The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 156
CH. 11 It HŪD was Mr. Wellstedt, in 1834. published in the Royal Asiatic Society Journal and was reproduced by Mr. Forester in his works. It is in the Ḥimyari language, which was originally a south Arabian tongue. Modern orientalists call it the Himyari inscription. It was discovered at Hiṣnul-Ghurāb, a place near Aden. The following is a translation of it: No. 1. "We dwelt, living long and luxuriously in the Zenanas of this spacious mansion: our condition exempt from misfortune and adversity. Rolled in through our channel The sea, swelling against our castle with angry surge; our fountains flowed, with murmuring fall, above. The lofty palms: whose keepers planted dry dates in our valley date- grounds; they sowed the arid rice. We hunted the mountain-goats, and the young hares, with gins and snares; beguiling, we drew forth the fishes. We walked, with slow, proud gait, in needle-worked many-coloured silk vestments, in whole silks, in grass- green chequered robes. Over us presided kings far removed from baseness, and stern chastisers of reprobate and wicked men. They noted down for us according to the doctrine of Heber. Good judgements written in a book to be kept; and we proclaimed our belief in miracles, in the resurrection, in the return into the nostrils of the breath of life. Made an inroad upon robbers, and PT. 12 would do us violence: collectively we rode forth. . . we and our generous youth,. . . with stiff and sharp- pointed spears; rushing onward Proud champions of our families, and our wives; fighting valiantly, upon coursers with long necks, dun- coloured, iron-gray, and bright bay. With our swords still wounding and piercing our adversaries; until, charging home, we conquered and crushed this refuse of mankind". No. 2. No. 3. "With hostile hate, the men of crime We assailed: onward rushed Our horses, and trampled them under foot. " No. 4. "Divided into parts, and inscribed from right to left, and marked with points, this song of triumph, Sarash and Dzerah. 1364 Transpierced, and hunted down, and covered their faces with blackness. Aws the Beni Ac" (Historical Geography of Arabia, p. 382. See also Enc. of Islam under Ḥiṣn al-Ghurāb). It is clear from the above that the Thamud were a civilized people and they possessed not only a code of laws but also recorded their decisions to serve as an authority in future cases, as is done in modern civilized