The people of 'Ad believed their strength made them safe. Hud told them where real strength comes from: "Ask your Lord for forgiveness and turn to Him. He will send the sky upon you in showers and add strength to your strength. Do not turn away as criminals."
His whole storyWhen you are given power
Kings and leaders who called every success a test.
He rose from slave to the most powerful man in Egypt, and was reunited with his whole family. Power did not change him. He gave all the credit to Allah: "My Lord, You have given me some of the kingdom and taught me the interpretation of events... Take my soul as one who submits, and join me with the righteous."
His whole storyMusa was sent to the worst tyrant on earth, a man who killed children and called himself a god. The instruction from Allah was not to curse him. It was: "Speak to him with gentle words, so that perhaps he will remember or fear." If gentleness was owed even to Pharaoh, it is owed to everyone.
His whole storyDawud was a king with an army, a kingdom and wisdom. Kingship did not stop him working with his own hands, and it did not stop him repenting the moment he saw he had judged too quickly. Allah told him: "We have made you a successor on earth, so judge between people in truth."
Quran 38:24-26Sahih al-Bukhari 2072
His whole storyWhen the throne of the queen was brought to him in the blink of an eye, Sulayman did not celebrate himself. He said: "This is from the favour of my Lord, to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful." Every success, he called a test.
His whole storyAs the leader of a whole nation, whenever he was given a choice between two things he chose the easier one, as long as it was not a sin. He never struck a woman or a servant with his hand, and he never took revenge for himself.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3560Sahih Muslim 2328
His whole story