God’s retribution was likewise meted out to the ‘Ad and the Thamud. They were very shrewd in their worldly affairs, but they proved most foolish in the matter of the Hereafter. They learned the secret of carving houses out of rocky mountain sides, but not the secret of shaping their lives under the guidance of their prophet. The reason for this was what is known as false glorification of deeds, or taz’in. Satan misled them into thinking that building up their worldly position was the genuine aim of life, and that if worldly success were achieved, nothing would pose any problem after that. But this deception was of no avail to them and neither will such fraudulence be of any avail to anybody at any time. In ancient times the ‘Ad people inhabited the area of southern Arabia, which is now known as Yemen, Ahqaf and Hadramouth. Similarly, the Thamud people inhabited the areas located in the northern part of Hijaz stretching from Rabegh to Aquaba and from Madinah and Khyber to Tyma and Tabuk.