Question:
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
In Qasas an-Nabiyyeen, during the story of عناد عاد and in other instances, we see that عاد is sometimes treated as a feminine word, for example: سمعت عادٌ كلَّ ذلك However, in the following story, العذاب, we find: وكان عادٌ ينتظرون المطر —where the verb is masculine.
Also, in some places كان appears in the masculine form, e.g.: وكان عادٌ لا شغل لهم…
And in others, it comes as feminine: وكانت عادٌ لا يستعملون عقولهم
Why is this variation in gender treatment?
Answer:
The word عاد refers to a nation of the original extinct Arab tribes. It is said they comprised ten tribes, while others say thirteen. They were descendants of ‘Ād ibn ‘Aws ibn Iram ibn Sām ibn Nūḥ.
When عاد is treated as a feminine noun, it is being understood as a قبيلة (tribe), and thus follows the grammatical rules for feminine words.
When treated as masculine, the individual man named ‘Ād is taken into consideration, the forefather of the tribe.
وعاد أمة عظيمة من العرب العاربة البائدة، وكانوا عشر قبائل، وقيل ثلاث عشرة قبيلة، وهم أبناء عاد بن عوص، وعوص هو ابن إرم بن سام بن نوح. (التحرير والتنوير)
وعاد أريد به القبيلة وساغ صرفه لأنه ثلاثي ساكن الوسط. (التحرير والتنوير)
And Allah knows best.
Abbas Afzal
3 Muḥarram 1447 / 28 June 2025
