Surah al-`Ankabut (The Spider ) 29 : 38

Explanatory Note

Next the sūrah refers very briefly to the punishment inflicted on the `Ād and Thamūd. The `Ād lived at al-Aĥqāf in southern Arabia, close to Ĥadramaut, while the Thamūd lived in al-Ĥijr in northern Arabia, close to al-Qurā Valley. The `Ād were destroyed by devastating winds, while the Thamūd were destroyed by a stunning blast. Their dwellings, however, still stood and the Arabs of Makkah passed by them on their traditional winter and summer trade trips, thus seeing for themselves the destruction heaped upon these formerly powerful communities.

This brief reference to these two communities reveals the same cause of their going astray as indeed that of other communities: “Satan had made their evil deeds seem goodly to them, and thus had turned them away from the path [of God] despite their having had the ability to perceive the truth.”

They had minds and could see the pointers to divine guidance, but Satan tempted them away, making their deeds seem fair to them. Satan frequently plays on such people’s arrogance and false self-esteem. The result being that such communities often succumb to delusions of power and wealth. Thus, Satan turns them away from the only path of true guidance that leads to faith. He thus loses them the chance to save themselves, despite their having the ability to perceive the truth.