People of 'Ad

Bismillah..

The City of Imar (Shisr, Oman)

Allah Almighty revealed: "Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad -

[With] Iram - who had lofty pillars,

The likes of whom had never been created in the land?"

Quran: Surah Al-Fajr, 89:6-8

"Noah's people, when they denied the Messengers We drowned them, and We made them as a sign for mankind. We have prepared a painful torment for the Dhalimeen (polytheists and wrongdoers) Also Ad and Thamud and the dwellers of Ar-Rass and many generations in between. For each of them We put forward examples (as proofs and lessons etc), and each of them We brought to utter ruin (because of their disbelief and evil deeds).

Al-Firqan, 25:37-39

"Denied before them (these pagans of Mecca who denied you, O Mohammed) the people of Noah and the dwellers of Ar-Rass, and Thamud and Ad and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot, and the dwellers of the Wood, and the people of Tubba, everyone of them denied their Messengers so My Threat took effect." 

Qaf, 50:12-14

Iram would seem to have been an ancient 'Ad capital, in southern Arabia. It boasted of lofty architecture ("lofty pillars"). Some Commentators understand Iram to be the name of an eponymous hero of the 'Ad, in which case the following line, "with lofty pillars", should be construed "of lofty stature". The 'Ad were a tall race. This tract of southern Arabia was once very prosperous (Arabia Felix) and contains ruins and inscriptions. It has always been an object of great interest to the Arabs. In the time of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (602–680) some precious stones were found among the ruins in this locality. Ubar is believed to have been the Omanum Emporiam, Irem (Iram) That Al Emad (Imad), Wabar, Ubar or the mythical lost city in "Arabian Nights" Omanum Emporiam was first mentioned in about 200 AD by Arabian geographers when it was described as a major market town in the "Empty Quarter" and at the crossroads for the frankincense trade. Irem That Al Emad mentioned in the Holy Quran 400 years later was a city of doom because of its sinful ways. It was believed to have been built by King Shaddad ibn Ad to recreate his idea of paradise, where he gathered gold, silver, pearls, amber and other precious things to make a city of beauty. The city was left crumbled and buried beneath the sands of the desert when God sent a great wind to destroy the corruption of wealth and delights of the flesh of the people of Ad. Bakheet tells us that when the city crumbled it was the result of something like an earthquake and that the city fell into a kind of hole in the ground just behind a large hill, atop of which remains one of the ruins. The walk down the hill to the hole is a bit of a slope and proper shoes are recommended. As it would turn out, the Arabic word Shisr is the word used for such a hole. Hence, the town of Shisr. Yaqut Al Hamawi, the famous Arab geographer, described Wabar as "the land which belonged to Ad in eastern parts of Yemen and which is today an untrodden waste owing to the drying up of the desert." 

The discovery of the city at Shisr came as a result of scientific research and sheer accident. In the early 1990's archaeologists launched a major expedition to find the lost city. They used satellite pictures taken over the desert, revealing old caravan routes. A group of Bedouins led the archaeologists to the area at Shisr, which they thought had ruins. A settlement was discovered beneath the sands, an ancient well which supplied the settlement with water. There were remains of walls, towers and gates, which indicate an extensive town. Pottery, glass vessels and incense burners, dating back to the era between 1000 BC and the Islamic era 900-1400 AD, were also found. Archaeologists believe Ubar was the principal center of the north bound overland trade route to the north of the Arabian peninsula and to the Sumerian civilization in the south of ancient Iraq. Trade and frankincense and Arabian horses flourished from Shisr. Queen Sheba is believed to have traveled to the region for supplies of frankincense and stories narrate the tales of her offerings of frankincense to King Solomon. Also, "Modern archaeologists have identified ruins at Shisha, Oman as those of Irem (Iram), better known as the lost city of Ubar. This was a fortress city not of "pillars" but "towers" (which is the same word in Arabic). It served to protect the caravans traveling the frankincense route from the gum tree groves through the land of Ad into the Rub al Khali. Founded 5,000 years ago, Ubar was built around a natural cistern of water which provided a unique oasis in the Empty Quarter. 150 people lived in the fortress surrounded by perhaps 3,000 travellers encamped in black tents, resting before continuing their journeys. The city disappeared around 300 CE. According to legend, the buildings were thrown down as punishment by Allah for the wickedness of its ruler."

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Ref: http://www.dar-sirr.com/prophets.html


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