The City of Iram
What would you say about a person who did not read any books and write a single letter but mentioned about a civilization which was kept secret in the darkness of history as if he had witnessed it and then his news would be approved by scientists with their researches after him, one thousand and four hundred years later?
Which possibilities given below would you accept?
1- This person travelled to the age of that tribe by surpassing the time and places and informed people of what he had seen after he returned to his age. No one who is sane can accept this option but considering this option as reasonable is only possible by losing one's mind.
2- This person is the apostle and prophet of God who created the time and places and encompasses all ages and places with His wisdom. The Prophet knows by being informed by Him and informs people by His notification. This option should be accepted since there is no other option than this one.
Yes, there are no two ways but only one. That is, believing that this person is certainly the apostle of God.
Now, let us look at the miraculous news which proves the prophethood of that person and that the decree which he has is the book of God.
Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the `Ad (people)― Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars, The like of which were not produced in (all) the land? (Surah al-Fajr, 6-8)
At the beginning of 1990s, notable newspapers gave the news of a very important archeological finding with the following headlines; “The Magnificent Arab City Has Been Founded”, “The Legendary Arab City Has Been Founded”, “Ubar, Atlantis of the Sands”. What makes this interesting archeological finding more important is that its name exists in the Qur’an. Up to that time, many people who thought the tribe of Ad mentioned in the Qur’an to be a legend and never to be founded were amazed upon this new finding. Nicholas Clapp is the amateur archeologist who founded the city that is mentioned in the Qur’an.
While researching for the Arabian history, the Arabic historian and documentary producer, Nicholas Clapp came across with a book called Arabia Felix which was written by Bertram Thomas, an English researcher in 1932. Arabia Felix is the name given to the region of the south Arabian Peninsula of Romans and covering the parts of Yemen and Oman nowadays.
The English researcher Bertram Thomas made a research trip in the region of the city of Ubar where there is the remaining of the city, a place which is near the coast of Oman. During the trip, he met with Bedouins who were living in the desert and they showed him an old pathway and told him that this pathway belonged to a very old city called Ubar.
Nicholas Clapp who examined the book of Bertram Thomas, made two attempts in order to prove the existence of Ubar that Thomas reported. At first, he found the traces of the pathway whose existence was told him by the Bedouins. Thereupon, he applied to NASA and demanded this area to be photographed via satellite.
After that, he started to examine the old scripts and maps that exist in Huntington library of California. After a short research, he found a map that had been drawn by Egyptian-Greek geographer Batlamyus in 200 AD. The map showed the place of an ancient city and the drawing of ways that led to this city.
In the photographs taken by NASA, some traces of a road which were impossible to see with naked eye but visible by a complete aerial view came in sight.
Both the ways shown in the old map and the satellite photographs supported one another. The ending point of these ways was a large area that was a city once upon a time.
So, the place of the legendary city which had been the subject of oral stories and narrated by Bedouins was discovered. The remaining of an old city started to come into light from the sand during excavations. Thus, this city was named as “Ubar, the Atlantis of the Sands”. The actual evidence proving that this old city is the city of Ad which is mentioned in the Qur’an is the remains of the city. From the first moment of uncovering of the ruins, it was seen that this collapsed city had belonged to the Ad nation and the pillars were the pillars of Iram, mentioned in the Qur’an. For, tall pillars mentioned in the Quran were found during the excavations.
Dr. Juris Zarins, who is a member of the excavation team, states the following;
“What distinguishes this city from other archeological findings is its tall pillars. Therefore, this city is the city of Ad nation, Iram, which is mentioned in the Qur’an.”
“Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the `Ad (people)― Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars, The like of which were not produced in (all) the land?” (Surah Al-Fajr: 6-8)
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