Page 60 - The Evil Called Mockery

58 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

them for their wrong actions. We drowned Pharaoh's peo-
ple. All of them were wrongdoers. (Surat al-Anfal, 54)
Allah has humbled many such proud societies that indulged in
various forms of depravity. For example, the ‘Ad people, who were
notorious for their depravity, were destroyed by "a howling wind."
After this event, these extremely arrogant people resembled "the
hollow stumps of uprooted palms":
The ‘Ad people were arrogant in the land, without any
right, asking: "Who has greater strength than us?" Did they
not see that Allah, Who created them, had greater strength
than them? But they renounced Our signs. So, We sent a
howling wind against them on disastrous ill-fated days to
make them taste the punishment of degradation in this
world. And the punishment of the hereafter is even more
degrading. They will not be helped. (Surah Fussilat, 15-16)
The ‘Ad people were destroyed by a savage, howling wind.
Allah subjected them to it for seven whole nights and eight
whole days without a break. You could see the people flat-
tened in their homes, just like the hollow stumps of up-
rooted palms. (Surat Al-Haqqa, 6-7)
Allah allots the unbelievers a certain amount of time in the
world. But if they persist in their depravity and mockery, He repays
them for it in a very violent way when their allotted period ends. In
particular, there is a definite punishment for crimes committed
against Allah's prophets. Allah avenges His prophets and the be-
lievers as He reveals in the Qur'an:
Messengers before you were mocked. I gave those who did
not believe a little more time, and then I seized them. How
terrible was My retribution! (Surat ar-Ra‘d, 32)