The Heights
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[7:65]
AND UNTO [the tribe of] ’ād [We sent] their brother Hūd. He said: "O my people! Worship God alone: you have no deity other than Him. Will you not, then, be conscious of Him?"

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* v.65 : Hūd is said to have been the first Arabian prophet. He may be identical with the Biblical ‘Uber, the ancestor of the Hebrews (‘Ibrīm) who – like most of the Semitic tribes – had probably originated in South Arabia. (References to ‘Uber are found in Genesis x 24-25 and xi 14 ff.) The ancient Arabian name Hūd is still reflected in that of Jacob’s son Judah (Yahūdah in Hebrew), which provided the subsequent designation of the Jews. The name ‘Uber – both in Hebrew and in its Arabic form ‘ābir – signifies “one who crosses over” (i.e., from one territory to another), and may be a Biblical echo of the fact that this tribe “crossed over” from Arabia to Mesopotamia in pre-Abrahamic times. – The tribe of ‘ād, to which Hūd belonged (“their brother Hūd”), inhabited the vast desert region known as Al-Ahqāf, between ‘Umān and Hadramawt, and was noted for its great power and influence (see 89:8 – “the like of whom has never been reared in all the land”). It disappeared from history many centuries before the advent of Islam, but its memory always remained alive in Arabian tradition.