On What Hud Was Granted (peace be upon him)

Abu Nuʿaym said, in substance: Allah the Exalted destroyed Hud’s people with al-rīḥ al-ʿaqīm (the barren, devastating wind), a wind of wrath; whereas He granted victory to Muhammad ﷺ on the Day of the Confederates by means of al-ṣabā (the east wind). Concerning that, Allah Most High says:
“O you who believe, remember Allah’s favor upon you when hosts advanced against you, and We sent against them a wind and forces you did not see; and Allah is ever-Watcher of what you do” (33:9).

He then said:
“Ibrāhīm ibn Isḥāq narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Khuzaymah narrated to us—(ḥā)—and ʿUthmān ibn Muḥammad al-ʿUthmānī narrated to us; Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā al-Sājī informed us; both said: Abū Saʿīd al-Ashajj narrated to us; Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth narrated to us, from Dāʾūd ibn Abī Hind, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
‘On the Day of the Confederates the south wind went to the north wind and said, “Come, let us aid Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” The north wind replied, “A dignified lady travels not by night.” So Allah sent against them al-ṣabā (the east wind), and that is His word: “So We sent against them a wind and forces you did not see” (1) (33:9).’

This is corroborated by the previously cited hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “I was helped by al-ṣabā and ʿĀd were destroyed by al-dabūr (the west wind).” (2)

On What Ṣāliḥ Was Granted (peace be upon him)

Abu Nuʿaym said:
Should someone object: ‘Allah produced for Ṣāliḥ a she-camel out of solid rock, making her a sign and proof for him against his people, assigning her one day to drink and them one appointed day to drink,’ we reply: Allah granted Muhammad ﷺ something comparable—indeed, even greater. Ṣāliḥ’s she-camel never spoke to him nor bore witness to his prophethood and mission, whereas Muhammad ﷺ had a runaway camel testify to his message and complain to him of what it suffered at the hands of its owners, who starved it and intended to slaughter it. He then cited that hadith (3) with its various transmitters, wordings, and noteworthy details earlier in the section on the evidences of prophethood, rendering repetition here unnecessary. The report is found in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, the sound compilations, and the musnads. Along with it we mentioned the narration of the gazelle (4) and that of the desert lizard (5), both of which bore witness to his ﷺ messengership, as previously signalled and discussed. Furthermore, an authentic hadith (6) establishes that a stone greeted him before he was commissioned, and likewise the salutations of trees, stones, and clods of earth to him before he was sent ﷺ.