Those who spread corruption are doomed
The stories of A’ad and Thamud are two of the major stories in Arabic history, and they are repeated many times throughout the Quran, particularly in the Makki surahs. Allah used them as an example and a warning to the people of Makkah, that they would be punished if they spread corruption in their society.
The three levels of the prophetic message
The prophetic message had three levels: relationship with Allah: to worship Him alone and avoid shirk; relationship with others, how to deal with the people around you, and relationship with yourself, improving your own character and avoiding corruption. All prophets, from Adam to Muhammad (peace be on them), were sent with these same three core messages.
The people they were sent to did not welcome these teachings. No prophet or messenger anywhere in the world was ever welcomed by their people. All stories of the prophets are full of challenges, persecution, and mockery; none of them had an easy journey.
The story of Prophet Salih
Prophet Salih (peace be on him) had been sent to reform society in Thamud, but, as with all prophets, the people did not listen. In Surat an-Naml, Allah talks about nine men in particular who spread corruption in Thamud and plotted against Salih.
وَكَانَ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ تِسْعَةُ رَهْطٍۢ يُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ
And there were in the city nine men who spread corruption in the land, never doing what is right. [27:48]
The people challenged Salih to produce a miracle and bring forth a pregnant she-camel out of a rock. Allah responded to the call of Salih, and the rock did split, and out of it came a pregnant camel, just as the people had asked.
Some people were convinced by this miracle and started to follow Salih, but these nine people mentioned in the ayah did not like the fact that people were listening to Salih. They wanted to keep people away from Allah and destroy any goodness. This is not exclusive to the story but something we still see in certain people today.
Allah’s plans always triumph
The nine plotted to murder Salih, but in the surah Allah reminds us that his plans will always triumph over anyone else’s.
وَمَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرًۭا وَمَكَرْنَا مَكْرًۭا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
And ˹so˺ they made a plan, but We too made a plan, while they were unaware. [27:50]
فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ مَكْرِهِمْ أَنَّا دَمَّرْنَـٰهُمْ وَقَوْمَهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
See then what the consequences of their plan were: We ˹utterly˺ destroyed them and their people all together. [27:51]
Their plan backfired on them completely, and they were the ones whom Allah destroyed. And not just those nine, but Thamud was wiped off the map completely.
فَعَقَرُوهَا فَقَالَ تَمَتَّعُوا۟ فِی دَارِكُمۡ ثَلَـٰثَةَ أَیَّامࣲۖ ذَ ٰلِكَ وَعۡدٌ غَیۡرُ مَكۡذُوبࣲ﴿ ٦٥ ﴾
: But they hamstrung her, so he said, “Enjoy yourselves in your home for three days; that is a promise not to be
belied.” (Hūd, Ayah 65)
فَلَمَّا جَاۤءَ أَمۡرُنَا نَجَّیۡنَا صَـٰلِحࣰا وَٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ بِرَحۡمَةࣲ مِّنَّا وَمِنۡ خِزۡیِ یَوۡمِىِٕذٍۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ ٱلۡقَوِیُّ ٱلۡعَزِیزُ﴿ ٦٦ ﴾
Then when Our command came, We delivered Saleh and those who had attained faith with him, by mercy from Us, and from the disgrace of that day. Indeed, your Lord[1]is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.
Allah tells us this story to warn us, and there are plenty of similar narrations in the sunnah too. If there is evildoing around you and you don’t try to stop it, Allah will punish you right along with the perpetrators themselves.
Don’t be complicit in oppression
In our society today, we see evil everywhere. We need to make sure we are not complicit in it by being silent when we see it. If we don’t do our best to stop it, we will be punished.
Some people are not only silent about evil, but actively support it, twisting reality and turning falsehood into truth, and vice versa. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) told us about three kinds of judge:
The judges are three kinds: two judges are in Hellfire and one judge is in Paradise. A man who judges without the truth while he knows it, he is in Hellfire. A judge who has no knowledge and violates the rights of people, he is in Hellfire. A judge who judges with the truth, he is in Paradise. [Tirmidhi]
This is another warning not to promote falsehood, otherwise we will face severe consequences in both dunya and akhirah.
The dua of those who are oppressed is lifted straight to Allah, with no barrier, and Allah has promised that those people will be victorious, even if it takes a long time.
اتَّقُوا دَعْوَةَ الْمَظْلُومِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ اللهِ حِجَابٌ
“Fear the supplication of the one who is oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 2448; Sahih Muslim, 19)
Another narration adds more detail:
ثَلاثُ دَعَوَاتٍ يُسْتَجَابُ لَهُنَّ لا شَكَّ فِيهِنَّ: دَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُومِ، وَدَعْوَةُ الْمُسَافِرِ، وَدَعْوَةُ الْوَالِدِ عَلَى وَلَدِهِ
“There are three supplications that are answered without doubt: the supplication of the oppressed, the supplication of the traveller, and the supplication of the parent against his child.”
(Sunan Ibn Mājah, 3862 — Hasan)
When you have a little bit of power, it can be tempting to use it in the wrong way and to oppress people. This is why there are so many hadith from Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) warning the ummah against evildoers and viciousness and dhulm. We need to monitor ourselves and our community to avoid falling into this trap, and ask Allah to help us support goodness and truth, and stop evil and oppression.
Be vigilant about the truth
We need to be vigilant about the truth.
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Do not mix truth with falsehood or hide the truth knowingly. [2:42]
As Muslims, we know that we are primarily accountable to Allah, and this is our main priority. On the Day of Judgement, Allah will ask you what you did when you were surrounded by evil. If you tried, the record of that will be shown to you; if you didn’t, you will see that too. Allah will show whether you are telling the truth about the effort you put in. This is why we need to do our best to spread justice and stop evil and wrongdoers.
Right now we are seeing continuing oppression on our brothers and sisters in Palestine, though the focus has now shifted to Iran. We need to do our best to stop this from spreading. Our job is to campaign against this evil as much as possible. If you tried your best, Allah knows your intention, but if you were silent and complicit, there will be no excuse when that day comes.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 20th June 2025
Transcribed by Hana Khan