﴿ ۞ وَٱذْكُرْ أَخَا عَادٍ إِذْ أَنذَرَ قَوْمَهُۥ بِٱلْأَحْقَافِ وَقَدْ خَلَتِ ٱلنُّذُرُ مِنۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِۦٓ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍۢ ﴾

“AND REMEMBER that brother of [the tribe of] Ad, how - seeing that [other] warnings had already come and gone within his own knowledge as well as in times beyond his ken - he warned his people [who lived] among those sand-dunes: “Worship none but God! Verily, I fear lest suffering befall you on an awesome day!””

The people of ‘Ad once inhabited that area of southern Arabia which is now known as ar-Rub al-Khali. They made considerable progress, but their development pushed them into arrogance and neglectfulness. Then Almighty God made Hud, a member of that community, a prophet, and sent him to them. Hud warned his community of God’s displeasure but, unwilling to be reformed, it received its prophet with rudeness. Ultimately, God’s wrath descended upon it and it received such a severe punishment that its glorious and lush green surroundings turned into a totally arid desert.