because He, may He be blessed and exalted, was angry with them, for they had disbelieved in His Messengers and killed His close friend. Allah tells us that He did not send an army of angels, nor did He need to send them, to destroy these people; the matter was simpler than that. Allah sent Jibril, peace be upon him, to them, and he seized the pillars at the gate of their city, then he hurled one Sayhah (a shout) upon them and lo! they all were still, to the last man among them, and no soul was left in any body. How regretful for the servants. There did not come to them any messenger except that they used to ridicule him."
The wayfarer said, "Could you tell me what is the moral lessons on this event?" The tailor said, "First, the people of falsehood have ways had this idea that a messenger of Allah should be someone above nature and not a human being. This belief is based upon stupidity because in view of the fact that man lives on this earth it is only logical that for his guidance on earth the messenger should be a human being. Second, wherever the traces of evil and corruption are in abundance, there too the spirit of righteousness and good fortune will also show itself and in the field of helping the truth will show its courage. Third, the more the truth begins to shine brightly, the forces of evil will also become more and more prevalent and instead of bringing forth sound arguments will become inclined towards war and violence, but the haugers-on of the truth will not mind that and be prepared to sacrifice their life for the truth."
The tailor then said, "So, fear Allah, o young man! And look to your affairs and repent before your Rabb and correct your way towards Him. Know that these punishments which have come upon you and these trials that have been inflicted upon you are your own doing and due to your sins. So, for each chastisement repent and turn to Allah and seek the refuge of Allah, the Most High, from the trials; the material trials relating to the person: killing, injury and being forced from ones home; trials relating to wealth: decrease and loss; and trials relating to the Deen - the doubts and desires which assail the hearts and keep the Ummah away from the Deen of Allah, and keep it away from the way of our Pious Predecessors (Salaf ) and which lead it to destruction. The trials of the heart are the worst and the most severe of all the trials in this world since worldly misfortunes when they occur can only cause loss in this world, which will pass away anyway, whether sooner or later but trials relating to the Deen cause loss of this world and the Hereafter."
Reference :"It was not but one shout, and immediately they were extinguished." - [QS.36.29]
- Ibn Katheer, Stories of the Quran, Dar Al-Manarah
- Syaikh Safiurrahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) Volume VII, Darussalam
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
- Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-’Uthaymeen, The Ill Effects of Sins, Al-Hidaayah
