According to search-discovered classical Islamic scholarship, the people of Aad (عاد) were a powerful and ancient Arab tribe who lived after the time of Prophet Nuh (Noah). Famed for their immense physical strength, tall stature, and constructing lofty buildings, they were blessed with great prosperity and a flourishing civilization. However, as highlighted by commentators like Ibn Kathir, their blessings led to arrogance, and they became the first people to worship idols after the great flood, rejecting the oneness of Allah. Allah sent to them the Prophet Hud, one of their own brethren, who called them to monotheism and warned them of divine punishment. Their persistent rejection, mockery, and challenge to their prophet culminated in their destruction by a furious and chilling wind that raged for seven nights and eight days, leaving them as a lesson for all of humanity on the consequences of hubris and disbelief.