۞ And make mention (O Muhammad) of the brother of A'ad when he warned his folk among the wind-curved sandhills - and verily warners came and went before and after him - saying: Serve none but Allah. Lo! I fear for you the doom of a tremendous Day. 21 They said: art thou come unto us that thou mayest turn us aside from our gods? then bring thou upon us that wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou art of the truth-tellers. 22 He said: the knowledge is only with Allah, and I preach unto you that wherewith I have been sent, but I see you are a people given to ignorance. 23 So, when they saw it in the shape of a dense cloud approaching their valleys, they exclaimed, "This is only a heavy cloud which will bring us [welcome] rain!" [But Hud said]: "By no means! It is the very thing which you sought to hasten -- a wind bearing grievous suffering 24 bound to destroy everything at its Sustainer's behest!" And then they were so utterly wiped out that nothing could be seen save their [empty] dwellings: thus do We requite people lost in sin. 25 And assuredly We had established them in that flourishing condition wherein We have not established you, and We had appointed for them hearing and sight and hearts; yet their hearing and sight and heart availed them not at all, they became wont to gainsay the revelations of Allah, and surrounded them that whereat they had been mocking. 26